Category: Cooking

How many times have I gone shopping and just threw something in my basket for absolutely no reason at all. Sigh. Of course, eventually you must go home, unload your groceries, and stare at that randomly chosen item, and wonder why you bought it. Buyer’s remorse rears its ugly head. Such was the situation with a recent purchase; a rack of St Louis Style Ribs(aka Spareribs), a cut from the lower portion of the of the pig. I cleaned the ribs up a bit, removing the rear membrane, the meat flap(Da Boyz lucked out on this one), though I left the rib tips on. Though I really didn’t do a very detailed job like this. And in the end, I still didn’t know what the heck I was going to do with these. No smoker at my disposal, and I really wanted to do something "Asian".

So this is what I came up with:

It’s sort of Char Siu-ish, except I used whatever I had on hand(sorry no red bean curd), and I got to play with red food coloring…muah-ha-ha-ha. In retrospect, I could have left the ribs in the oven to caramelize for a few more minutes…..but the smell, oh the smell! You can do without the food coloring…..but there something about the combination of those burnt bits and the red color that sets my stomach off. You may want to bake in foil for several hours before starting the regular cooking to tenderize, but I was too lazy. So here you go…another recipe from you friendly neighborhood hack cook.

Chinese Style Barbecue Ribs

Marinade
1/3 Cup Hoisin
1/3 Cup Light Soy Sauce
2 Tb Sugar
3 Tb Honey
2 Tb Shaoxing Wine
1 Tb Oyster Sauce
1/2 Tsp Five Spice Powder
2 Cloves Garlic finely minced
1/2 Tsp Red Food Coloring(optional)

Finishing Glaze:
3 Tb Honey
1 Tb Water
1 Tb Oyster Sauce

2-3 1/2 Lbs St Louis Style(spareribs) cut into individual ribs

1 – Mix the marinade.

2 – Mix together with ribs in a large ziplock bag

3 – Marinate over night

4 – Preheat oven to 350.

5 – Arrange ribs on a rack above a roasting pan filled halfway with water.

6 – Bake for 40 minutes. Turn ribs and bake for another 30-40 minutes. Baste with remaining marinade after turning. Remember to check your water.

7 – Mix "finishing glaze". I added water because the honey I had was so hard and thick.

8 – Turn oven up to 450. Turn ribs and bake for 10 minutes. Turn ribs and baste with glaze and bake  until desired color is achieved (10-15) more minutes.

9 – Remove ribs from oven and baste with glaze one more time.

Serve with rice. It is nice to use the oven, you can have the Big Kahuna reserved for other stuff. In this case, some nice Black Bean Chicken.

And our 30 second green vegetable…that’s all the time it takes on the Big Kahuna. With only salt, slices of garlic, and dried shrimp. High heat does the rest.

I've usually mentioned my Mother In Law in cooking posts. She carries on the family's Jiaozi tradition. But I thought I'd give my Father In Law some equal time. The Missus's Father is from Hunan Province, which has its own great culinary tradition. My FIL is a pretty quiet and reserved gentleman. And he'll defer to my MIL when it comes to food. There were a few times when I've seen and learned about the foods he grew up eating. His family's business in the highly agricultural Hunan province was growing and drying Lily Bud. With no refrigeration, smoking was the main means of preserving meats. In fact "La Rou", Hunan smoked pork/ham is quite well known.

I first got a hint as to what He considered home style Hunan flavors when I bought some of the wonderful Smoked Marlin that is available at all the poke and fish counters back home. I had also purchased some Shishito Peppers, I really don't recall why, perhaps I had some tempura in mind. The peppers ended up in a stir fry, along with a good amount of the smoked fish.

Thus began my introduction to Hunan food, not a very traditional dish, but I started understanding the flavors. I'm still a neophyte when it comes to Hunan cuisine, but I'm learning. The biggest problem for us has been finding a decent brand of Hunan La Rou. Most  of them are terrible, too much camphor, too much salt, too many additives, which many times adds up to a mothball-plastic flavor. Not good eats. But recently, we found a decent brand, pictured above. It is still not top notch, a bit too hard and nitrite laden, but the texture when cooked is pretty good, and most of all it doesn't taste like plastic.

I've always noticed Shishito Peppers at Zion Market, usually at a pretty inexpensive(for Shishito) $1.99/lb. The peppers are usually on the "old" side, and not suitable for tempura. You can tell by how hard and brittle the pepper is. The Missus is a stickler for "correct cuts", and over time I've developed a way of slicing the peppers that keep the shape, and yet allows you to remove the slightly bitter seeds, which can be really hard in older peppers.

I slice the top off the peppers, and make an incision along three-quarters of the pepper.

I remove the vein and hard seeds. You can tell by how brown the seeds are, that these peppers are on the "older" side.

Once you are done, the pepper retains a reasonable facsimile of its shape.

Yes, it is a pain, which is why I don't make this very often. You can substitute green and red bell peppers.

The recipe itself is, as all of the stuff I make very simple. The real wildcard in the mix, is that I used the Big Kahuna to make this. There ain't nothing like high heat for these dishes. Plus, I get to channel my inner pyro….

Hunan Smoked Pork with Shishito Peppers

1/4 lb Sliced Hunan Smoked Pork
1/2 lb Shishito Peppers seeds removed, and sliced
5 Dried Chilies
2 Serrano or Jalapeno Chilies seeds removed, and sliced
2-3 Tb Light Soy Sauce
3 Tb Canola Oil
Salt(if necessary) to taste

1 – Heat wok until smoking.

2 – Add canola oil and swirl to season wok.

3 – Tear dried chilies in half and scald.(Wear protective gear, i.e. haz-mat suit, if necessary)

4 – Add Smoked pork and stir fry until pork has released some fat, and is starting to caramelize.

5 – Add Serrano or Jalapenos and quickly stir to mix.

6 – Push ingredients to the side of the wok, and add Shishito Peppers. Stir fry until fragrant and peppers have softened, but is not mushy, nor burnt.

7 – Add Soy sauce and mix. Taste and adjust flavor.

In the comments of my post on Peng’s Homestyle Bean Curd, KevinK asked if I’d make some Ma Po Dou Fu, Chongqing-style. Now I’m not sure if this is Chongqing style, but I think it turned out fairly good. According to the Missus; "hey, this is not too bad." Translation: "This is one of the best things you’ve made in a while. You better be able to duplicate it!"

First, let’s clarify a few things. First, there must be thousands of different versions of this dish; I’ve seen it in everything from Muslim Chinese to Japanese Restaurants. In fact, Chopstix has a version they call Mabo Ramen, a very sweet, soy laden ground meat dish. But if I’m having the real deal, there are 2 things I always look for; a nice layer of red, spicy oil, and this:

The legend regarding this dish is well known, though I’ve read at least 3 variations. For me, the "Ma" stands for "numbing", which can only be provided by Sichuan Peppercorns. And for me, any place serving a classic rendition of this dish must use Sichuan Peppercorns.

This recipe is based on the version in Fuchsia Dunlop’s Land of Plenty. I’ve made a few changes. Since the Missus wanted this vegetarian, I eschewed the ground meat. In most cases, the meat is ground pork, but in Land of Plenty, Ms. Dunlop notes that in Sichuan, the traditional recipe calls for Ground Beef, which is pretty unique. No stock, meant increasing a few ingredients, and adding a few. I added Chinkiang Black Vinegar, minced garlic, and grated ginger, all of which added depth to the dish. I wasn’t able to find any Pixian Chili Bean Paste, or Chili Bean Paste made with Broad Beans, which has a much better flavor than the stuff made with soy beans. I ended up adding twice the amount of bean paste to adjust. I also used scallions instead of leeks. One last thing, I knew we had tofu in the frig, I just didn’t realize that it was firm bean curd, I’d have preferredsoft tofu. So here it is:

Ma Po Dou Fu (The Pock-marked Old Woman’s Bean Curd)

1 Block Bean Curd
2-3 Scallions cut in "Horse Ear" slices
2/3 Cup Canola Oil
4 Tb Sichuan Chili Bean Paste
1 Tb Fermented Black Beans, rinsed
2 Tb Ground Red Chilies
1 1/2 Cup Water
2-3 Tb Sugar
3 Tb Light Soy Sauce
2 Cloves Garlic minced
2 Tsp Grated Ginger
Salt to taste
Chili Oil to Taste
3 Tb Cornstarch mixed in 4 Tb Cold Water
1 Tsp Ground Roasted Sichuan Peppercorn

1 – Cut bean curd in to 1" by 1" cubes, and steep in simmering water.

2 – Heat oil in a wok over medium heat. When oil shimmers add bean paste and ground chilies and stir fry until oil turns red in color. Add Fermented Black Beans, Ginger, and Garlic and stir fry for about 30 seconds, until oil is fragrant.

3 – Pour in stock and stir well.

4 – When mixture is simmering, drain bean curd and add to mixture. Mix carefully, using the back of your wok scoop to push bean curd.

5 – Add 2Tb sugar, vinegar and soy sauce. Mix carefully, and taste. Add salt, chili oil(if desired), and more sugar if necessary.

6 – Simmer until the bean curd is well coated in the sauce, and has absorbed the flavor.

7 – Add scallions

8 – With mixture simmering add cornstarch mixture a little at a time until the sauce has thickened  to the desired texture.

9 – Serve in a bowl, topped with ground Sichuan Peppercorns.

There you go Kevin, I hope it meets with your approval!

You may be asking, "who the heck is Peng, and why is this bean curd dish named after him?" Well, Peng Chang-Kuei(彭長貴) is a famous Hunan Chef who fled to Taiwan when the Nationalists were on the verge of defeat to the Communists in 1949. He is credited with creating what could possibly be the most well known "Hunan" dish in the Western world, which in fact was not a product of China; General Tso’s Chicken. Fuchsia Dunlop tells the story here. Or even better for more stories, as well as the commentary on this recipe get a copy of her book on Hunan cooking; Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook: Recipes from Hunan Province. I found most of the recipes in this book to be easier than those in Land of Plenty.

Just like Barbara Fisher, who made a version of this dish, and documented it on her wonderful blog  Tigers & Strawberries, we love the simplicity of this dish. I took a few liberties with the published recipe. For some reason the Missus wanted a vegetarian dish, so I excluded the sliced pork and stock. Because of this, I increased the amount of garlic and dark soy sauce. Also, after cooking a few dishes from the cookbook, and reading Fuchsia Dunlop’s commentary, I added a touch of sugar to the recipe. According to the book, Hunan tastebuds are not fond of combining sweet and savory in their dishes. Adding just a bit of sugar seemed to open up the flavors a bit. I use only enough Sesame Oil to add a faint fragrance, and not over-power the dish. One more thing, if you’ve ever eaten in a good Sichuan or Hunan restaurant, you’ll notice that black beans(do not soak) are never crushed, but cooked whole. This explains what seems like the huge amount of black beans in the dish.

Peng’s Home-style Bean Curd

1 Block Firm Bean Curd, Drained
1 Tb Shaoxing Wine
3 Scallions – Green parts only
1 Red Serrano Pepper
3-4 Dried Red Chilies
3 Tb Minced Garlic
3-4 Tb Chinese Fermented Black Beans
1 Tb Dark Soy Sauce
1 1/2 Cup Water
Salt to taste
Sugar(if desired) to taste
A light drizzle of Sesame Oil to taste
Chili Oil to taste.
1 Tsp Potato Starch mixed with 1 Tb cold water
1 1/2 cup Canola Oil for Frying

1.Cut the block of bean curd in half diagonally, than lengthwise. Place bean curd on a folded paper towel, place another paper towel on top of the bean curd. Place a plate on top of bean curd with and top off with a few cans. I do this to remove excess water out of the bean curd.

2.Rinse the Black Beans(do not soak) and set aside.

3.Thinly slice the scallions and seed then thinly slice the Serrano Chilies. Tear the Dried Chilies and remove seeds.

4.Remove the bean curd from plate and paper towels and cut into 1/2" by 1" cubes. (The Missus found that She enjoyed this "size", more than the oblong cuts)

5.Heat Canola Oil in a wok to approximately 375 degrees. Fry bean curd in batches until golden  brown. (And form your own little "Dofu Xi’an Army")

6.Drain bean curd and set aside.

7.Drain oil from wok, reserving 3-4Tb. Clean wok, dry, and reheat over high heat until smoking.

8.Add the dry chilies and scald. Add garlic, black beans, and Serrano Chilies and cook until fragrant.

9.Add water, bean curd, and dark soy sauce, and bring to a boil.

10.Reduce heat to a simmer, taste, and adjust flavor – add salt and sugar if desired.

11.Add potato starch mixture a little at a time, until the desired thickness is reached.

12.Remove from heat and stir in Sesame Oil and Chili Oil. Top with scallions, and have at it.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Just a few Saturday Stuffs:

Oven Shoyu Chicken:

This is one of the first things I made after our return from vacation. It is an easy dish that everyone cooks "back home" in Hawaii. Though most times it’s simmered on the stove top, and the sauce thickened with cornstarch to make a gravy after the chicken is cooked. Being kinda lazy, I did the oven version. The origin is without a doubt; Chinese, but the addition of more sugar, and the "shoyu"(the Japanese word for Soy Sauce) indicates the Japanese influence of the dish. And to make things even more confusing, I threw in a coupla tablespoons "Kochujang" to add a Korean flavor to the whole mess.

2-3 Lbs Chicken Thighs(Whole with skin)
1/4 Cup Shoyu(Soy Sauce)
1/4 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Chicken Broth (or water if this seems too salty for you)
1/4 Cup Canola Oil
2 TB Sake or Shiaoxing
2 Tsp Finely Minced Garlic
1 Tsp Grated Ginger
Other flavors as desired – in this case I added 2 Tb Kochujang, but I’ve often added 5 spice powder, star anise, more garlic, chili paste, more ginger, miso, and whatever I feel like…

1 – Preheat Oven to 350
2 – Combine Marinade
3 – Line a baking pan with foil
4 – Pour Marinade into pan
5 – Place thighs skin side down into pan
6 – Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until juices run clear, turning the chicken 3 times.(End with skin side  up)
You may also turn the oven up to 450 and bake the chicken skin side up for the last 5-10 minutes.

You can make it "fancy" by adding sesame seeds, some finely chopped scallions, whateva’……

"Fresh" Mangosteen in San Diego:

I apologize for deleting and misplacing the email asking me about the availability of Fresh Mangosteen in San Diego.  

You can read the New York Times Article here.

*** And an even more updated article here (Thanks "user").

The specimens to the right were seen at Lucky Seafood in Mira Mesa, I found it in the front portion of the market, right when you enter. I can’t vouch for the flavor, as the price of $6.99/lb was a bit steep for me. But there you go, fresh Mangosteen in San Diego.

Lucky Seafood Supermarket
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

After doing several days of our vacation posts, I kinda feel like an over-enthusiastic Dad showing off picture after picture of his kids…..so I thought we’d give it a break for a bit…..

Santouka opens in San Diego:

I enjoy the ramen at Santouka, and have been wishing they would open here in San Diego. In fact, about the time that Kayaba had opened, I had heard that Santouka was to open in the spot next door. But time passed, and I had pretty much given up; until I saw the sign that announced Santouka’s Grand Opening on Friday April 18th. So yesterday(April 18th), I thought I’d wander in at about 11am to check things out, and possibly grab a bowl……and was met with this loooong line of people.

It stretched from the order window….around the dining area…into Mitsuwa! Being that I’m not quite the "Rameniac" as the Rameniac, and not even as dedicated to my noodle as Jeni who waited in line when Santouka opened on Centinela, I just didn’t have the 2 hours to wait in line, place my order, wait for my order, and probably eat on the floor since I don’t think the dining area has enough seating. But, I think you need to know; I was told that Santouka was giving away coupons for a free bowl with a purchase through today(April 19th). Me? I’ll wait till next week some time.

Santouka – Now open in the Mitsuwa Marketplace

4240 Kearny Mesa Rd
San Diego, CA 92111

Now here’s the scary part: By coincidence, The Delicious Life has a post on Santouka dated April 17th. If you scroll down to the bottom of the post, there’s a section with links……and there’s a link to my post on Santouka. Now that would be a nice coincidence, but read what it says:

"~ Kirk of mmm-yoso wants a Santouka in San Diego (Feb 2007)"

Scary….very scary……….

My Fourth Grade Beef Teriyaki:

Since returning from vacation we’ve been eating at home a lot….nothing fancy; lots of stir-fried vegetables on the Big Kahuna. But I’ve been craving some really weird stuff…things I haven’t even thought about in a while…..for some reason, I just wanted the BBQ Beef(teriyaki beef) from Rainbow Drive-In. I ignored it, until the "want", became a "need". So I decided to just make some reasonable facsimile.

While shopping for the meat at Zion Market (#3 sliced Rib Eye), I realized that I’d been making this for the better part of my life…..in fact it is one of the first things I learned to make…right around the Fourth grade or so.

So, I decided to make it just the way I remember…….down to the "grated garlic" – no knives for a 9 year old, better some grated knuckles, than lopping a finger off. No mirin, which I use now, quite rare, and very expensive in those days, just good old Dark Brown Sugar. Not quite as sweet, with nice ginger overtones. Much of which, Food Historian Rachel Laudan attributes in her wonderful book The Food of Paradise, to several factors; Japanese "teriyaki"(or course), the Chinese influenced ginger and garlic, and of course, "King Sugar". I think every family has a recipe like this….in fact, if you wonder what Hawaiian BBQ really is…….

So without further ado……my Fourth Grade Teriyaki(BBQ) Beef – don’t blink, you’ll miss this uber-easy recipe:

3/4 Cup Shoyu(soy sauce)
3/4 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
1-2 cloves garlic grated
1-2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 – 2 lbs sliced rib eye

– Combine ingredients.
– Combine with meat, coating well. Marinate overnight
– Over medium heat fry/saute in a skillet

Like a said, don’t blink or you’ll miss it.

A few other things:

– If you over marinate, the meat will end up being mushy. Depending on the meat, you can get away with a little as 4-6 hours.

– Great on the grill, this’ll cook really fast.

– After thinking about it…yes, this is very Bulgogi-ish, so throw that in as a point of reference as well!

– Great as a sandwich! I love the BBQ Beef Sandwich at Rainbow Drive-In, though they tend to slather on too much mayo. Leftovers in the pita for me….

– My current recipe uses mirin, sake, and sometimes something to give a bit more zip.

– And yes, this is soooo easy, that you may be wondering why you’re wasting your valuable time reading this!

One more thing:

I didn’t know Rachel Laudan has her own Blog, She now lives in Mexico, and her posts are always entertaining, so check it out!

Hope you’re having a great weekend!

I’m not sure why I’m posting this……it is something that I make quite often, and maybe too simple, but what the heck.

I always hesitate when someone asks me for a Teriyaki recommendation…..why? Because as simple as Teriyaki is, there are variations, on the basic 4 ingredient recipe. There is what I call "American Teriyaki", which is sweeter than what I’m used to. You can call this the "bottled stuff"…..much of it contains corn syrup, or some similar sweetener. There’s what I call Hawaiian Teriyaki, which is sorta, kinda like the stuff called "Hawaiian BBQ"…..which is what I grew up eating, and uses mainly shoyu(soy sauce) and sugar, and has marinating as a step. I’m very familiar with this, as mirin was scarce(and pricey) while I was growing up, and Sake was priced out of our range. So Mom’s  "Teriyaki" used Soy Sauce, and Dark Brown Sugar, with garlic and ginger…and low grade meat was marinated to tenderize. As time passed, and mirin and sake became more affordable, the recipe changed, and became closer to the "tare" that describes traditional teriyaki. So you can understand my dilemma when someone emails me and asks for "something like the best teriyaki in the world, just like xxxx or xxx in yyyyy." (Many times the yyyy is Seattle, San Francisco, or New York) There’s much more to it than the basic 4 ingredient recipe….. ’nuff said.

This recipe is really quick, you can get the dish to the table in 20 minutes or less. I sometime spend more time in the check-out line purchasing the chicken than cooking.

Teriyaki Sauce:
(Makes enough for 2 uses)
1/2 Cup Soy Sauce
1/2 Cup Sake
2/3 Cup Mirin
2-4 Tb Granulated Sugar

Boneless Chicken legs(2), thighs(4), or breasts(2), with skin on.
2 Tb Canola Oil

1 – Pierce the skin of the chicken pieces with skewer or fork to prevent excess shrinkage and allow for absorption of the sauce during cooking.

2 – Mix all sauce ingredients, except sugar, in a small pot and bring to a boil to burn of excess alcohol. Lower to a simmer, add 2Tb sugar, and whisk to dissolve.

3 – Heat oil in a pan. Place the chicken skin side down and fry over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until the skin is brown and crisp. Lower heat, and turn chicken, and fry until done, about 8-10  minutes.(You may cover the pan to enhance cooking)

4 – Taste Teriyaki Sauce, and adjust sugar to taste.

5 – Remove the chicken from the pan.

6 – Pour off excess oil from pan, increase heat to medium high, and pour about 1/3 cup of sauce into pan. The sauce should start boiling/foaming.

7 – Return chicken to pan, turning to coat. Coat chicken well. Remove chicken from the pan when almost all the sauce has been absorbed/reduced.

8 – Chop chicken and pour sauce over as desired.

Store remaining sauce in a sterile/clean jar, and place in frig when cooled. I’ve kept the sauce in the  frig for several weeks with no problems. There are many things you can do to adjust the sauce to your taste. I add a dash of dashi-no-moto, but you can add finely minced garlic, and grated ginger…or any number of things.

I remember when I was little, call it "small kid time" as many of my friends would say. We didn’t have much(and many times no) money, barely enough for survival. So eating out was a real treat; just having Chinese take-out was a something saved for Birthdays, and other "special" occasions. One of my favorite memories was splurging for the fried chicken from the now defunct Woolworth’s(aka F.W. Woolworth’s). It may have just been a thigh or drumstick, but when you bit into that wonderfully juicy chicken, it was like you’ve just had your own little piece of heaven. Woolworth’s you may ask….I know it sounds strange, but I faintly remember something along the lines of "You do the pickin’ when you buy chicken at Woolworth’s"? Of course time marches on, and Woolworth’s became sort of an after thought….until I heard that Woolworth’s was closing down, at which time I marched myself down to Woolworth’s to grab that one last piece, and it was terrible, icky, tasting like that Banquet frozen stuff you reheat. Which made me wonder, had the food quality and recipe deteriorated so much over the years, or had my tastes and preferences changed? I think it was probably a little of both. I had sort of the same dilemma a few years back, albeit not to the same extent when I tried the Chicken Alice recipe. As with all things…time and taste move on. So what does this have to do with some Asian fusion-ny chicken cutlets?

More than a few years ago, there was a series on the Discovery Channel called Great Chef’s of the World which I used to make a point to watch every chance I had. I really enjoyed that series, and I guess it’s still shown….but I haven’t run into it in a few years. One of the fun parts was watching all the "local" chefs from Hawaii, like Alan Wong, Roy Yamaguchi, et al cooking up some really interesting stuff. During one segment I saw this recipe, it was called Crispy Thai-style Chicken, and seemed like something even I could pull off, which I managed to do pretty successfully. For some reason, I hadn’t made this since we moved to San Diego, now almost 7 years ago. So when the recipe recently reared it’s head in the mass of confusion called my Grey matter, I thought it would be an interesting study of just how much our tastes have changed.

As I started making the marinade, I noticed something right away…..it smelled really mild, so I decided to use a whole bulb of garlic, and double up the amount of fish sauce. The dressing needed a bit more zip so I added some chopped onions.

Thai Style Chicken Cutlets

Marinade:
2 stalks lemongrass finely minced
1 bulb garlic minced
1 Tb grated ginger
4 Tb Thai Fish Sauce
6 stalks green onions(white parts included)finely chopped
2-3 Tb cilantro minced
1/2 Mochiko(sweet rice flour)
2 Tb cornstarch
1 tsp Salt
2 Egg whites

Dressing:
1 Cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 Cup sugar
1/3 Cup water
1/3 Cup Thai Fish Sauce
1/2 onion, minced
2-3(or more) Tb chili paste

2-3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Canola Oil
Finely Sliced Green Onions for garnish & Salt to taste

– Combine marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well.
– Add the chicken, make sure all pieces are well coated
– Marinate over night
– Heat about 1/3-1/2" oil in a saute pan
– Fry chicken cutlets, 5-8 minutes each side, until the chicken is completely cooked
– Combine dressing items, and mix until sugar is dissolved.
– Remove chicken from oil, drain, plate, and drizzle a few tablespoons(or more) over chicken. Use the remainder as a dressing for a green salad.

After frying up the chicken, I thought it looked as good, or better than what I made before….all those years of chicken katsu had paid off! The chicken was very moist and tender. However……man did it taste really mild to us, even with a ton of the dressing. The Missus agreed, it seems our tastes have  changed sharply over the last 7-8 years. Nothing was more telling than when I turned to the Missus and said; "you know, I’d take a marinade with Vietnamese fish sauce, a batch of Nuoc Mam Cham, like we had a Beach’s for a "dressing", I’m sure Wandering Chopsticks must have a recipe, along with a good amount of "Bun"(Rice Vermicelli), and some really fresh herbs along with the greens in the salad….and it would be Vietnamese style Chicken Cutlets……

Since a good friend of mine has called my mind a "cesspool of useless information" here’s another one for you…."don’t cook tonight, call Chicken Delight!!!"

Hope you’re having a nice weekend!