Monthly Archives: June 2024

Thai Stir-Fried Chicken and Asparagus

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This weeknight-easy chicken and asparagus stir-fry takes inspiration from pad prik khing, a Thai classic in which long beans and protein are cooked with red curry paste. Milk Street tested a variety of Thai red, green and yellow curry pastes—all work deliciously, though it is recommended you taste a small amount before deciding exactly how much to use, as they vary in spiciness. We used a full 3 tablespoons and didn’t feel it was overly spicy at all.

To round out the paste’s bold, zingy notes, combine it with fish sauce and sugar. Toss the chicken with a seasoning paste before and after browning to develop flavor-building caramelization while creating delicious layers of complexity and intensity. Serve with steamed jasmine rice. Even with the rice, the servings better equate to 3 plates, unless you have some light eaters…

Mistakenly, we had purchased boneless chicken thighs instead of breasts. The thighs offer more flavor and are forgiving as opposed to the breasts which can dry out if overcooked. Either choice is fine though because the cooking time is minimal. As an extra treat, I topped mine with a sprinkling of Trader Joe’s Thai cashews.

Thai Stir-Fried Chicken and Asparagus

  • Servings: 3-4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 2 to 3 Tbsp. Thai green OR red OR yellow curry paste (see headnote)
  • 2 Tbsp. fish sauce
  • 1 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
  • 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced crosswise about ¼ inch thick
  • 3 Tbsp. neutral oil, divided
  • 8 oz. asparagus OR green beans, trimmed and cut on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 medium red onion, halved and cut into ½-inch wedges, layers separated
  • Kosher salt and ground black pepper

Directions

  1. In a medium bowl, stir together the curry paste, fish sauce and sugar. In another medium bowl, combine 1 tablespoon of the curry paste mixture with the chicken, then toss until coated; let stand for about 10 minutes.
  2. In a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high, heat 2 tablespoons oil until barely smoking. Add the chicken in an even layer and cook, without stirring, until well browned on the bottom, about 2 minutes; the chicken will not be fully cooked. Transfer to the bowl with the remaining curry paste mixture; set aside.
  3. In the same skillet over high, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil until shimmering. Add the asparagus and onion; cook, without stirring, until browned on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken-curry paste mixture; cook, stirring, until the sauce has thickened slightly and the vegetables are tender-crisp, about 1 minute. Off heat, taste and season with salt and pepper.
  4. Optional garnish: Chopped fresh cilantro OR basil OR lime wedges OR a combination

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Recipe for Milk Street by Dimitri Demopolous

Coconut-Miso Salmon Curry

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Defined by its deep miso flavor, this light, delicate weeknight curry comes together in less than 30 minutes. A fact that most home cooks appreciate during the week, who doesn’t love that! Miso is typically whisked into soups toward the end of the recipe, but sweating it directly in the pot with ginger, garlic and a little oil early on helps the paste caramelize, intensifying its earthy sweetness.

Adding coconut milk creates a rich broth that works with a wide range of seafood. Salmon is used here, but flaky white fish, shrimp or scallops would all benefit from this quick poaching method. A squeeze of lime and a flurry of fresh herbs keep this curry bright and citrusy. For a hit of heat, garnish with sliced fresh jalapeño or serrano chile peppers.

Coconut-Miso Salmon Curry

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp. safflower or canola oil
  • 1 medium red onion, halved and sliced ½-inch thick (about 2 cups)
  • 1 1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced (about 2 Tbsp.)
  • 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • ¼ cup white miso
  • ½ cup unsweetened, full-fat canned coconut milk
  • 1 1½-lb. salmon fillet, cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 5 oz. baby spinach (about 5 packed cups)
  • 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
  • Steamed rice, such as jasmine or basmati, for serving
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

  1. In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium. Add onion, ginger and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add miso and cook, stirring frequently, until miso is lightly caramelized, about 2 minutes.
  2. Add coconut milk and 3 cups water and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until liquid is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes.
  3. Stir in salmon, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in spinach and lime juice.
  4. Divide rice among bowls. Top with salmon curry, basil and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing on top.

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Recipe by Kay Chun for NYTimes Cooking

Summer Shrimp Scampi with Tomatoes and Corn

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Here’s a summer recipe that could possibly live in your memory for some time to come. As most of us know, shrimp get along well with garlic, butter and lemon, and so do tomatoes and corn. Combine them, and you get a summery shrimp scampi that comes together in one skillet.

A searing hot pan helps the tomatoes blister and the corn caramelize before they are coated in a garlic-lemon butter sauce. This is a meal in and of itself, but if you want to serve it with pasta or bread, they’d be welcome additions. In fact, if you do plan to serve 4 diners, you will definitely need some accompaniments, because it barely made 3 sufficient servings when we made it.

If not overly concerned with carbs, serve over orzo and/or with some crusty bread to mop up that incredible sauce is the way to go.

It was beyond delicious, even with frozen corn. So can you imagine if using fresh corn cut right off the cob? It wasn’t quite ready for picking at the time we made this, but when we replicate the recipe soon, you betcha we’ll use fresh corn!

The original recipe indicated it would take a total time of only 15 minutes. Impossible. Just cutting the kernels off the ears of corn takes 8 minutes or so. Realistically, it took the 2 of us just over a half hour from start to finish. Still, that’s not bad for such a scrumptious meal!

Summer Shrimp Scampi with Tomatoes and Corn

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels (from 4 ears)
  • 5garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ tsp. red-pepper flakes
  • ¼ cup dry white wine
  • 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon), plus wedges for serving (optional)
  • 5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 5 pieces
  • 3 Tbsp. chopped parsley or chives, or torn basil leaves

Directions

  1. Pat the shrimp very dry and season with salt and pepper. In a large (12-inch) skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high. Add the shrimp and cook until pink and lightly golden in spots, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the shrimp to a plate.
  2. Add the tomatoes to the skillet, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring just once or twice, until they start to blister in spots, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the corn, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring just once or twice, until the tomatoes burst and the corn is golden in spots, 3 to 4 minutes.
  3. Add the garlic and red-pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until you smell garlic, about 1 minute.
  4. Reduce heat to medium, and add the wine and lemon juice, scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until nearly evaporated, then add the butter and stir until melted. Add the shrimp and its juices and stir until warmed through. (If the sauce breaks and looks greasy, add 1 or 2 teaspoons of water and stir until emulsified.)
  5. Remove from heat, add the herbs, season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve with extra lemon for squeezing over, if you like.

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Recipe by Ali Slagle for NYTimes Cooking

Pepper-Crusted Flank Steak

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Easy beyond belief. Only 3 ingredients for the main course? Count me in! One ingredient, coarse black pepper, coats the flank steak for a zesty bust of flavor, complementing the rare grilled meat. It’s best to crush your own, in a mortar and pestle or a spice mill. The entrée can be served warm or at room temperature.

Many reviewers commented that it was too salty, we didn’t think so. But because it’s very hard to find a 2-pound flank steak, ours was just over 1 1/2 pounds, and therefore we used less salt to begin with.

Ours sides were baked onion rings and a side salad. Dinner done.

Pepper-Crusted Flank Steak

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: super easy
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Ingredients

  • 1 flank steak, about 2 lbs.
  • 2 Tbsp. kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
  • 3 Tbsp. coarse crushed black peppercorns (do not use regular table pepper)

Directions

  1. Pat steak dry. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon salt on each side.
  2. Coat both sides of the steak with the crushed pepper, pressing down to coat evenly. Allow to rest and absorb seasoning for at least 1 hour. Or place on a rack over a rimmed baking sheet and put in the refrigerator, uncovered, overnight or up to 24 hours.
  3. Bring steak to room temperature. Grill over medium-hot coals or a covered gas grill at 450 degrees, about 4 to 5 minutes per side, until juices appear on the surface of the steak. Check with a meat thermometer; 125 degrees for rare, 130 for medium-rare. (Alternatively, cook in a cast-iron pan over medium-high heat or broil.) Let rest at least 10 minutes before slicing.
  4. With a sharp knife, slice on a slight bias against the grain, about ⅛-inch thick. Arrange on a serving platter. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Adapted from a recipe by David Tanis for NYTimes Cooking

Braised Chicken and Mushrooms over Polenta

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This stewy chicken dish takes inspiration from chicken cacciatore. Braised boneless, skinless chicken thighs are quickly braised to a tender, shreddable consistency in this easy weeknight meal.

These days, polenta is usually made from yellow cornmeal. Cornmeal is made from dent corn – also known as field corn, which is different from the sweet corn you eat. It’s higher in starch and lower in sugar. Because polenta is made from dried, ground corn, it’s gluten-free.‌

It’s often prepared as a porridge-like dish similar to grits, made by cooking cornmeal in water over low heat. It needs to be stirred often and cooked slowly. It can be made from finely ground or coarse ground cornmeal. In some countries, polenta is made from white or red cornmeal. 

‌Instant – or “quick” polenta – is pre-processed so that the cooking time is shorter. Some people say it doesn’t taste as good as regular polenta. You can also find ready-made polenta that’s fully cooked. It’s often served with various foods like meats, fish, and vegetables.  We chose to switch the instant polenta to regular corn grits polenta.

An easy way to shred the cooked chicken is with two large serving forks.

Braised Chicken and Mushrooms over Polenta

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 1 1⁄2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed
  • 1⁄2 tsp. pepper
  • 1 3⁄4 tsp. table salt, divided
  • 6 slices bacon, cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces
  • 8 oz. cremini mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 14.5-oz. can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
  • 2 1⁄2 cups chicken broth, divided (1⁄2 cup for chicken; 1⁄2 for polenta)
  • 2 tsp. smoked paprika
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 cup polenta

Directions

  1. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and sprinkle with pepper and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook bacon in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crispy, 5 to 7 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to plate.
  2. Add chicken to fat left in pot and cook until lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to plate.
  3. Add mushrooms, onion, and ¼ teaspoon salt to now-empty pot and cook, stirring frequently, until browned, about 5 minutes.
  4. Add tomatoes, ½ cup broth, and paprika and bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Return chicken to pot; reduce heat to medium; cover; and cook, stirring occasionally, until meat registers 195 degrees, 10 to 12 minutes.
  5. Transfer chicken to cutting board and shred into bite-size pieces. Simmer sauce until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes, then stir chicken and bacon back into sauce.
  6. Polenta: packaged directions for regular corn grits polenta. Or for Instant Polenta: bring milk and remaining 3½ cups broth to boil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk in polenta and remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until thickened, about 3 minutes. Serve.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Recipe for Milk Street by Dimitri Demopolous

Sprite-Grilled Chicken Skewers

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These grilled chicken skewers are flavorful, spicy, and full of citrusy pep, all without having to juice a lemon. The secret ingredient? Sprite. Here, chicken breasts are marinated in the lemon-lime soda along with fish sauce, garlic, and Thai chili sauce to tenderize the meat and infuse it with punchy flavor. The result is succulent, spicy, sweet-sticky chicken skewers. Bonus: You can use up any half-empty bottles of Sprite for this marinade (you don’t need the fizz).

One key to tender, expertly charred meat is the “Fizz Factor”, in other words something from the beverage aisle. The best marinades for grilled meats have certain things in common: a good amount of sweetness, lip-smacking acidity, and complex flavor. For it, all you need is to crack open a can of soda.

These fizzy things bring a lot to the table. This isn’t a new idea, many cultures utilize the sweet stuff for the meaty marinades. Sprite lends a citrusy pep—without having to juice a lemon— to this fiery marinade for chicken skewers. By the way, carbonation doesn’t make a difference, so this is the perfect opportunity to use up any flat soda you might have lurking in the fridge.

*We did not discard the marinade after skewering the chicken. Instead, we put it in a small sauce pan and brought it to a gentle boil for several minutes to kill any bacteria. The The Hubs brushed onto the chicken skewers as he was grilling.

Chili Garlic Sauce packs more heat than Thai Chili Sauce, so choose based on your heat tolerance. We paired our skewers with a Thai cucumber salad topped with crushed peanuts, and Coconut Rice. A fantastic trio!

Sprite-Grilled Chicken Skewers

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 8 garlic cloves, finely grated
  • 1 12-oz. can or 1½ cups Sprite
  • 1½ cups Thai chile sauce, divided
  • ½ cup plus 1 Tbsp. fish sauce
  • 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt, plus more
  • 3 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1″ pieces
  • Vegetable oil (for grill)
  • Juice of 3 medium limes (use zest if making Coconut Rice side dish)
  • ⅓ cup finely chopped cilantro

Directions

  1. Mix together 8 garlic cloves, finely grated, one 12-oz. can or 1½ cups Sprite, 1 cup Thai chile sauce, ½ cup fish sauce, and 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a 1-gal. resealable plastic bag or large baking dish. Add 3 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1” pieces, and turn to coat. Seal or cover; chill, turning occasionally, at least 2 hours and up to 12 hours. (Marinate at least 4 hours if you can.)
  2. Prepare a grill for medium-high heat; oil grate with vegetable oil. Remove chicken from marinade, letting excess drip back into bag or dish; *discard marinade. Thread chicken onto skewers (about 8 pieces each) and grill, turning once, until cooked through (an instant-read thermometer inserted into the a piece should register 160°), 10–12 minutes. Transfer skewers to a platter and let rest 5 minutes.
  3. Whisk juice of 3 medium limes, ⅓ cup finely chopped cilantro, remaining ½ cup Thai chile sauce, and remaining 1 Tbsp. fish sauce in a small bowl to combine. Taste sauce and season with salt if needed. Spoon sauce over chicken skewers to serve

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Recipe by Jesse Szewczyk for Bon Appétit

Creamy Barley with Leeks, Asparagus and Dill

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Yes, we know, barley can be dull and stodgy, but here the grains are transformed into a creamy risotto-esque dish that screams I should be making this more often. Buttery sautéed leeks and grassy, tender-crisp asparagus, along with fresh dill and tangy lemon zest and juice balance barley’s heft with springtime brightness.

A little crème fraîche, sour cream’s thicker and richer—but milder-tasting—cousin, stirred in at the end of cooking gives the barley a delicious luxuriousness. The grains require about 40 minutes of simmering to become tender; this is an opportune time to prep the asparagus, lemon and dill.

We paired ours with a Greek rub-dusted grilled chicken. Then with the leftover chicken that was taken off the bones and shredded, we added to the remaining barley. This became another meal; just heat and eat!

Don’t forget to rinse the leeks. Rinsing after slicing, rather than before, is more effective at removing the sand and grit that might be trapped in the layers. But be sure to drain the leeks well so excess water doesn’t make it into the pan.

Creamy Barley with Leeks, Asparagus and Dill

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp. salted butter
  • 1 oz. leeks, white and light green parts halved lengthwise, sliced crosswise about ¼ inch thick, rinsed and drained
  • Kosher salt and ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1 cup pearled barley
  • 1 qt. low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
  • 1 lb. asparagus, trimmed, stalks cut on the diagonal into ¼-inch pieces, tips kept whole
  • 1/4 cup crème fraîche, plus more to serve
  • 2 tsp. grated lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup lightly packed fresh dill, chopped

Directions

  1. In a 12-inch skillet over medium, melt the butter. Add the leeks and ½ teaspoon salt, then cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and tender, about 10 minutes. Add the wine and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated, 3 to 4 minutes.
  2. Stir in the barley, followed by the broth and 1 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium-high, then cover, reduce to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thick and creamy and the grains are tender, 40 to 45 minutes. If the consistency is thick and dryish before the barley is done, stir in ¼ cup water and cook, adding more water as needed, until the grains are tender.
  3. Stir in the asparagus and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until the asparagus is tender-crisp, about 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in the crème fraîche, lemon zest and juice, and the dill. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve with additional crème fraîche on the side.

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Recipe by Rose Hattabaugh for Milk Street