Grilled Chicken Satay

Word on The Street
I love to travel. With my kids getting older and moving out, I am looking forward to having more opportunities to explore what lies beyond our windows. Of course, for me, that means trying new foods as well as new cultures. The world is full of really great places to eat but not all of them include white tablecloths. To really get to experience a different culture you need to try the street food.

I am sure that there are people who will disagree with me when I say that the U.S. does not really have street food. We tend to bring other cultures’ street food to us. (Boba tea, anyone?) I mean, I guess we do have street food to a degree. The hot dog carts in New York for example. And sure, the folks selling cut fruit at the corner sprinkled with Tajin (so good!) count also. We have plenty of regional specialties but, in my opinion, and I would be pleased to be proven wrong, the closest we come to true street food culture here in the U.S. would be the rise of the food trucks.

Some of the best things I have tasted came from a vendor selling their fare on the side of the road. From Kabobs to Al Pastor Tacos to Churros to Yada Pav there is a world of flavor waiting to tempt your taste buds.

Not all street food is on the street though. The hawker centers of Singapore are world-renowned and have been on my travel bucket list for some time. Remember that food scene in the movie Crazy Rich Asians? That’s my idea of heaven. And, since my calendar seems to be opening up, hopefully, we’ll get there soon. I’ve heard you can find almost anything you could desire in Singapore, though my first stop would be the grilled chicken satay as a warmup for later rounds. You can never go wrong with grilled meat on a stick.

Grilled Chicken Satay Recipe
Adapted from recipetineats
Yields 13 to 16 skewers Read more…

Amy’s Teriyaki Chicken Thighs

Hot Competition
For a lot of people, the start of College Football is a non-event. For others, like the majority of my family, it’s kind of a big deal. This year is especially wacky because, with my kids and my nephew off to college, we now have three more teams to cheer for.

If there was one silver lining for the heat we’ve had over the pasts few days it is this, there was a perfectly reasonable justification for camping out on the couch all Saturday to watch the full lineup of games. True, it wasn’t 155 degrees on Saturday but it was still hot. Hot enough that the chicken wings I had planned to make (because what else do you eat while watching football?) didn’t happen. I couldn’t bring myself to turn on the oven. I did, however, fire up the grill.

In lieu of wings, I made my recipe for Amy’s Teriyaki Chicken Thighs using boneless skinless thighs—which are the workhorse of my food repertoire. I always have chicken thighs in the fridge or freezer. I also always have teriyaki on hand because no matter what’s going on during the day you can get dinner on the table quick with a 30-minute dunk in teriyaki before throwing it on the grill.

Add some steamed rice and some broccoli and BOOM. Dinner is served. I also always make more than I need—so I can throw some on a salad for lunch or even make a sandwich.

There are plenty of good teriyaki marinades out there. But, lately, I have turned away from the super sweet ones for two reasons. First, the older I get the less sweet I want my food to be. Second, sugar in the marinade will burn on the grill if you’re not careful. That caramelized flavor has its time and place but I would rather taste the other flavors.

This is the teriyaki I have been using lately—though it does take a little bit more time to marinade than the open-and-pour options. To me, it tastes more like the grilled chicken you get in Hawaii. It’s sweet but not corn syrup sweet. Feel free to add a little chili garlic paste if you want some heat.

Amy’s Teriyaki Chicken Thighs Recipe
Adapted from Favorite Family Recipes
Yields 6 servings Read more…

Roasted Gochujang Chicken with Potatoes Revisited

Best Laid Plans
May is always a busy month of celebrations for me and my family. This May particularly is one that I have both looked forward to and dreaded because of its potential to be intense. This May there are four birthdays, two volleyball tournaments, Mother’s Day, a school musical, the end of a baseball era, five AP Exams, Senior Ball, and, to top it all off a high school Graduation. At a time when all hands on deck were required, I did not have time for Covid. Covid laughed and said, Hold my beer…

The bright side is that my husband and I are the only victims—which is a switch from when all three kids had it in January. The problem is that the inmates are now running the asylum. Two high school seniors and a sophomore are now in charge of everything in the house from groceries, to laundry, to taking care of the dog, to keeping up with dishes.

It’s been…interesting.

As you can imagine, meals are an issue since we’ve been sequestered in our bedroom. The good news is that they all can cook, and can cook well. I made sure of that. The bad news is that there are a lot of activities happening (see above) that take them away from the house and from our beck and call. (I mean continuing to live their lives? How rude!)

The situation has been somewhat eye-opening for them. The three kids now get a good picture of what their parents’ lives have been like for the past 18 years. This is why they’re happy to get out of the house whenever possible. Our issue is that we’re hungry…and we’re getting kind of tired of sandwiches (and possibly each other).

The current plan is to send up a flag or some flares and see if we can’t get some rescue tacos or an emergency roast chicken with potatoes. In the meantime, here is a repost of our Roasted Gochujang Chicken with Potatoes recipe from 2020.

Roasted Gochujang Chicken with Potatoes
Adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine

In case you haven’t noticed, Korea’s gift to the culinary world, gochujang, has taken over menus everywhere and I am totally okay with that. I have become addicted to this stuff and what it does to the humble chicken.
Read more…

Amy’s Quick and Easy Green Beans

How’ve You Bean?
I took a trip to the farmer’s market over the weekend hoping for a little inspiration. I did not find it. The calendar might tell us that spring has sprung but the produce markets have not received that memo. We are, in fact, in that annual period where the weather says peas, berries, and apricots—but the produce aisles still say potatoes and cabbage.

There are bright spots though. I have noticed that the strawberries have been really good lately. And, the asparagus and artichokes have been great But, it still doesn’t feel quite like spring.

My veggie garden has been started and the peas and beans are thriving, though they are nowhere close to bearing any vegetables. So, I must wait and perhaps visit the farmer’s market again this weekend to see if I can pick up some early peas…or perhaps just some fresh green beans to tide me over.

This recipe for Amy’s Quick and Easy Green Beans is my favorite way to eat beans beyond steaming them. Though the flavor leans towards the East, these go well with any grilled meats or even stand on their own.

Amy’s Quick and Easy Green Beans Recipe
Adapted from The New York Times Cooking
Yields 8 to 10 servings Read more…