I am a Pig, and proud of it. According to the Chinese Zodiac, I am “nice to a fault and possess impeccable manners and taste . . . and . . . a truly luxurious nature, one that delights in finery and riches.” Right as rain insofar as I am concerned and, anyhow, how can I deny the ancient wisdom of the Chinese? I am what I am. And according to the 2015 Chinese Horoscope, this is a lucky year for me.
It’s been said that fate is the lonely hunter. But sometimes serendipity pops up in the most unexpected places. Since this is my lucky year, I should not have been surprised when fate grabbed my attention at The Last Bookstore in DTLA (downtown Los Angeles for the uninitiated). February 19 is Chinese New Year and the start of the Year of the Sheep. In keeping with my Around-the-World exploration of food and beverage, I selected China for this month’s theme and was looking for some inspiration beyond the take-out menus of my local Chinese restaurants. This was when I discovered a pristine copy of Martin Yan’s Quick & Easy Cookbook. Buried amongst self-help and photography books, this tome literally leapt into my hands, and for only $6 it was love at first page.
Excited by the prospect of hidden treasures, I didn’t wait until I returned to the hotel room before studying it. With Sous Chef leading the way as I serpentined along the streets of DTLA, dodging panhandlers, prostrate dipsomaniacs, and frenzied office workers, I started delving into the book and marking recipes that needed to be tried. Once safely ensconced in our hotel room, Sous Chef joined in the fun and we created scores of fantastic menus to celebrate Chinese New Year’s. This cookbook is so filled with appealing recipes that my biggest problem was curating it to a manageable number of dishes. Supposedly we are on an eating regimen that starts with a “D” and ends with a “T,” with two letters in between. So we limited our menu to “East Meets West Gazpacho” and “Lemon Grass Chicken with Rice Noodles.”
The East Meets West Gazpacho is a very traditional gazpacho in that it is chilled and includes tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions. The wow factor of this dish is the inclusion of sesame oil, oyster sauce, and rice wine vinegar. It is a smashing combination of flavors that explodes in your mouth, but in a good way. We paired this with a 2013 Emmolo Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc. This well balanced wine has a nice, crisp mineral quality with hints of summer melon. It is certainly not among the breed of sauvignon blancs that have a pungent grassiness or a forward tasting medley of exotic fruits that neither Sous Chef nor I find appealing. The winemaker is Jenny Wagner, daughter of the Chuck Wagner who oversees production of the world-famous Caymus Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignons and is the patriarch of the Wagner family of wines. Jenny shows a lot of talent and I look forward to tasting more of her wines. This is a good value at $19.99/bottle (Total Wine).
The Lemon Grass Chicken with Rice Noodles has a complex layering of flavors that harmonize nicely but do not overwhelm each other. The sauce is light and fresh with a citrus note from the lemon grass and a dark smoldering flavor from the soy sauce. We paired this dish with Lucky Buddha Beer and Tsingtao Beer. I am no beer expert, and neither is Sous Chef. But we found the Lucky Buddha to be lighter and perhaps more refreshing than the Tsingtao, which had more depth and pronounced flavor. The Emmolo Sauvignon Blanc paired well with the Lemon Grass Chicken and Rice Noodles, probably because this dish does not exude a lot of heat. But as is normally the case with Asian foods, beer is a great pairing regardless the structure and contents of the dish.
As testimony to the success of these recipes, Sous Chef announced that my cooking niche may be “Asian” food. That is a pretty good compliment for a girl who grew up in Montana. Make sure to check back Sunday for the recipe to Martin Yan’s “Oscar Worthy Cantonese Lobster!”
- 1 - 28 ounce can tomatoes, undrained
- 1½ tablespoons thinly sliced ginger
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
- 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves and stems
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon oyster flavored sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- fresh cilantro sprigs for garnish
- In a blender combine all ingredients except cilantro for garnish. Turn blender on and puree until smooth.
- To serve, ladle soup into chilled bowls and garnish with cilantro.
- Marinade
- 1 lemongrass stalk, bottom 4 inches only, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¾ pound boneless skinless chicken breast meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 8 ounces dried rice stick noodles
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 red jalapeno chilies, seeded and julienned
- 1½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ cup chicken broth
- 3 green onions, julienned
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
- ½ cup Southeast Asian All-Purpose Dipping Sauce
- To make marinade, combine all the ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Add the chicken and stir to coat evenly. Let stand for 10 minutes.
- Bring a large pot filled with water to a boil over high heat. Add the noodles and cook until tender, about three minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again. Set aside.
- Place a stir-fry pan over high heat until hot. Add the oil, swirling to coat the sides. Add the garlic, chilies, and sugar to cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant and the sugar begins to caramelize, about 15 seconds. Add the chicken and stir-fry until the surface of the chicken turns white, about 1 minute.
- Add the broth, reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the green onions, fish sauce, and lemon juice and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and stir in the mint.
- Place the noodles on a serving plate and spoon the chicken mixture over the top. Serve the dipping sauce in a bowl alongside.
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup fish sauce
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 small red chili, seeded and minced or ½ teaspoon red chili flakes
- In a bowl, combine all the ingredients and stir until the sugar dissolves. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator; it will keep for up to two weeks.
Printing this one out! Looks marvelous!Yan can cook… But so can Christy!
What a marvelous looking meal! I want to try that chicken.