Chinese Chicken Salad from My Book, Fire Wife

 

This is a family favorite and I rediscovered it the other day when I was searching for some good ways to use up my chicken leftovers. You will devour this recipe - I made it for my kids all the time when they were little and they devoured it too.  You can add any protein to it, or no protein.  I've copy pasted from my manuscript in Word, so hopefully it shows up a-ok.  Happy Sunday!

Chinese Chicken Salad

454 g. Box Fettuccine Noodles (approx. 4 cups dry pasta or 1lb. cooked)

2 Tbsp. Sesame Oil

1-2 Cups Cooked Chicken, cubed or shredded

2 Carrots, peeled and shredded

4 Green Onions, sliced

2 Red Peppers, chopped

2 Yellow Peppers, chopped

1 Cup Mushrooms, sliced

½ Cup Peanuts, chopped

¼ Cup Chow Mein noodles

¼ Cup Cilantro Leaves (optional)

Dressing

1 Large Garlic Clove, minced

4 Tbsp. Soya Sauce

⅟₈ Cup Olive Oil

2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

1 Tbsp. Hot Sauce (optional)

Bring a medium-sized pot of water to a boil and add 2 tbsp. of salt. Then add package of fettuccine noodles. Cook until al dente (about 8-10 minutes). Drain pasta in a colander. Put into medium-sized serving bowl and add sesame oil so pasta doesn’t stick.

Once pasta is cool, toss with chicken, vegetables, and peanuts.

In a separate bowl, mix together the dressing. Pour over noodle salad, toss, and top with  ¼ cup chow mien noodles and ¼ cup cilantro leaves (optional).

 

Japanese Herb Salsa

I got this recipe from chef, Samin Nosrat's book, Salt Fat Acid Heat.  What an incredible cookbook.  It's simple and chalk-full of delicious cooking tips and wisdom.  I bought a bunch of herbs this past week and have used them in just about every culinary concoction.  What I love about making vinaigrettes, or in this case a Japanese Herb Salsa, is that they are absolutely perfect over chicken.  I labored one year over Food and Wine's Life Changing Chicken, a recipe that will take you over two days to prepare - but it was delicious and worth it - and the Chile-Basil Vinaigrette is sublime.  I've found however that basting a pan fried or oven baked chicken with this vinaigrette will take your chicken to another level, especially if you like crispy skin.  I'll post both the Japanese Herb Salsa recipe and as well a link to Food and Wine's Life Changing Chicken.

Japanese Herb Salsa:  1/4 cup neutral oil (I used olive oil any how), 3 tbsp. rice wine vinegar (I substituted 2 white vinegar and 1 white wine vinegar), 2 tbsp. parsley leaves, 2 tbsp. cilantro leaves AND stems as that is where all the flavor is, 2 tbsp. finely chopped green onions, 1 tsp. grated ginger, 1 tbsp. soy sauce.  Mix it all up and use as a baste for chicken, over steak, salmon, tuna or pork.  Really delicious and of course super easy.

Life Changing Chicken Recipe:

Roast Chicken with Chile-Basil Vinaigrette, Charred Broccoli, and Potatoes Recipe | Food & Wine (foodandwine.com)

Green Goddess Dressing

 Oh this is pitch green perfect, loaded with fresh herbs, avocado and homemade aoili mayonnaise. You can use already prepared mayo or even plain Greek yoghurt if you like, but I don't have a recipe for a yoghurt variation.  Use as a dip or over salad with shrimp, chicken or eggs!  It's so good, it's so fresh, it's so green!  

Here's a picture of the homemade aioli!  

For the homemade Aioli:  You've got to be patient for this recipe.  You can practice presence too.  It is however, super easy!  All you need is a stand mixer (unless you are good to whisk for 1/2 an hour), 2 egg yolks and 3/4 cup olive oil.  You can use any oil you like, but for this recipe I'm using olive oil, hence it's called aioli.

Put two egg yolks into metal mixer bowl and mix on medium for a minute.  Then steadily and very slowly add a drop of olive oil to begin with.  I poured the olive oil into a measuring cup, then with a tablespoon, scooped some out and with the mixer on, dripped a little in at a time over a period I think of 25 minutes - so bring a book!  If you add too much at once your aioli won't thicken.  So give it a whirl. Whisk at medium speed and simply dip (your spoon into the oil) and drip (just a little at a time).  It's worth it and so delicious!

Green Goddess Dressing

1 tbsp. anchovy paste, 2 ripe medium avocados, halved and pitted, 1 garlic clove, sliced, 4 tsp. red wine vinegar, 2 tbsp. lemon juice, 2 tbsp. finely chopped parsley, 2 tbsp. finely chopped cilantro, 1 tbsp. finely chopped chives, 1 tbsp. finely chopped dill, 1 tsp. finely chopped tarragon, 1 tsp. salt, 1/4 cup homemade aioli or Hellman's mayo.

In a blender mix all of the above adding the liquid ingredients and aioli first so it blends well.  Once it's all blended, taste to see if you'd like to add more salt or lemon juice, say another 2 tbsp. As well, anchovies act as an umami, so if you want to add a little more of that too starting with a tsp.

Put into a container and pop into the refrigerator.  The flavors will develop over time, but it is good to serve right away too.  You can keep in the refrigerator for a few days.

Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette over Herbed and Arugula Burrata Salad with Moroccan Spiced Chicken

 Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette

1 cup oil, ½ cup apple cider vinegar, 1/3 cup preserved lemon paste, 1 tbsp. yellow mustard, 1-2 tbsp. honey, 1 tsp. pepper, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1tsp. salt. ¼ cup fresh herbs or 1 tbsp. dried herbs. Whisk together, then taste and adjust seasonings to suit. Add more honey if you like it sweeter.

Tonight I assembled delicious greens on a platter with Fingering Potatoes, Burrata and Moroccan Chicken with Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette drizzled over.  This is my favorite kind of meal!  P.S. Moroccan Spiced Chicken is in recipe link just after this one!

Moroccan Hot Dog Charcuterie

 

Preserved Lemon and Tomato Chutney

1 red onion chopped, 2-3 minced garlic, 2-3 tbsp. olive oil, 1 medium carton cherry tomatoes, 1 diced preserved lemon (remove seeds), 1 small can dice tomatoes, ¼ cup apple cider vinegar, ½ cup sweetener of your choice (sugar, Swerve, Splenda), pinch or more of chili flakes, 4 tbsp. chopped parsley,10 black pitted olives.

Sauté red onion and minced garlic until soft, then add the rest of the ingredients and simmer down until nice and pulpy, about 40-60 minutes on low heat. Perfecto on 

Harissa Onions

Slice up one onion and put into a pan with a little butter or olive oil.  Sauté until soft, then add a generous tbsp. or 2 of Harissa Paste and stir.  If you are making hot dogs, add wieners to the pan with onions and harissa to warm through. Put onions aside into a serving bowl.  

Condiment suggestions for a succulent mess of hot dog happiness:  Hummus, harissa mayo, cheese of course, favorite wiener or sausage, pickles, tomatoes, fluffy bun, or in this case a couple of low carb pieces of bread, harissa onions, preserved lemon tomato chutney. 

As you can see from the picture, I made a charcuterie with my hot dogs. A nice easy way to serve an easy, cheap, fun lunch with a Moroccan twist.  Below there is a link for Global Hot Dog Ideas!

For some more global hot dog ideas, go to:  Ultimate Hot Dog Party | Bon Appétit (bonappetit.com)

 

 

 

Preserved Lemon Paste

Wow, this is so good and a nice addition to zip up your soups, stews, pastas, or as I did today, used it to make a nice vinaigrette.  You can also brush over meats before cooking, put into rice, over potatoes, with ricotta on a crostini, you name it!

Quarter preserved lemons and take out the seeds.  Get out your blender and toss the whole lemon into it.  Then add olive oil (ratio will be ½ cup olive oil to 1 cup of chopped preserved lemons), pinch of paprika and blend until nice and smooth. Add any additional seasonings, herbs or spices you might like.  Keep in a jar in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Roasted Chicken Thighs with Moroccan Spices, Olive Oil, Onions & Potatoes

 

Moroccan Spice: 

2 tbsp. brown sugar, 4 tsp. paprika (I love smoked paprika), 4 tsp. cumin, 2 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. cloves, 1 tsp. ginger, 1 tsp. salt, 2 tsp. pepper, ½ tsp. cayenne.  Mix it all up and store.  When you want to use take the amount you need out for your chicken, or fish, or vegetables and mix with a little olive oil to brush over food.

Chicken thighs Rubbed with Moroccan Spice and Olive Oil

1 onion sliced, 1 preserved lemon sliced, 6-8 chicken thighs, 4 potatoes, each cut in half, ¼ cup olive oil, 4 tbsp. Moroccan Spice, Favorite Spices, I used 1 tbsp. rosemary for potatoes, ¼ cup cilantro, 2 tbsp. dried ginger.

Get out a nice baking sheet and spray with Pam.  Mix your Moroccan dry spice with some olive oil to a consistency you like. . Lay out the chicken on sheet and brush with the Moroccan Spice Paste you just made. Then cut up potato and onion and scatter around the chicken. 

Take slices of preserved lemon and squeeze over potatoes and chicken and then arrange around the chicken and potatoes.

Sprinkle Rosemary over potatoes and then scatter cilantro all over potatoes and chicken

Pop into a 375-degree oven, sit down with a glass of wine and take in the heavenly aroma. This chicken dish is a flavor bomb of succulent deliciousness!