Vegetable and pasta soup with chicken broth

I am feeling under the weather, so we tried this soup: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/vegetable-noodle-soup-recipe-1928029 We made some modifications: first, we doubled the broth, aromatics, and pasta. Second, for the vegetables we supplemented the carrot and celery with a medium Yukon potato (diced) and 1/2 cup frozen sweet peas. Finally, we added juice from a large lemon, which…… Continue reading Vegetable and pasta soup with chicken broth

Vietnamese chicken and ginger in bittersweet caramel sauce

We had boneless chicken thighs on hand and tried out Andrea Nguyen's 30 min, one pot recipe: https://www.latimes.com/recipe/chicken-and-ginger-in-caramel-sauce-ga-kho In case the link leads to a paywall, the ingredients are: 1:5 lb boneless chicken thighs (trimmed of fat and cut into 1" chunks), 3 Tbsp bittersweet caramel sauce, 2 Tbsp fish sauce, 2 Tbsp water, a… Continue reading Vietnamese chicken and ginger in bittersweet caramel sauce

Vietnamese ginger onion chicken broth, pressure cooker style

This simple pressure cooker recipe yields a fragrant broth in about an hour. It's loosely based on the stovetop broth component of this chicken and celery rice recipe by Andrea Nguyen: https://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2015/04/chicken-back-and-celery-rice-recipe-com-ga.html. First, place 3 large (or 4 small) skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs and 1 skinless boneless chicken breast (see Note 2 below) in the… Continue reading Vietnamese ginger onion chicken broth, pressure cooker style

Korean kalbi-style chicken thighs

We have been trying to cut down on our red meat consumption. We decided to try out my grandmother's kalbi marinade (intended for beef short ribs) on chicken thighs, and the result was delicious. First, you will need about 1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs. We recommend leaving excess fat (which will help with caramelization)… Continue reading Korean kalbi-style chicken thighs

Polish chicken noodle soup (rosol)

My husband loves chicken soup, and I enjoy exploring new ingredients and recipes. We tried this recipe by a Polish-British blogger: https://www.everydayhealthyrecipes.com/chicken-vegetable-soup-vermicelli-rosol/ This soup gave me the opportunity to learn more about Polish cuisine and staples, including celeriac. It also taught me some tips to yield a clear chicken broth and intact cooked vegetables. Our… Continue reading Polish chicken noodle soup (rosol)

Split pea soup with smoked turkey, version 1

On this chilly day, we craved split pea soup but did not want an 8-hour slow cooker project. We tried this SkinnyTaste recipe, which took about 2 hours: https://www.skinnytaste.com/split-peas-soup-with-ham-2-points/ Although we normally prefer yellow pea's mellower flavor, we used split green peas for this recipe. Our modifications: first, we used 2 smoked turkey tails in… Continue reading Split pea soup with smoked turkey, version 1

Laurie Colwin’s baked mustard chicken

On our day off, we decided to try a recipe that takes too long for a weeknight meal: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016200-laurie-colwins-baked-mustard-chicken?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share Our modifications: first, we halved the recipe, using 4 skin-on drumsticks and 2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts. Second, instead of mincing the garlic, we microplaned it to ensure it would be evenly incorporated into the dijon… Continue reading Laurie Colwin’s baked mustard chicken

Japanese chicken and potato stew (torijaga)

We have started cutting down on red meat, but we still crave old recipes such as nikujaga (a Japanese meat and potato stew featuring thinly sliced or minced beef or pork). We found this recipe for torijaga (chicken and potato stew), which uses chicken thighs cut into bite-sized pieces: https://youtu.be/jA-qNOIJ-LE Our modifications: first, we used… Continue reading Japanese chicken and potato stew (torijaga)

Ma po tofu with minced chicken

I grew up eating the pork version of this dish at Chinese restaurants, and every once in a while my mother made this at home from a ma po seasoning packet. Back in 2014, I decided to try a scratch recipe from Andrea Nguyen's Asian Tofu cookbook. Over time, I tweaked her ma po tofu… Continue reading Ma po tofu with minced chicken