4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 piece (1 inch) fresh ginger, finely chopped
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1 large flank steak (about 3 pounds)
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 pound fresh snow peas, trimmed
Cookbook author Page Bingham says that in the Shan region, a dish like this shrimp preparation is eaten with the fingers - red chilies and all. If the dish seems too hot, use fewer chilies, and when it’s time to serve the shrimp, push the chilies aside.
This popular restaurant bowl is easy to make at home but the technique is a little tricky. The finished soup should have pale yellow petals of barely set egg floating in a rich chicken broth. To achieve this, you have to wave chopsticks above the surface of the hot soup with one hand while you slowly pour in the eggs with the other - without overcooking the eggs. If you’re starting with commercially prepared chicken stock, enhance it by simmering it for 10 minutes with several slices of fresh ginger and scallions, both bruised slightly with the flat side of a broad knife.
Classic avgolemono, the Greek egg-lemon soup, typically contains a little rice and a few pieces of chicken. Add more chicken if you want to make the bowls substantial enough for a main course. This recipe begins with 3 chicken breast halves to give the broth lots of flavor, but you use only 1 1/2 of them for the soup. Make chicken salad from the rest or roll up shredded meat in warm pita with chopped cucumbers, lettuce, and salsa. Orzo is rice-shaped pasta.
Chicken backs and necks make great, full-bodied soup, but they’re not always available. If you buy whole chickens, save the giblets (except the livers) in a plastic bag in the freezer and make the soup when you have enough. Chicken wings are a terrific, inexpensive alternative. Pour boiling water over them before you cook them, then transfer the wings to the pot; this helps produce a clear broth. Peel the carrots but leave them whole in the soup (cut them up later when they’re cooked). Cut onions into wedges.
Hardly show-offs, the Bordeaux wines priced less than $20 are workmanlike, perhaps a little brash, but they are fine to accompany a straightforward plate of food. A chicken casserole that is satisfyingly sturdy, a little rustic if you will, is thoroughly appropriate for the modest Bordeaux. For the earthiness of the wines you have lentils. For their whisper of spice, cumin. The radicchio insinuates a bitter edge, to confront the tannins in some of the wines. In keeping with the price, everyday chicken thighs soak up these flavors.
Sweet potatoes and apples add moistness and natural sweetness to this simple cake.
Garnish this thick, velvety soup with an extra dollop of sour cream and pinch of chopped fresh thyme, if you like.