Category Archives: sauce

chicken tikka masala

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tika masala

I was not a fan of Indian food when I first tried it. My college room mate and I ordered from a campus Indian restaurant one summer and I probably ate about three bites before I gave up. I have no idea what I ate that night (my guess: rice?), but many years later BF took me to Tandoori Times Too and introduced me to chicken tikka masala, and naan, and fluffy basmati rice, and how great Indian food really can be.

For those of you who haven’t had it, this dish starts with chicken that has been marinated in a yogurt mixture, which is then cooked, chopped, and added to a tomato sauce. But not just any tomato sauce. This sauce is creamy, spicy, and features the infamous Garam Masala. The garam masala is so integral to this dish that the average grocery store spice was not enough for me. I refused to make my tikka masala with anything less than authentic Indian garam masala. Lucky for me, my good friend Pooja had some from her home in India that she was willing to share with me. Ain’t she a doll? 😉

Normally the sauce is more brown than red, Pooja said that’s because I need to cook the onions longer next time. They should be brown and caramelized instead of translucent. (Oops – still not bad for my first try!) So make sure you brown your veggies very well so that you have lots of flavorful brown bits to scrape up from the bottom of your pan for both color and flavor. I know this tikka masala isn’t the most photogenic thing I’ve ever made- but I promise your belly won’t be disappointed.

Chicken Tikka Masala – Adapted from Pioneer Woman 

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  • 3 whole (to 4) Chicken Breasts
  • Kosher Salt
  • Ground Coriander
  • Ground Cumin
  • ½ C plain yogurt
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 piece (2 inches) fresh ginger, peeled & minced
  • Garam Masala
  • 1 can (28 Ounce) Diced Tomatoes
  • 1 Tbsp sugar
  • 1 – 1 ½ C heavy cream
  • 2 cups Basmati Rice, cooked to package directions

OPTIONAL:

  • Chili Peppers
  • Turmeric
  1. Place chicken breasts on a plastic cutting board or in a bowl. Season chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper. Sprinkle lightly with coriander and cumin. Add yogurt and toss to coat.
  2. Broil chicken 10-12 inches below a broiler for 5-7 minutes per side until it is slightly blackened. Set aside until cool enough to handle.
  3. Melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat, add diced onion and saute until browned. Once the onions are browned, add the garlic, ginger, and 1 tablespoon of salt.
  4. Once combined, add 2 1/2- 3 tablespoons Garam Masala. Yes, I know it seems like a lot. Just do it. If you want spice, throw in a diced chili pepper.
  5. Add tomatoes (juice and all) and continue cooking and stirring, scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar and allow the sauce to simmer about 5 minutes. (I tented mine with foil to avoid a tomato-y mess)
  6. While the sauce is simmering, cook your basmati rice according to package directions. You can add turmeric or saffron if you wish.
  7. After the Tikka Masala sauce has had a chance to simmer for a little bit, add in the 1 – 1 ½ cups of heavy cream. If desired, you can now puree the sauce in a food processor, blender, or with an immersion blender to make it smooth. Chop your chicken breast into desired size and stir into the sauce. Let simmer a few minutes longer.
  8. When ready, serve with naan (I get mine frozen at Trader Joes), and/or basmati rice.

*TIPS

*Don’t be afraid to spice liberally, depending on your preference.

*My oven was being a big, fat jerk, so my chicken took longer to cook. Just use your eyes and your nose to know when it is done. Don’t forget to flip it half-way through!

*If you wanted, you could use leftover cooked chicken breast in place of the freshly-broiled chicken breast. No worries.

*I get my naan at Trader Joes in the freezer section, but many grocery stores have it located near the pita bread.

*Make sure to brown your onions!!!

How to: Clarify Butter

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butter

I don’t really do seafood, so I’m not even going to pretend like I ate these. In fact, since I don’t enjoy seafood, this was the first time in a long time BF had the joy of eating crab.The one thing he needed from me for this feast? Butter. Clarified butter, to be exact. Continue reading →

simple red sauce

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red sauce main
This isn’t about the meatballs, or the pasta, or the cheese. This, my friends, is about the sauce. You know all those complicated recipes for red sauce that you’ve read over the years? With secret blends of secret spices, with food mills, sugar, someone’s grandmother’s “secret ingredient”? Simmer for 40 hours, stirring constantly, standing on one leg while humming an authentic Italian tune? Smoke and mirrors, my friends, smoke and mirrors. Continue reading →

Teriyaki Chicken with Momofuku’s Ginger-Scallion Noodles

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teriyaki chicken noodles

“Teriyaki” hails from Japan and is just a general term that applies to pretty much any type of sweetened soy sauce mixture. The sweetener can be anything from honey, to pineapple juice, to plain old sugar (which is what this recipe uses). Feel free to experiment and find what you like.

While teriyaki is extremely popular in the US, I’m not sure how “authentic” it is to asian cuisine. Nevertheless, it shows up on menus nationwide for us to enjoy at asian and non-asian restaurants alike (even ‘Jack in the Box’ has a teriyaki bowl). Once you see how simple it is to make, you’ll understand why.

I made Momofuku’s ginger-scallion noodles with quick-pickled cucumbers to accompany our chicken tonight, which I was fortunate enough to experience in person on my NYC trip last year at Momofuku Noodle Bar. I received the cookbook from mom this past Christmas and had yet to actually make anything from it.

Despite sounding fancy, the sauce comes together rather quickly, and ends up looking like a pile of wet scallions. The noodles are very ginger-y, so if you’re not big on ginger, you may want to scale it back a bit. You could also use Megkat’s noodle recipe (at the end of this post), which is super tasty as well.

Teriyaki Chicken – Adapted from Megkat

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  • 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
  • 1 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 Tbsp water
  • 1/3 C soy sauce
  • 1/3 C sugar (I’m sure you could substitute honey, agave nectar, or pineapple juice to taste)
  • ¼  C cider vinegar
  • ½  tsp garlic powder
  • ½  tsp powdered ginger (There was plenty of ginger in the noodles, so I left it out of the sauce this time)
  • ¼ tsp ground pepper (couple grinds)
  • ¼ – ½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
  1. Preheat oven to 425F and line a 9×13 baking pan with aluminum foil (this will make clean up much easier). Place chicken strips in pan.
  2. Mix water and cornstarch into slurry and add to saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in remaining ingredients and simmer until thickened, whisking to avoid burning.
  3. Once sauce is thick and syrup-y, pour over chicken and toss to coat. Bake in preheated oven 20-25 minutes, stirring about halfway through.

*Alternatively, I think it might taste even better if you saute the chicken in a pan and pour the thickened sauce over it, toss and serve, since baking the chicken results in a different texture than sauteeing does. Just be sure not to over-crowd the pan, saute in batches if you have to.

Ginger-Scallion Noodles –From Momofuku Cookbook

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  • 6 oz cooked noodles (ramen, yakisoba, or in a pinch- thin spaghetti)
  • 6 Tbs ginger scallion sauce (recipe follows)
     

ginger-scallion noodles with quick-pickled cucumbers

Ginger Scallion Sauce –Makes about 3 cups

  • 2 1/2 C thinly sliced scallions, greens and whites (1 to 2 bunches)
  • 1/2 C finely minced peeled fresh ginger
  • 1/4 C grapeseed or other neutral oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp usukuchi (light soy sauce)
  • 3/4 tsp sherry vinegar
  • 3/4 tsp kosher salt, or more to taste

Mix together. Good from the time its made for 2 days. (It will look like a bowl of wet scallions)

Quick-Pickled Cucumbers

  • 1 large seedless (“English”) cucumber
  • 1 Tbsp Sugar
  • 1 tsp salt

Slice cucumber thinly (I used my mandolin), toss with sugar/salt and let sit for 20 minutes. Serve with ginger-scallion noodles

Garlic Noodles – Adapted from Megkat

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1 lb cooked noodles
4 TBS butter
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 C green onions, chopped (more for garnish, if desired)
2 1/2 tsp fish sauce (her’s calls for Tbsp, but that seems a bit much)
2 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs brown sugar

1. Melt 2 Tbs butter in large skillet. In small bowl, mix fish sauce, soy sauce, and brown sugar.

2. Add garlic and green onions, saute until fragrant. Add soy sauce mixture to pan, along with 2 more Tbs butter, melt while stirring. Once sugar is dissolved and butter is melted, toss with pasta & serve.

Penne alla Vodka

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penne vodka

I think the thing that appeals to me most about this recipe is that I can cook it in the oven instead of having to keep a watchful eye over the stove. If you’ve ever tried to make a home-made tomato sauce, you’re probably familiar with simmer, stir, simmer, stir, simmer, simmer, stir, stir. Not this one! You simply start it on the stove top and then transfer it to a nice, hot oven for 1 ½ hours while you get to sit back and relax (or unload the dishes, maybe play a little Wii, whatever floats your boat). After that, you puree it with an immersion blender and stir in some cream- Done!

I  like to stir in some shredded chicken, either leftovers from roasted chicken breast, or from a store-bought rotisserie chicken (cheater, cheater- I know). That way it adds some protein, and relieves some of the guilt that I feel about eating a creamy pasta sauce.

The sauce is also really good without any cream added (although it’s no longer a traditional vodka sauce if you do that), but I would definitely tone down the spice if you’re not cutting it with any cream. I also made some little baguettes with dinner, but forgot to take pictures of them, so that recipe will have to wait for another day…

Penne alla Vodka (+ Chicken) – Adapted from Barefoot Contessa

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Special Equipment – Immersion blender or food processor

  • 1-2 Tbsp olive oil (enough to saute an onion with)
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, diced
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes* (see notes)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 cup vodka
  • 2 (28-ounce) cans peeled plum tomatoes
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 3/4 pound penne pasta
  • 4 tablespoons fresh oregano (optional)
  • Up to 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 c grated Parmesan Cheese, plus extra for topping your pasta
  • 1 to 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (optional)

1. Heat oil over medium/med-high heat in a large oven-safe pot, swirl around to cover the bottom of your pan. Add onion and sauté until translucent, but not brown (about 5 minutes) . Add garlic and cook stirring until fragrant (about a minute).

2. Add red pepper flakes and dried oregano, cook while stirring for another minute. Add the vodka and cook until it is reduced by half.

3. While the vodka is cooking (or before you start at all), drain your tomatoes. Once the vodka is reduced by half, add tomatoes to the pan. Using a spoon, smash/break them up so they are no longer whole. (Be careful- they squirt!) Add 2 tsp salt and a few grinds of black pepper, then cover and put the pan in the oven for 1 ½ hours.

4. When there is about 30 minutes left, bring salted water to a boil; cook & drain your pasta.

5. After your 1 ½ hours has passed, carefully remove the pan from the oven (remember that it’s hot you will need oven mits!) and let sit for about 15 minutes to cool. It might look like it has dried out, but don’t worry! Once you puree the sauce it’ll look normal 🙂

6. Puree the sauce either with an immersion blender or very carefully in a blender or food processor (in batches). *see tips below

7. Reheat the sauce over low. Once warm, add enough cream to make the sauce “creamy” (I am usually skimpy with the cream, for my waist’s sake, adding just enough to bring it to a pretty pink color) and fresh oregano. This is where I would also stir in warmed, shredded chicken. Let cook for a couple minutes, then stir in ½ cup of grated parmesan cheese. Taste & adjust seasoning as necessary.

Tips

*To keep this dish vegetarian-friendly – just leave the chicken out!

*The ½ tsp of red pepper flakes doesn’t seem like much, but it really does spice up the sauce quite a bit, so if you aren’t a fan of spicy food you may want to put in less or just omit it altogether. 

*While an immersion blender is easiest, (because you can do it right in the pot), you may also use a regular blender or food processor. I don’t recommend using a blender, since the steam/heat can mess with the vacuum it creates, but if it’s all you’ve got then go for it. Just be careful! After pureeing, return the sauce to the pan and continue to the next step.

*If you want a chunkier sauce, just puree half of the sauce and stir it into the rest of the sauce.

*If you know you’re going to end up with a ton of extra sauce, before you add the cream, pour some into a container and put it in the fridge. Once cool, transfer to a labeled freezer-safe plastic bag and throw it in the freezer. You can just reheat it when you’re ready! Remember to adjust remaining ingredients as necessary.

*If the sauce tastes a little flat, try adding a couple teaspoons of balsamic vinegar or sugar.

*If you don’t have any fresh oregano (which I never do, unless I plan ahead of time to make this), you can either substitute 3-4 tsp of dried oregano for the 4 Tbsp fresh, or just skip it altogether.

*If you’re preparing this in advance, stop just after pureeing (before adding the cream) and refrigerate. When you’re ready to serve, reheat over low/medium-low (with chicken, if using) in a covered pot. Once warm, add the cream and cheese.