Asian Chile Slaw

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Whisk together all ingredients and allow to sit, covered, at room temperature for thirty minutes to blend the flavors.

Ingredients

For the dressing: 

  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil, peanut preferred

  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar

  • 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

  • 2 teaspoons Thai fish sauce (nam pla), available in Asian markets

  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil

  • 2 teaspoons sugar

  • 4 small fresh Thai chiles (prik kee nu), stems removed, minced, or substitute 2 serrano chiles

  • 2 teaspoon finely sliced green onions

  • Salt and white pepper

For the salad:

  • 2 cups finely shredded Napa or regular cabbage

  • 1/4 cup shredded carrots

  • 1/4 cup finely sliced green onions, including the greens

  • 1/4 cup sliced edible pea pods, sliced lengthwise

  • 1/4 cup chopped peanuts

  • Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

Instructions

In a bowl, combine all the marinade ingredients and allow to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes to blend the flavors.

Place the fish in a single layer in a non-reactive bowl, pour the marinade over the fish and turn to coat. Cover and marinate for an hour at room temperature

For the slaw, whisk together all the dressing ingredients and allow to sit, covered, at room temperature for 30 minutes to blend the flavors.

Grill the fish over a medium fire for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally, until just done, medium rare. Cut one of the steaks open to check for doneness.

To make the salad, toss together the cabbage, carrots, onions, and pea pods. Toss with just enough of the dressing to coat. Garnish with the peanuts and cilantro.

To serve, place the fish on a plate and serve with the slaw on the side.

 

Wasabi-Marinated Mahi Tuna with Asian Chile Sauce

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Wasabi is an extremely powerful Japanese horseradish that can be found as a powder or as a paste in easy-to-use tubes. If using it as a powder, reconstitute it in rice wine vinegar. This tuna should be served medium-rare.

Ingredients

Wasabi Marinade

  • 5 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce

  • 1 ½ tablespoons wasabi paste

  • 1 ½ tablespoons grated fresh ginger

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

  • 1 tablespoon minced shallots

  • 1 tablespoon hot mustard

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 serrano or jalapeño chile, seeds and stems removed, minced

The Tuna

  • 4 ahi tuna steaks or substitute swordfish
  • Asian Chile Slaw
  • Dressing
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil, peanut preferred
  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons Thai fish sauce (nam pla), available in Asian markets
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 4 small fresh Thai chiles (prik kee nu), stems removed, minced, or substitute 2 serrano chiles

The Salad:

  • 2 cups finely shredded Napa or regular cabbage

  • 1/4 cup shredded carrots

  • 1/4 cup finely sliced green onions, including the greens

  • 1/4 cup sliced edible pea pods, sliced lengthwise

  • 1/4 cup chopped peanuts

  • Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

 

  • 2 teaspoon finely sliced green onions

    Salt and white pepper

     

Instructions

In a bowl, combine all the marinade ingredients and allow to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes to blend the flavors.

Place the fish in a single layer in a non-reactive bowl, pour the marinade over the fish and turn to coat. Cover and marinate for an hour at room temperature.

For the slaw, whisk together all the dressing ingredients and allow to sit, covered, at room temperature for 30 minutes to blend the flavors.

Grill the fish over a medium fire for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally, until just done, medium rare. Cut one of the steaks open to check for doneness.

To make the salad, toss together the cabbage, carrots, onions, and pea pods. Toss with just enough of the dressing to coat. Garnish with the peanuts and cilantro.

To serve, place the fish on a plate and serve with the slaw on the side.

 

Tea-Smoked Sichuan Chicken

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This is a much easier version of the famous smoked duck which involves marinating, steaming, drying, and smoking. You can make this in a stove-top smoker. The tea colors the skin an appealing color, and any loose tea will work, even the Orange Pekoe in most tea bags. If using chicken pieces, cut the marinade recipe in half. Serve with fresh spring rolls, pickled radish and carrot relish, and Sichuan noodles with vegetables. Note that this recipe requires advance preparation.

Ingredients

The Chicken

  • 1 3 ½ to 4-pound whole chicken or 4 legs and thighs

  • Peppercorn Marinade

  • 10 green onions, chopped including the greens

  • 1/4 cup Sichuan peppercorns, roasted, crushed

  • 1/4 cup chopped ginger

  • 2 tablespoons sugar

  • 1/3 cup rice wine or cooking sherry

  • 2 tablespoons orange zest

  • 2 tablespoons crushed chile piquin, or other hot red chile

  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil

  • ½ cup peanut oil

Tea-Smoke Mixture

  • 1 cup raw rice

  • 2/3 cup brown sugar

  • ½ cup dry tea leaves

  • ½ cup Sichuan peppercorns

  • 14 whole star anise, broken in pieces

  • 12 whole cloves

  • 4 2-inch sticks cinnamon

  • Cayenne Finishing Oil

  • 3 tablespoons sesame oil

  • 2 teaspoons ground cayenne

Instructions

If you are using a whole chicken, tie the legs together. Combine all the ingredients for the marinade and place the chicken in a nonreactive pan or large plastic bag and marinate for 24 hours.

Combine the smoking ingredients and place in the pan in the stovetop smoker, if you are using legs and thighs. If using a whole chicken and a smoker or grill, wrap the Tea-Smoke mixture with aluminum foil and poke holes in it.. Smoke the chicken in 200 degree F. smoke for 3 to 4 hours or to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F.

Combine the ingredients for the finishing oil and let sit while the chicken is smoking.

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Remove the chicken from the smoker, brush with the finishing oil, and place in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes to crisp the skin.

 

Grilled Split Thai Chicken with Fiery Red Chile Sauce

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Chickens grilled in this manner are very popular throughout Thailand, where they’re sold in bus depots in villages, portable food stations, at the beach—everywhere. The Thais would use bamboo skewers, but metal ones work fine. The skewers keep the chicken flat as it cooks on the grill. You will notice that the chicken is doubly spiced, like American barbecue, but much hotter. Those Thais like their food very pungent! The chiles traditionally used are prik chee fa, with medium-hot, cayenne-like, bright red pods. Serve with sticky rice with mangoes and Thai iced tea.

Ingredients

Thai Seasoning Paste

  • 12 large cloves garlic, chopped

  • ½ cup chopped shallots

  • 1/4 cup chopped ginger

  • 1/4 cup fish sauce or substitute soy sauce

  • 4 stalks lemon grass, peeled to reveal soft inner root and lower stem, chopped

  • 6 large red Thai chiles (prik chee fa), stems and seeds removed, chopped, or substitute 4 red jalapeños

The Chicken

  • 1 3 to 3 ½-pound chicken

  • Fiery Red Chile Sauce

  • 3 dried red New Mexican chiles, stems and seeds removed

  • 4 red Thai chiles (prik chee fa), stems and seeds removed, chopped, or substitute red jalapeños

  • 1 tablespoons chopped ginger

  • 4 cloves garlic

  • ½ cup distilled vinegar

  • 2 tablespoons sugar

  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, Thai preferred

  • Salt to taste

Instructions

To make the paste, place all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and process to a thick paste.

Using poultry shears, or a heavy knife, cut down both sides of the backbone to cut the chicken in half. Remove the backbone and place the chicken on a cutting board skin side up. Press hard on the breastbone to break it and flatten the bird.

Loosen the skin and rub the paste all over the chicken, over and under the skin.

Take the skewers and force one through the thigh perpendicular to bone and just above drumstick, into the breast, and out through the middle joint of the wing. Repeat for the other side of the chicken.

Place the skewers on the grill over a medium-hot fire. Grill slowly, turning as needed to brown evenly, for about 30 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 160 degrees F. for medium.

To prepare the sauce, soak the dried chiles in hot water to soften for about 20 minutes. Remove, drain, and chop. In a blender or food processor place the chiles, ginger, garlic and 3/4 cup water process until almost puree, but still coarse. Place in a saucepan with the vinegar and sugar. Cook until reduced to about half, remove to a bowl, and add basil and salt to taste. Stir it well.

Serve the chicken with the sauce on the side.

 

Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce

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This recipe is courtesy of the Equatorial Penang hotel in Penang, Malaysia. It is a classic Indonesian dish that combines the heat of chiles with the exotic fragrances of the Spice Islands. Note that this recipe requires advance preparation.

Ingredients

  • 4 large pieces ginger, peeled

  • 4 fresh piquin chiles, chopped or substitute serranos

  • 5 cloves garlic, peeled

  • 3 shallots, peeled

  • 1 teaspoon cumin seed

  • 1 teaspoon anise seed

  • 1 tablespoon ground turmeric

  • 3 stalks lemon grass

  • 2 teaspoons sugar

  • 1 pound boneless chicken, cut into strips

  • Indonesian Peanut-Chile Sauce (available in Asian markets)

  • Diced cucumbers and onions for garnish

Instructions

Combine the ginger, chiles, garlic, shallots, cumin, anise, turmeric, lemon grass, and sugar in a food processor and puree, adding water if necessary. Marinate the chicken strips in this mixture for 12 hours, covered, in the refrigerator.

Thread the chicken strips onto separate satay sticks which have been soaked in water. Grill the satay sticks over coals until the meat is done, about 12 minutes, turning often. Serve the satays with the Peanut-Chile Sauce on the side and garnished with the diced cucumbers and onions.