An Encounter in Ubud - Some Enchanted Evening

There's so much I want to tell you about Bali, but it's hard to find the best place to start. My interests lie more with the people of the countries I've visited than the museums and monuments that house their history. Please don't misunderstand. There are wonderful structures and museums in Bali, but the spirit of these gentle people is what touched my soul and captured my heart. Touristy matters will come in due time, but first I'd like to share memories of the people who surface whenever I think of their beautiful country.

"South Pacific" had Bloody Mary and "Eat Pray Love" had Ketut Liyer. "One Perfect Bite" - that would be me - has Puspa to illustrate common traits of the Balinese. Generally, the Balinese are easygoing, courteous, gentle, and readily reciprocate kindness that is shown them. While they have a wry and wicked sense of humor, their broad smiles can be misleading. They are not in the business of making friends of strangers and it is almost impossible for outsiders to penetrate the tight-knit hierarchy of their communities. To say they are business and family oriented would be an understatement. In business they can be sly and conniving, but their hearts and homes are open to needy members of their own clans. Like other Asian cultures they display unwavering loyalty to family and clan and are conditioned to defer personal needs to those of the community. The Balinese, however, have no concept of time and could easily adopt the Tagalog "inshallah" of the Philippines or the "manana" of Mexico. I had a brief conversation with an expat who prayed his roof, victim of a hurricane, would never again need repair. His contractor smiled a lot, but it took 11 months to replace the thatch.

Now back to Puspa. She and her husband operate the cooking school, Paon Bali, in a family compound perched above a tropical forest. In form she is round and firm and has a voice that is nasal, high in pitch and as grating as nails on a blackboard. Her shtick would be the envy of a Catskill's comedian and it was literally peppered with the familiar "honey" whose use raised the hairs on the back of my neck. I was prepared not to like this woman, but her wild sense of humor and skill as a teacher won me over before our cooking chores were done. We hugged a lot. We also "melted" together. Orson Wells had an oft quoted description of Rita Hayworth in tropical heat. He insisted, "Miss Hayworth doesn't sweat, she glows." Unfortunately, we didn't glow, we melted and looked like a fine mist descended on our bodies. If you visit Bali, leave your makeup at home or apply it with a fine hand. It won't last. Our dinner that night was the food we made in her class, and we ate on the terrace overlooking the rice terraces her husband tended. It was the best meal of the trip and a truly memorable evening.

When I first began "One Perfect Bite" I was asked why I had chosen food as a subject. Truth be told, I had no "creds" in particle physics, and while I wanted to communicate with thoughtful women, I had only one passion that could be sustained and shared on a daily basis. It was, of course, food and the women who prepare it. I've always viewed food as a universal equalizer. It unmasks us. A practiced eye can determine background, experience and belief by examining what is being served and how it is made. While it provides sustenance, food also has become part of ceremonies that mark our celebrations and our passage from birth to death. Ceremonial food first caught my interest and made me curious to learn more about the women and the kitchens in which the food was prepared. I've always loved the kitchen. They are places of warmth and comfort and are universal reflections of family life wherever they are found. They reveal how women think about themselves, how they raise their children and how they relate to other women. The ingredients they use say as much about climate, geography and economic status as do more scholarly endeavors. I've been blessed and have had the opportunity to visit many kitchens, even those in remote parts of the world. I've learned more about people, customs and belief in those kitchens than I have in museums. I know my approach is not for everyone, but it works for me and it's how I came to know Puspa. I'll be sharing many of her recipes with you, but I wanted to start with something that most of you have never tried. I thought some of you might like to attempt this recipe for Tempe Me Goreng. Tempe is made by fermenting cooked soy beans and pressing them into a block. There is no need to make your own. It should be available in all large supermarkets or natural food stores.

Tempe Me Goreng - Deep Fried Tempe in Sweet Soy Sauce...from Paon Bali Cooking School

Ingredients:
2 blocks of tempeh
10 red chilies
5 tablespoons Indonesian sweet soy sauce (i.e. Kecap Manis)
4 shallots
8 cloves of garlic
1 spring onion
5 kaffir lime leaves
1/4 liter coconut oil for frying
Salt and pepper

Directions:
1) Slice tempeh into thin strips. Bring coconut oil to a boil in a large pan. Add tempeh and fry until golden brown. Remove and drain on paper toweling.
2) Slice red chilies and remove seeds, Slice garlic, shallots, spring onion and red chilies. Heat 3 tablespoons of coconut oil in another pan and saute until they are light brown.
3) Add deep-fried tempeh to pan containing garlic, shallots,spring onion and chilies and mix, adding Kecap Manis and broken Kaffir lime leaves. Stir well to coat tempeh in sauce.
4) serve hot as a main course. Yield 4 to 6 servings.

Dieter's Herbed Shrimp and Watermelon Salad

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is another of the main course salads I rely on when I'm watching my weight. It is simple to make, and I've come to love the texture and melded flavors of the herbs and vegetables that bolster the shrimp used in the salad. I use large shrimp, not because they're better, but because they are easier to peel and portion, and I always seem to be in a hurry these days. I prefer to make the salad using oregano or basil, while the Silver Fox is keen on mint. Often the final choice depends on what fresh herbs I have on hand. Unfortunately, the watermelon, which adds a pleasant sweetness to the salad, gets goopy if it sits too long, so plan to make only what's required for the meal at hand. The recipe can, however, be doubled if you have a need for 8 salads. Here is how this salad comes together.

Asian-Style Pasta with Peas, Peanuts and Cucumbers

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I'll be on my own for dinner much of this week, so I'm going to try making dishes that will feed one person without having leftovers to deal with. I'll be able to do that for most of the week, but I had to make an exception tonight. I had a quantity of snow peas that simply had to be used before they became fodder for the compost heap. I didn't want to waste them and couldn't bear the thought of another stir-fry, so I did a quick search for recipes where they might be used. I finally settled on this one for peanut noodles. It appears everywhere, but I think it was originally developed for Food and Wine magazine, and they should be the ones credited for its creation. While I have several excellent recipes for noodles of this type, they don't use snow peas and would not easily adapt to their addition. Because this recipe was an ideal solution to my "pea" problem I've ended up adding yet another recipe for peanut noodles to my repertoire. I can honestly report that this dish is fast, easy and delicious. I will make it again, although it presents some problems. Unlike most dishes of this sort, these noodles are served hot. The vegetables are added just before serving to keep them crisp-tender. Herein lies the problem. When the dish is reheated it becomes goopy and the vegetables become limp. That means leftovers will leave much to be desired. As written, the recipe makes four very generous servings. Try to manipulate ingredients so you have no leftovers to deal with. Barring that, have an impromptu pot luck and invite the neighbors to eat with you. Despite problems with re-heating,  those of you who make this dish will be pleased with the results. Here's the recipe.

Spanish Salpicon - Spanish Seafood Salad

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This dish should not be confused with its Mexican cousin which is a spicy beef salad. The Spanish word salpicon means jumble or hodgepodge and while it was originally made with beef, these days the dish can also be made with seafood and seasonally fresh vegetables. The thermostat hit 96 degrees today and I viewed that as permission from the kitchen gods to scrap the hot meal I had originally planned, and substitute it with a cold supper. We were in Seattle last week and I brought home some wonderful Spanish olive that I thought would be perfect to use with a recipe for salpicon that came from a shop called The Spanish Table. While the salad can be made with any seafood, I used fresh shrimp and some mussels, along with ripe tomatoes and other summer vegetables, to make mine. This is a delicious salad that I'm told is popular in Spanish tapas bars. It is as pretty to look at as it is delicious to eat, and it will be interesting to see if my creation bears any resemblance to the ones that are served in the tapas bars. I promise I'll let you know. I do hope you'll give this salad a try. It lends itself to near limitless variation and I think you can come up with a personalized take on the recipe. It is a perfect course to serve on a hot summer night. Mine went to the table with a crusty Portuguese bread and a delicious green gazpacho. Do try this. Here is how Spanish Salpicon is made.

Pleasantly Pleased and Pickled Pink - Chicken Tostadas

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...The Silver Fox and I are heading to Seattle and I'm tickled pickled pink to be on the road again. The Austin branch of the family is heading to the San Juan Islands and we are joining them for a day of sight seeing and hugs before they ferry to the islands. We haven't seen our older grandsons in a year, and it will be nice, to say the least, to touch base with them and see how they have grown. The recipe I'm reprising today is one that makes a great summer treat, but, to be honest, I chose it for the rosy color of those onions. They match my disposition today. I know you will enjoy this simple and inexpensive concoction and, if you have not already tried these, I hope you soon will. The recipe for Chicken Tostadas with Pink Pickled Onions can be found, here. Enjoy!

Frugal Foodie Friday - Chili-Cheese Sandwich Rolls for a Crowd

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Those who work with, or entertain, teens will find this recipe helpful. It makes sandwiches that are different, delicious and easy on the pocketbook. The warm hoagies are easy to prepare but they do require advance planning, as they must be refrigerated for at least two hours before they are baked. The base recipe will make a sandwich with only moderate heat, so if you like your sandwiches spicy, add jalapenos to the filling before the sandwiches are baked. We had these last weekend at a large, multi age barbecue. The sandwiches were meant to be fillers or meal extenders, as our hostess was unsure of the number of people she would be entertaining. As it turned out, she had a crowd and needed them to stretch the chicken and sausage she had on the grill. It was the first time I had this sandwich and I liked it well enough to ask for the recipe. I thought those of you who work with youth groups or regularly have grandchildren at the table might work these sandwiches into your meal plans. Here is how they are made.

Beef, Blue Cheese and Onion Man-Sized Sandwiches

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite... I usually pull this recipe from my files at this time of year. I like to have it handy when rain threatens to wash out our barbecues or picnics and a quick change of plans is necessary. In addition to being delicious, it's easy to make, and, in the great scheme of things, it actually borders on being economical. It also happens to be a favorite of the Silver Fox, so, should you by chance see him doing a rain dance, know that he is manifesting a craving for beef and has not yet come completely unwrapped. The recipe is easy to follow and once the onions are sliced, the oven does the bulk of the work, making it possible to have these sandwiches on the table in less than an hour. I like to serve these with a cheesy orzo, marinated cucumbers and tomatoes and the best rolls I can find. I hope you'll give this simple but delicious sandwich a try. I know the adults at your table will enjoy them, though the blue cheese may be to strongly flavored for younger eaters. Here is how these sandwiches are made.

Beans, Biscuits and Bread Part Three - My Favorite Maple Baked Beans

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...A too short, but lovely, visit with our youngest daughter - code name "Butterfly" - combined with the distractions of the Prefontaine Classic have thrown me dreadfully off schedule. Hopefully, I'll soon be back on track - no pun intended - and my posts will again appear as intended. In the meantime, I still have several recipes from my Beans, Biscuits and Bread series sitting in the catch-up queue. The bean recipe I'm featuring today is my personal favorite. It is an Ina Garten recipe and it's appeared in her cookbook The Barefoot Contessa at Home as well as The Stonewall Kitchen Cookbook. These beans are hot and sweet, and while they may not appeal to all tastes, they are delicious. I found the first pot I made to be too sweet, so second time around, I cut the quantities of sugar and syrup in half and found them to be delightful. I replaced the specified kidney beans with small red beans because I prefer the appearance of the smaller bean. The large beans look suspiciously like chili and that was not the look I was going for. I think you'll find these beans to have more liquid than other versions you've made in the past. If that bothers you, simply uncover the beans for the last hour of cooking so the sauce can thicken. Do make sure the beans are tender before you put them in the oven to bake. They won't soften much when they cook at the low temperature this recipe advises. I really like the play of flavors in these beans and I highly recommend them to you. I know you'll enjoy them. Here is how they are made.

Frugal Foodie Friday - Stuffed Eggplant Creole

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This simple recipe is for a stuffed eggplant dish that is both inexpensive to make and delicious to eat. The ingredients needed to prepare it are readily available and I think you'll be able to find the Grapenuts in the cereal aisle of your grocery store. Just be sure to get the original cereal rather than the newer flaked variety. The nut-like morsels of the original give some texture to the soft filling while also helping to absorb excess moisture in the stuffing. This is a very old recipe that was published back in 1969 in The New McCall's Cook Book. I still have my dogeared copy of the book and while many of the recipes it contains have been eclipsed by time, this is one that those of you with gardens might want to try this summer. It is easy to follow and the minimal cost of its ingredients make it a perfect candidate for a Frugal Friday feature. I've pretty much kept with the original recipe, save for the omission of a 1/4 cup of butter that was used in the breadcrumb topping. Delicious, but verboten these days. I do hope you'll give it a try. Here is how this version of stuffed eggplant is made.

Frugal Foodie Friday - Cube Steak with Mustard Cream Sauce

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I  haven't been tracking the cost of beef lately. The Silver Fox and I don't eat a lot of it, so when I buy beef I generally go for the higher end cuts and don't pay too much attention to what they cost. I was, however, really set back on my heels last week when I went to purchase a pound of ground beef. Hamburger meat was a dinner staple in the early years of our marriage. Its cost was perfect for a pauper's purse and most women my age owned, or were familiar with, a little book called 101 Ways to Cook Ground Beef. We knew them all, but with its cost approaching $5 a pound I'm not sure our younger counterparts would find the book a terrific money saver. The irony was that some steaks cost less than ground meat and I was able to buy cube steaks for $2.99 a pound. I was looking for something I could share with you on Frugal Friday, so I picked up a package and decided that "cube steak something" would be my feature for the week. Fortunately, I found a terrific recipe for cube steaks on the Epicurious website and can report, that while these steaks are not filet mignon, the sauce makes this pedestrian cut of beef quite delicious. If you use red onion instead of shallots and beef stock or chicken stock instead of vermouth, the cost of this entree will fit within the confines of most food budgets. The steaks are simple to prepare, and if you don't overcook them, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by just how good they are. I served the steaks with a salad and rosemary roast potatoes. The rosemary in the potatoes was a great counterpoint to the mustard in the sauce and together the combination was a match made in heaven. I have one caution to share with you. The recipe calls for rubbed sage. Rubbed sage is feathery, so if you have to substitute the ground variety, cut way back on the quantity you use or your cube steaks will end up tasting like turkey dressing. Budget conscious or not, this is a nice family recipe that also happens to be easy on the cook. In my book, it's really hard to beat fast, easy and cheap. I hope you'll give this recipe a try. Here is how the cube steaks are made.

Linguine with Smoked Salmon and Capers

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I really like this recipe. I don't make it often because the sauce for the pasta uses heavy cream. I feel guilty when I use it, but the sauce is very, very good and I've convinced myself that the use of cream once or twice a year will not kill anyone. I have, however, included a recipe for a quick white sauce for those of you who would like to try the pasta without the cream. This sauce comes together in 10 minutes, so the dish is perfect for those nights when you are harried, but still want to serve something special to your family and friends. I like to use Nova lox when I make this pasta because it is always available and its quality and flavor are consistent. I do hope you'll give this simple dish a try. The ingredients used to make it are special and I know those of you who try it will be pleased. Here is how the dish is made.

Baked Ravioli

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This simple preparation is a godsend for busy cooks who feed teenage athletes or youth groups. It is almost effortless to make and it always pleases its target audience who are generally more hungry than discerning. This is a can't fail recipe, much like a lasagna, but with a looser appearance. The recipe relies heavily on prepacked ingredients that make it possible to have a pan of baked ravioli on the table in a little over 30 minutes. You can add a bit more flavor to the casserole by using ravioli that is stuffed with something other than plain cheese. I favor the cheese and spinach combination that is usually available in supermarkets in my area. I also use Romano rather than Parmesan cheese. I think Romano is more assertive and it is an easy way to boost flavor in this type of casserole. This is not a dish that will have universal appeal, but if you are very busy and have to feed a group of kids, this is the way to go. Here is how this version of baked ravioli is made.

Waist Watchers Special - California Chicken Wraps

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...It's been a busy day. The stitches were finally removed from my right eye and the doctor was pleased with the state of both transplants. You probably heard the huge sigh of relief that inadvertently escaped my lips when he gave me the news. That gave the  Silver Fox and me an excuse to celebrate, and the good news happened to coincide with a break in the weather. We decided to take  a long walk along the river bank and have our first picnic of the season. These Greek-style chicken wraps were the mainstay of today's picnic basket. I'm not overly fond of wraps but these are exceptionally good and I think you will enjoy them as much as I do. I like to make them the night before I plan to serve them. To keep them fresh, I double wrap the rolls. First, they are rolled in several layers of just-moist paper towels and then sealed with plastic wrap before they are refrigerated and the flavors have a chance to blend. I do hope you'll try these amazingly tasty wraps. They are fast and easy to prepare and they make a perfect meal for dieters and those seeking a healthy alternative to standard lunch fare. Here is how these delicious wraps are made.

Frugal Foodie Friday - Old-Fashioned Chicken with Rice

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...There are certain dishes that seem to withstand the tests of time and fashion. This homely, old-fashioned favorite is one of them. Every country that the Silver Fox and I have visited, has a version of chicken and rice. There is something about it that's restorative and it brings back memories of dinner at grandma's kitchen table. It is a simple dish that is easy to prepare. It is inexpensive to make, and if you have never had it, you owe it to yourself to try it at least once. The version I'm featuring tonight was created by Mark Bittman and his recipe makes easy work of its preparation. My only caution is to make sure that the skillet you use is deep enough to hold the chicken without it hitting the lid of your pan. You can change the type of rice, as well as the liquid you use, with no adverse affects. The saffron in the recipe is a completely optional ingredient but it makes an awfully nice addition to this dish. You will have to keep an eye on the rice and the times suggested in the recipe should be taken with a grain of salt. Mine took an additional 20 minutes to cook. This is one of those recipes that is easy to make your own, so don't be afraid to swap or add ingredients that you enjoy. Here is Mark Bittman's version of the dish.

Waist Watchers Special - Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I hate dieting and the restrictions associated with it. I don't do well with plans and prepackaged meals, so when I pack on pounds, I have to come up with recipes that work for me, but do not scare off the Silver Fox, a committed carnivore, who views most greens and meat substitutes as "stuff". C'est la vie. While I consider these mushrooms to be a main course, he views them as a side dish meant to keep meat from getting lonely on  his plate. That actually has worked out well for both of us. At any given meal, there is at least one dish we can share and it makes creating diet meals a lot easier for me. Over the past three months, I've found or created recipes that make dishes I actually enjoy and I now have a collection of diet-worthy recipes to share with those of you who are also in waist watcher mode. These stuffed mushrooms are the first recipe in what I hope will become a weekly feature on One Perfect Bite. They are easy to make and quite satisfying, though I suspect you will want to add additional herbs and spices to the ingredient mix. I do hope you'll give these mushrooms a try. Here is how they are made.

Table for Two - What Can I Do with Canned Clams?

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I know it's a burning question and you've been waiting years for an answer. Fear not, your long wait is over. Not only do I have two recipes that use canned clams, they are also scaled to feed just two people. Around here, we call that a double whammy and as such, they both deserve to be included in our Table for Two recipe collection. Both recipes are fast and simple to execute and, despite their use of canned clams and broth, they both produce a great family meal that I know your crew will enjoy. If you find either dish lacking in flavor or substance, you can, of course, add more garlic or another can of clams, but I think you'll be pleased with the results if you follow the recipes exactly as they are written. I do hope you'll take your can opener in hand and give one or both of them a try. Here is how they are made.

Frugal Foodie Friday - Pulled Pork for a Crowd

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Well, we are halfway home. Yesterday, a moving crew at one end of town temporarily moved our furniture to storage, while an installation crew at the other end, finally pulled up the sub-floors in our new home. It was heavy work for both crews, the kind that builds hearty appetites as well as headaches. While I can't help with headaches, I can field hunger. I always try to feed the folks who help us with big jobs around the house. The meal I made for the crews yesterday was simple and transportable, and given the number of people being feed, surprisingly inexpensive. I made coleslaw and potato rolls to serve with the pork and had German chocolate brownies and lemon bars to finish off the meal. The pork is not inexpensive to make, but it feeds so many people that its per serving cost brings it into the realm of possibility for a Frugal Friday feast. I do hope you'll give this recipe a try the next time you have the equivalent of a crew sitting at your table. The apple lends a sweetness to the dish that is unexpected, but that sweetness is balanced by the heat from the chili flakes that are used in the marinade. The pork is simple to make, but it needs a day to marinate and because it cooks at such a low temperature, you'll need to roast it for at 7 hours before it can be shredded. While this is a two day commitment, very little of it is active, hands-on, time, so I do hope you'll give this recipe a try. The pork is different, tasty and worth every second it takes to prepare. Here is how it's made.

Table for Two - Asian Shrimp Omelet

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is a reprise of a post that I first featured in 2010. It highlighted one of my favorite recipes, and because it makes a fabulous meal for two, I wanted to include it in my Table for Two recipe collection. The recipe is a Mark Bittman creation and it really is delicious. Here is what I originally had to say about the omelet.

Over the years, I've tried at least a thousand recipes and, of that number, only a hundred or so have survived and regularly appear on my table. This homely and unlikely candidate is one of them. The dish comes from Southern China and has several virtues to commend it. It has wonderful flavor and a play of textures that will appeal to almost any palate. It is also easy to prepare. It uses no exotic ingredients and its beautiful play of pink on yellow can be table ready in about 30 minutes. The two primary ingredients are eggs and shrimp. The Chinese rub the shrimp with a paste of cornstarch and salt to whiten them. If you are in a hurry this step can be omitted. The eggs are flavored with a very small amount of sesame oil. The trick to this dish is in the way it is cooked. In China the omelet is cooked in lard. We'll fore go that and use canola or peanut oil to cook ours, but you'll need a cup or so of oil. Don't stint on that measure. The shrimp are quickly fried in the oil and then drained. Because they have no coating to absorb the oil, you'll find that almost all the oil remains in the pan after cooking. The shrimp will subtly flavor the oil and add a unique taste to the finished eggs. Omelets made in this fashion are easy to assemble because they are not rolled and require no special techniques to get them from the pan to the table. The eggs are gently cooked in a bit of the flavored oil and as they begin to set the shrimp are added to the pan. The only caution is to make sure you can serve these while they are still hot. This is a lovely, light dish that is perfect for those who are trying to cut back on the amount of meat they consume. Here's the recipe for this treasure.

Pizza Bianco

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I think you'll enjoy this pizza, but I really think it has been misnamed. If you make this pie according to directions, you'll end up with something that is more like a loaded focaccia than a standard pizza pie. I get around it by cheating. I could have made my preferred crust, but I've been so busy this week that I bought pizza dough at the market and once it was rolled, proceeded to make the filling and topping and shamelessly called the pie my own. No one was looking. It is hard to go wrong with the flavor palate presented in this recipe, though I do think caramelized onions would kick the pie up notch or two. If you are looking for new pizza combinations, you might want to give this simple recipe a try. Here is how the pizza is made.

Frugal Foodie Friday - Teriyaki Chicken

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I suspect that only in the Bible is the best saved for last. This week's Frugal Friday feature is a reprise of one I featured the first year I was blogging. Now, I can't speak for other bloggers, but I know for certain that some of my best recipes made their way to cyberspace in those early years. Back then, I had four faithful followers, and since two of them were my daughters, I have every reason to suspect that most of you have never seen them. I want to remedy that by giving some of those recipes a second life. This is one of them. I make Teriyaki Chicken ten to twelve times a year. It's a favorite of my family, and I love it because it is so easy to prepare. It has the added advantage of using readily available and inexpensive ingredients, so it fits perfectly into the collection of recipes I'm assembling to share with you on Frugal Friday. If you are looking for a dish that is quick, easy and cheap, do give this recipe a try. You'll love it. This is what I had to say about it six years ago.

Our first heavy rain came Saturday - a not-so-gentle reminder of winter in Oregon and the price we pay for an achingly beautiful spring. I enjoy the rain. I'm lulled by it's tattoo and the scent of damp earth and pine released into the air, but my inner romantic just couldn't overcome the damp, bone-chill of this first rain. My mind kept wandering to Hawaii and, of all things, the Hawaiian plate lunch. Why potato salad and rice on the same plate? I'd really like to know. Truly! As I puzzled, I began to fixate on Chicken Teriyaki, so, in case you're wondering how we got here - the rain did it. I really like this recipe. It meets all my requirements for a quick weeknight meal. It's simple, inexpensive, made in a single pan and on the table in about 40 minutes. What's not to like? It's cooked stove top so it's an energy saver as well. Without further ado, here's my recipe for ......

Teriyaki Chicken...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1 cup + 2 teaspoons water, divided use
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup tamari or soy sauce
1 cup mirin, sake or pineapple juice
2 to 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 piece (1-4-inch thick) fresh ginger, peeled and crushed
2 pounds well-trimmed boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Optional garnish: sesame seeds, chopped scallion, cilantro and lemon slices

Directions:
1) Combine 1 cup water, lemon juice, tamari, mirin, sugar, garlic and ginger in a large (3-quart) saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat; stir to dissolve sugar. Add chicken; return to the simmer. Cover pan and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate; cover to keep warm.
2) Skim off fat; remove garlic and ginger. Boil sauce until syrupy and reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Mix cornstarch with reserved 2 teaspoons water. Add to sauce, whisking until sauce thickens and is shiny. Return chicken to pan; turn to coat all surfaces. Simmer for 2 minutes, or until chicken is warm. Transfer to a serving platter. Garnish with sesame seeds, scallion, cilantro and lemon slices if desired. Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

                    

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