By Hannah Cheves.
This week D Moms is cooking with a little Asian flair. I don’t know about you, but I love Chinese and Thai food. I would love to cook it more often, but I find it a little intimidating. Therefore, this week we are making some simple teriyaki chicken and grilled pineapple for dinner with a couscous “fried rice.” Then, for lunch, use that chicken to mix with some spaghetti noodles and sauces for a faux-thai noodle dish.
Teriyaki Pineapple Chicken
-Five chicken breast (boneless, skinless, free range)
-2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
-1/2 cup of teriyaki marinade/sauce (any grocery store will carry a pre-made sauce)
-1 ½ cups of chopped pineapple
-1 tbsp minced garlic
-Salt and pepper to taste
-Olive oil for pan
Mix together in a bowl the teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Turn on the heat for your oiled skillet, adding in the minced garlic. Lay your thawed chicken onto the medium heat skillet, and pour over the sauce mixture. (My juicy chicken trick: Add water to your chicken in the skillet until it soaks up. If your chicken is still pink after soaking up, add in more until it is finished cooking.) Next, once cooked, remove the meat and throw in the pineapple to the same skillet your chicken just cooked in. You can add a little bit of soy sauce if you wish, but it is not necessary. It will get sear marks quickly, so do not leave. Add this to your plate of chicken, laying it beautifully on top for an incredible meal display. This one went over very well at my household.
“Fried” Couscous
-One box of uncooked wheat couscous
– 1 ¼ cups of water
-1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar
-2 tbsp olive oil
-1 tbsp honey
-1 tbsp soy sauce
-1 tbsp teriyaki sauce
-1 tbsp minced garlic
-1 bag pre-shredded coleslaw mix
-1/3 cup shredded carrots
-1/3 cup sliced almonds
Boil 1 ¼ cups of water, and pour in 1 cup of couscous. Cook accordingly. In the mean time, mix the rice vinegar, olive oil, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, minced garlic, and honey separately. In a large bowl mix together the veggies: coleslaw mix, shredded carrots, and your almond slices. Mix in your cooled, fluffed couscous to the veggie bowl. Once combined, add the sauce mix as if a salad dressing. Slowly pour over and mix evenly. This can be served hot or cold (also a lunch option if you do not want to make the faux-thai noodles).
(This recipe was adapted from the blog Made in Melissa’s Kitchen.)
Now that dinner is served (and darn delicious), lunch can be made in just minutes added on to the clock.
Faux-Thai Noodles: Two servings
-4 oz. wheat spaghetti noodles
-2 left over teriyaki chicken breast
-1/2 cup steamed broccoli
-2 tbsp teriyaki sauce
-2 tbsp soy sauce
-1/4 cup shredded carrots
First, boil water and throw in your spaghetti noodles. Next, bring a skillet (if you have a wok, now is the time to whip it out) to medium heat with oil in the bottom. Dice up your left over chicken breasts and throw in, adding in also your broccoli and carrots. Cook this slowly. Once your noodles are finished, add into the chicken mixture. Mix in your sauce on top, and give it all a toss. The noodle dish should just have a slight sear to it. Pour out into your child’s container for lunch and let chill in the refrigerator. That’s it, and it is oh so yummy! Send a fortune cookie for fun with the meal, and it’s the perfect Chinese-inspired lunch.
So, this week try new things at your home for mealtime. I loved Chinese food growing up, but cannot recall hardly ever making it at home. It’s all about the flavors you choose. Soy and teriyaki are just the safe ones to begin with. Once you feel confident in these, start searching for more recipes and flavors to experiment with. All I have left to say now is, “Have a happy Asian-flare cooking week, moms. Good luck!”
Hannah Cheves is a D Moms intern.
