Pad Khing Gai (Thai Ginger Chicken Stir-Fry)

This recipe is a definite staple in Thai restaurants, and very easy to make.  Sometimes called ginger chicken, or chicken with baby ginger, this Chinese-influenced recipe is very mild (if you omit the chile peppers, which recommend) and gives you tons of sweetness and rich flavor with just a whisper of Thai flavors.  This dish is not too different from cashew chicken in terms of the end result, but it's a heck of a lot easier to get there.  If you can find it, look for jars of preserved sliced baby ginger in brine, which has a much more subtle ginger flavor that won't take your breath away quite as much.

So now, to help you understand how to order this in a restaurant if you find yourself in one of the few parts of Thailand where someone nearby doesn't speak English, let's revisit:

Culturally Insensitive Language Training

In my post for pad prik khing gai, I gave a few Thai translations of interest, which are still valid.  Here they are again.

"Pad" - stir-fried.  Not an especially helpful word.

"Gai" - chicken.  Pretty straightforward.

"Khing" - ginger.  Wait, galangal.  Actually, I believe it means "rhizome", which covers both.  But in this context, unlike in pad prik khing, it means ginger.

So, this dish has a name eerily similar to pad prik khing, with the distinction being the inclusion of the word "chile".  And man, what a huge difference you get in the dish when you add that one little word.

Lemon and Eggplant Risotto

Another hit from Yotam Ottolenghi's book Plenty, this risotto dish makes me realize how much variety there is to cooking eggplant.  And this was a first for me - cooking the eggplant two ways in same the dish.  The resulting flavor was a bit of smokiness and a bit of sweetness between the eggplant cooking styles, balanced by the tang of lemon and the peppery snap of fresh basil.  Add in the richness of the creamy risotto, butter, Parmesan cheese, and about 4 cups of reduced stock, and it's hard to find something wrong with this one.  At least, so long as you're the diner, not the chef.  That's another story, and I suggest keeping extra wine on hand.

Pay no attention to the fact that we took a perfectly good vegetarian entree and served it with a chicken leg - that was an emergency plan that we didn't end up needing, as this dish stood up incredibly well on its own.  Definitely worth making, although you will have a few steps and need to be careful on quite a number of things to not screw up the finished product.

Lemon and Eggplant Risotto
by Yotam Ottolenghi, from Plenty

• 2 medium eggplants
• 1/3 cup extra light olive oil
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• coarse sea salt
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 7 oz risotto rice (carnaroli or arborio)
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 3.25 - 3.5 cups hot vegetable stock
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
• 1.5 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan (about 2 oz), or other mature, hard cheese
• black pepper
• 1/2 cup torn basil leaves

Start by prepping the eggplants - char the heck out of one of them over an open flame, turning just before you burn the house down.  Remove from the heat, cut down the center lengthwise, and scrape out the fleshy goodness inside, discarding the skin.  Coarsely chop this flesh and set aside.  If you were to basically mix in a few spices at this point, as if you were making hummus but ran out of chickpeas and only had a delicious eggplant, you'd have baba ghanoush, FYI.  But that's another recipe, for another time.

Dice the remaining eggplant into 1/2" pieces.  Heat up a heavy (I recommend cast iron) pan, and once hot add the 1/3 cup of light olive oil - light so that it has a higher smoke point and won't scorch during this operation.  Pan-fry the diced raw eggplant in 2 batches, turning a few times to get some good browning going.  Remove to a colander and sprinkle with salt.

In a large risotto-sized pot or pan, heat up the 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil over medium heat, then saute the onion for a few minutes until translucent.  If it's browning, you're getting too carried away.  Add the garlic and continue to cook for 2-3 more minutes.  Then increase heat to high and add the rice, stirring to toss with oil, for 2-3 more minutes.  Add the wine to deglaze, and cook over high flame for yet another 2-3 minutes until nearly evaporated.  Now the fun begins.

Lower the heat to medium, and add a ladle (about 1/2 - 3/4 cup) of the hot vegetable broth to the rice mixture.  Now stir, you fool - stir for all you're worth.  Never stop stirring.  Stir even until there's almost no broth, and add some more, a ladle at a time.  And then when you think you're done stirring, stir some more.  Because this dish only achieves creamy perfection when you dislodge all of the starchy, gooey deliciousness that is the outer layer of a grain of cooked rice, and knock it into the resulting "sauce" that forms from this disembodied starch.  Keep tasting as you stir, and when the rice is cooked through, stop adding broth.  You may need more than 3.25 cups, you may need less.  This is mostly a factor of how old your rice is, and what temperature you're cooking at.

Coat the rice in oil to get heat to all of the grains evenly

Stir constantly to knock surface starch into the mixture and promote creaminess.  Same ideas as with avgolemono soup.  This is almost done, but only tasting it will tell you if it's finished or not.

To finish the dish, remove the pot from the heat, and stir in the chopped eggplant flesh, lemon zest, lemon juice, and most of the cheese.  I recommend zesting the lemon right into the pot, or else the essential oils from the skin will go flying everywhere but into your food, and it just won't be as good.  Crack in 3/4 tsp salt (if using homemade stock, or maybe skip if using store-bought) and some fresh black pepper to taste.  Sprinkle with the diced eggplant, remaining Parmesan, and the torn basil, and grate some additional lemon zest on if you have any remaining.

Shakshuka (North African Eggs Poached in Peppers and Tomatoes)

Shakshuka apparently means "mixture" in Arabic slang, and that's exactly what you get with this delicious and unique vegetarian dish.  Served for lunch more than it is for breakfast, this poached egg dish boasts an incredible amount of healthy flavor and a pleasing array of silky textures achieved by slowly cooking the eggs in a bed of unbelievable flavors.  It's a common dish in Morocco and Tunisia among other places.  Think of it as a much more delicious, much more Middle Eastern version of huevos rancheros, if you've ever had that.

We found this worldly delight at a vegetarian cooking class based on Yotam Ottolenghi's book Plenty.  Yotam was recently on an episode of Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown, so he's a credible source now that he's been on TV, for as John Cleese once said at a talk of his I attended, "I don't have to be an expert, but I am a celebrity".  If you have the patience in the morning to simmer this dish while you wait for epic mealtime, I highly recommend you give this a shot.  He's a very passionate chef with a great approach to his vegetarian dishes, and I definitely encourage you to not only try this, but have a look at his book.


Shakshuka
from Plenty, by Yotam Ottolenghi

• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 3/4 cup light olive oil
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 2 red bell peppers, cut into 3/4" strips
• 2 yellow bell peppers, cut into 3/4" strips
• 4 tsp raw sugar
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 thyme sprigs
• 2 tbsp parsley
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
• 6 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1/2 tsp saffron threads
• pinch cayenne pepper
• salt and black pepper
• 8 eggs

In a large heavy pan, toast the cumin seeds on high heat for 2 minutes.  Add the oil and the onions, and saute for 5 minutes.  Add the peppers, sugar, and herbs, and continue cooking on high heat for 5-10 minutes further.

Add the tomatoes, saffron, cayenne, and some salt an pepper.  Reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Make sure not to overcook; add water as necessary to maintain a thick sauce consistency with minimal evaporation.  This should be incredibly potent and thick at the end of this process.

If placing into individual serving pans, divide mixture into 4 deep frying pans.  Remove the bay leaves, then make small wells in the mixture.  Crack the eggs into a small dish one at a time, and pour the eggs gently into the wells in the mixture in 8 spots.  Sprinkle with salt and cover the pan(s) with lids.  Cook on very low heat for 10-12 minutes, until the eggs are just set.  Don't cook this too fast, or the eggs will be tough.

Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve.

Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemons and Olives

The only time in my life that I tried preserved lemons was in an iced fermented lemon drink at a Vietnamese restaurant, and it was one of the worst experiences of my life.  So when I saw this, I thought: let's spend a month making these and eat them again!  Well, when you go to the culture that invented the stuff, it turns out they are used in much more pleasant ways, such as this delicious chicken tagine.

Tagines, known by their namesake ceramic or cast iron conic cooking devices famous in Moroccan culture, are nothing more than a stew of protein and vegetables or fruit, often featuring goat, lamb, or kid, but in some cases using chicken, or even chickpeas.  This one features preserved lemon, which is an interesting way of keeping lemons for long periods that involves packing them in salt.  The flavor is extra tart, slightly sour from the fermentation, and only good in small doses.  But man, do they add an interesting flavor to complex sauces like what is created in this dish.

We modified the recipe ordering slightly to be more practical, and I may go back and revise this to use chicken quarters instead of a whole chicken, which we think would be faster and better.  Regardless, this dish was well worth the effort, and had so much going on that we were completely floored by how unique it was.  Highly recommended if you have some time to make preserved lemons on your own, which are actually very easy.

Preserved lemons are incredible in sauces, and not to be eaten out of the jar as a condiment

Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemons and Olives

Modified from Morocco, by Jeff Koehler

• 3-4 cups cooked white long-grain rice
• 1 cup plain greek yogurt
• 3 tbsp milk
• Salt
• 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint or 1 tsp dried
• 4.25 lb chicken
• 1 preserved lemon
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 3 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp turmeric
• Generous pinch saffron threads, dry-toasted and ground
• Salt and freshly ground white pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 medium red onions, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp butter or smen
• 1 cup green olives, pitted

Scrape the pulp out and preserve the peel for making garnishelater

Quarter the preserved lemon lengthwise, rinse, and remove the seeds.  Without breaking the ppel, scrape away the pulp with a spoon, reserving the peel.  Finely chop the pulp.  In a small mixing bowl, add the lemon pulp and any juices, garlic, parsley, cilantro, ginger, turmeric, saffron, salt and white pepper, olive oil, lemon juice, and 2 tbsp water.  Blend well.

Clip off the chicken wing tips and the tail, and trim any excess fat.  Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels.  In a large pot that will comfortably hold the chicken, create a bed of the red onions.  Set the chicken breast-side up on top of the onions and rub with the saffron mixture, pushing some of the mix under the skin without tearing it.  Add butter to the onions and pour 1 cup of water down the sides of the pot, avoiding the chicken.  Cover and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.

Turn the chicken breast-side down, cover, and reduce heat to low, and cook for another 20 minutes.  Then add 1 more cup water, loosely cover, and simmer until chicken is very tender, about 50 minutes.  Stir in water as necessary to keep sauce from drying.

While chicken cooks, preheat oven to 350 F.  Prepare the yogurt sauce by whisking together yogurt, milk, a pinch of salt, and the mint in a small bowl.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.  Trim preserved lemon peel segments into cool shapes.

After chicken is tender, remove to a plate for a few minutes, pouring juices back into pot / tagine.  Rub chicken with remaining ½ tbsp. butter, place on a baking sheet, and bake in oven for 10 minutes, until crispy.  At same time, heat pot to high, add olives, and cook sauce uncovered until thickened slightly.

Transfer chicken to serving dish and lay cut lemon peel pieces on breast.  Spoon sauce and olives around chicken.  Serve with rice in one bowl and yogurt sauce in another on the side.