Want to make economical and delicious meals? Here’s how! Chef Ming Tsai shares his flair for transforming East-West ingredients into simple dishes that don’t take too long to make. His recipe for chicken-basil rice noodle stir-fry is no exception. Enjoy!
Recipe: Chicken-basil rice noodle stir-fry (on this page) Recipe: Dijon chicken bacon burger (on this page) Recipe: Chicken fried brown rice (on this page)
1. Fill a large bowl with hot water. Add the noodles and soak until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat a wok or large, heavy sauté pan over high heat. Add oil and swirl to coat the pan.
3. Add chicken, season and stir-fry, breaking up the meat, until cooked through, about 5 minutes, and set aside.
4. In the same pan, coat with oil and add onion, ginger and sambal and stir-fry until softened and fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
5. Add the noodles, bell pepper and add back chicken, heat through, stirring. Add the basil and lime juice and toss well. Check for seasoning.
6. Garnish with the lime wedges and basil sprigs and serve immediately.
Serves 4
1. Place a cast-iron pan over medium-high heat and heat the rendered bacon fat (ideally, use the pan you just made the bacon in). Add extra canola oil if necessary; oil should coat surface of pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, bacon, scallions and 1/2 of the Dijon mustard and season with salt and pepper. Mix until just blended. Test flavor by cooking a small portion of mixture.
3. Form 4 burger patties about 1 inch thick. Sear the burgers, turning once, until done, about 3-4 minutes per side. Be sure that burger is cooked all the way through since this is chicken — should be 165 degrees F in the center of the burger.
4. Meanwhile, arrange tomato slices on a large plate and season them with salt and pepper.
5. In a medium bowl, combine the remaining Dijon mustard, jalapenos and mayonnaise and mix well.
6. Spread spicy mayo on bottoms and tops of buns. Place shredded romaine on bun bottom and top with tomato slice, add the burgers and top with a second tomato.
7. Finish with the bun tops and serve.
Serves 4
1. Heat a wok or large saute pan over medium-high heat. Lightly coat with oil.
2. When oil shimmers add chicken, season with salt and pepper, and brown, breaking up any large chunks with wooden spoon or spatula. Remove chicken to a plate.
3. Add about 1/2 inch oil to wok and allow to heat; add eggs, which will puff up. Transfer to paper-towel-lined plate to completely drain.
4. If necessary, add more oil to wok to lightly coat, then add garlic, ginger and jicama and stir-fry until oil is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add rice, chicken and egg and toss to combine, breaking up any larger pieces of egg. Add naturally brewed soy sauce, toss to combine and check for seasoning.
5. In a large bowl, combine “zucchini pappardelle” with lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper and toss to lightly coat.
Arrange “zucchini pappardelle” on platter. Top with fried rice to cover.
Alternatively, if not cooking rice day before, place cooked rice in single layer on a sheet tray and place in freezer to cool and dry.
Serves 4
© 2012 MSNBC Interactive
They knew their cross-country ride to raise awareness about veteran suicides would be hard. What they didn’t realize was how much their journey would rejuvenate them — even though it involved so much injury.
Increased rates of suicide among females in the military — once out of harm's way — point to how deep and inescapable their emotional wounds can be.
A recent Gallup poll found that stay-home moms are more depressed than working moms. What, taking care of kids all day is hard?
“ ”