Food Friday: A Super Easy, Super Tasty Dinner

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1. Gwyneth. Regular readers now surely know how much I love Gwyneth Paltrow’s cookbook (I’ve mentioned it on this blog more than once, the first time being here: click), so I won’t go on and on and on about my adoration. But really, it is really good! Sometime mid-summer I made Gwyneth’s “Best Stir-Fried Chicken” and it was a huger-than-huge hit with my entire little family— everyone cleaned their plates (and Owen actually, literally, licked his). I’ve been making it regularly ever since.

2. Rice Steamer. What even the most regular-of-readers don’t know (because I haven’t posted about it yet) is that for Mother’s Day this year I asked for, and got, my currently-most-prized-possession in the kitchen: a really good rice steamer. I had been wanting a rice steamer for a long while, so when the time came (I can always count on Mother’s Day to get a really great new kitchen gadget! ha!), I made sure I did my research to find a good one. A friend whose advice in these arenas I trust suggested this one, and I have not been disappointed: the Oyama CFS-B18U All Stainless Rice Cooker! A rice steaming dream come true!

3. Makoto. Another thing I’ve never posted about is my love of Makoto Ginger Dressing. This salad dressing is really good for a store-bought dressing (in my grocery store I find it refrigerated in the produce section). I love the Makota Ginger Dressing so much that when I haven’t had it in a few weeks I start craving it. No kidding!

THE DINNER. Pull these three things together and BAM! A super easy, super tasty dinner! (This dinner has quickly become a regular in our rotation – not an easy feat to accomplish! Quick enough to make on a weeknight!)

• Chicken: see recipe below
• Rice: we J-Ms prefer plain steamed brown rice, but go for white if you prefer (or get fancy, like Gwyneth; she suggests her cookbook’s fried rice with kale recipe to go with the chicken), and if you don’t have a rice steamer no problem— just cook up some rice however you like to cook it
• Salad: I like to toss some greens and some fresh Mung bean sprouts with the Makoto dressing as an incredibly fast/easy combo… but really anything tossed with the Makoto dressing is awesome (if you can’t find Makoto then make some ginger dressing of your own, or find some other good brand of Asian dressing)
• Veggie: not necessary to have an extra veggie when we’ve got the salad already, but we can never seem to get enough veggies around here and Meera is particularly fond of sugar snap peas these days… I just quickly steam them (or we eat them raw)

Ta Da! Try this, and then tell me how much you and yours love it!

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Best Stir-Fried Chicken, recipe directly from Gwyneth’s cookbook

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into small cubes
2 tbsp cornstarch
Coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup peeled and minced garlic
1/4 cup peeled and minced ginger
1/2 cup minced green scallions (white & green parts)
Pinch red chili flakes (optional)
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

Toss the chicken with cornstarch, a large pinch of salt and quite a bit of pepper. Heat oil in large, non-stick wok over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, ginger, scallions and chile flakes (if using) and cook, stirring, for one minute. Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, for five minutes. Add the vinegar, sugar, and five or six grinds of black pepper. Boil on high for three minutes, or until the sugar has caramelized and the whole mixture is dark brown and sticky and lovely. Add the soy sauce, and cook for another 30 seconds. Serve immediately, sprinkled with cilantro.