A Taste of Asia

I don't know if it's too soon to have cravings, but they're here. I've been thinking of how good some fresh pineapple, like the kind I could get at any fruit stand in Thailand, would be. That was one of the great things about where I used to live. There was always fresh fruit easily available, fruits that I had never seen before I went to Thailand, and you could walk up to the stand and tell them how you wanted it cut. Then they would put it in a little plastic bag for you, along with a little baggie of spicy sugar and a bamboo skewer that you could use to eat it right them. Yum! I can almost taste it. I've also been craving Thai stir fry with some chicken, kale, cashews...I could go on and on. Yes, it's confirmed, I'm having cravings. Unfortunately, I can't just hop in the car and drive over to the local fruit stand and pay next to nothing for a good treat. I was talking with a friend tonight and she was telling me that there are 3 Asian markets in Warner Robins, GA (about an hour or so away) that sell all kinds of Thai/Asian goodies. I'm thinking there may need to be a trip sometime soon! In thinking of all of this tasty food, I thought I'd pass on a couple of recipes. The first is a great, easy salad that we used to make a lot in Thailand. It's not necessarily Thai, but it's got an Asian flair to it. The other is a recipe for cashew chicken that my American friend who lived in Thailand several years gave me. She's a great cook so I know this probably as close as you can get to what you find in Thailand.

Bok Choy Salad

4 large/6 small servings

Ingredients:

1 package Ramen noodles

1/2 cup sunflower seeds (or chopped pecans)

1/2 cup sliced almonds

2 bunches of Bok Choy (lettuce type produce)

3 green onions, chopped

chicken (boiled, grilled, or cooked in a pan)-optional

Dressing ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 red wine vinegar (or plain white vinegar)

2 Tbs. soy sauce

Directions:

Crumble Ramen noodles and chopped nuts (if using pecans). Spread on a pan and bake at 350 for 10 min, stirring once. Allow to cool. Bring sugar and other dressing ingredients to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat immediately and chill in refridgerator. Place cut bok choy and green onions in a large bowl. We liked to fold our bok choy leaves up and cut it into long strips. If you'd like to turn this into your main dish, you can cook some chicken pieces to go along with it. Some rotisserie chicken off the bone would be good on top of this, too! After your bok choy (and chicken if you want) is tossed with green onion, drizzle with chilled dressing. Then add your ramen noodle mix and toss well. Serve immediately. If making ahead of time, make each part separately and chill in the fridge. Toss together before serving.

Cashew Chicken

recipe from Marie

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts (boneless/skinless)

1 large onion, chopped

1 cup cashews-halved (I think we could only get ours raw in Thailand, but the lightly salted kind would probably be ok)

2 tsp. Thai chili paste (may have to visit the Asian market for this!)

1 Tbs. butter

2 tsp. sugar

10-12 peppers (green, red, or yellow...whichever you like!)--you may not want that many unless you really like peppers...I would probably reduce that for my own preference

salt to taste (1/2 tsp)

water as needed

last ingredients...green onion, celery leaves

Directions:

Stir fry cashews first. Add cut up chicken and onion. Then add water, sugar, butter, paste, salt and peppers. Stir fry until done. Then add green onions and celery leaves. Serve over hot rice (definitely Thai style...every main meat dish is served over hot rice...mmmm!...especially Jasmine rice!)

Hope you enjoy!

Stacey