The Minimalist Cooks Dinner (21 page)
Read The Minimalist Cooks Dinner Online
Authors: Mark Bittman
Steam the chicken over simmering water for 6 to 10 minutes for boneless breasts, 10 to 15 minutes for bone-in. The chicken is done when white and firm to the touch; cut into a piece if you want to be certain.
Meanwhile, stir together the ginger, oil, scallions, and salt to taste in a bowl. The mixture should be quite strong; you can add more ginger, scallions, or salt if you like.
When the chicken is done, drizzle it with the soy sauce and sesame oil and serve. Pass the scallion-ginger sauce at the table or divide it into four small bowls for dipping.
| WINE | Beer, or a light, crisp white, like Sauvignon Blanc, Graves, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Gris, or dry Pinot Blanc |
| SERVE WITH | Easy Rice or Rice Salad with Peas and Soy ; Green Salad with Soy Vinaigrette or Steamed Broccoli (or Other Vegetable) drizzled with a little soy sauce |
YOU CAN
speed up production by puréeing the ginger and oil in a blender, then pulsing in the scallion, but this makes the sauce creamy, almost muddy, and it’s much more attractive when hand-chopped, the solids sitting in the oil.
I LIKE
to steam the breasts on the bone, which takes about 5 minutes longer than boneless breasts, because they remain moister and a little more flavorful that way, but of course you can use boneless breasts. I also like to leave the skin on, which insulates the meat from drying out; again, you can use breasts that have had the skin removed.
IF YOU
don’t have a steamer, here’s how to jury-rig one: Put a rack into a pan and add water to a level just shy of the bottom of the rack. The chicken can go directly on the rack or on a plate on the rack. Cover the pan while cooking.
MAKE SURE
your oil is fresh; if it smells off, it is.
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This is a powerful sauce, one that will markedly change the character of anything to which you add it. Stir it into soup, noodles, or simply a bowl of rice, or steam some fish—just as you would chicken—and serve the sauce with that.
Tandoori
TIME:
20 minutes or more
MAKES:
4 servings
There are two ways to think of chicken tandoori. Strictly defined, it is yogurt-marinated chicken cooked in a
tan-door
, a clay oven of central Asian origin that is closely associated with Indian cooking and often used to bake bread. But you can also think of chicken tandoori as grilled or broiled chicken marinated in yogurt and spices. That’s what we have here—a lightning-quick, really easy tandoori-style dish that begins with a boneless, skinless chicken breast and “marinates” for just a few minutes.
1 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon medium-to-hot paprika
1 teaspoon ground coriander
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Minced fresh cilantro
Preheat the broiler, start a hot charcoal or wood fire, or preheat a gas grill to the maximum. Set the rack 2 to 4 inches from the heat source. Combine the yogurt, ginger, garlic, paprika, coriander, half the lime juice, and some salt and pepper in a large bowl. Stir the chicken into the yogurt mixture and marinate for 5 to 60 minutes, as time allows.
TO BROIL THE CHICKEN
, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil to facilitate cleanup. To broil, put the chicken breasts on the baking sheet, bone (rough) side up; reserve any marinade that does not cling to the breasts. Broil for 3 to 4 minutes, or until lightly browned. Turn and spoon the remaining marinade over the chicken. Broil on the skin (smooth) side for another 3 to 4 minutes, or until lightly browned.TO GRILL THE CHICKEN
, simply grill for 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until the chicken browns and is cooked through, brushing with the marinade from time to time.Garnish with cilantro and serve, spooning the cooked marinade over the chicken and sprinkling with the remaining lime juice.
| WINE | Spicy, light red, like Zinfandel, Chianti, or Côtes du Rhône |
| SERVE WITH | Easy Rice , rice pilaf, or Indian-style bread; Simple Green Salad |
FOR THE SAKE
of speed, the chicken can sit in the yogurt mixture for as little as 5 minutes, but a soak of about an hour allows a little more of the flavor to permeate the flesh. After a few hours, however, the meat just begins to become mushy in texture.
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The yogurt mixture is so creamy and delicious that, even in grilling season, I like to double the quantity and broil the chicken, so I can use the cooked sauce and meat drippings to top cooked rice.
with Coconut Milk
TIME:
30 to 40 minutes
MAKES:
4 servings
Coconut milk could hardly be easier to use. Like canned tomatoes, it is the foundation of certain essential dishes, especially those of India, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean. Like canned chicken stock, it can turn a dry dish into a pleasantly saucy one in about 2 minutes. Like both, it can be always there for you, since it is also sold in cans. This dish, a simple, fast curry, is made sweet and creamy by nothing more than the addition of coconut milk; it’s a snap.
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large onions, sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons curry powder
One 12- to 14-ounce can (1½ to 2 cups) unsweetened coconut milk
1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken, cut into I- to 1-inch chunks
1 cup peeled, seeded, and diced tomato (canned is fine; cut up and drain before using)
Chopped fresh basil or mint
Pour the oil into a large skillet, turn the heat to medium-high, and heat for a minute. Add the onions, along with a generous pinch of salt and some pepper. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very soft and almost falling apart, 15 minutes or more. Raise the heat again and brown them a bit, then stir in the curry powder and cook, stirring, for another minute or so.
Reduce the heat to medium, add the coconut milk, and cook, stirring occasionally until it thickens, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken and stir, then cook until done, 3 to 6 minutes. (If you’re in doubt whether the chicken is done, cut into a piece.)
Add the tomato and cook for another minute; taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Garnish with basil and serve.
| WINE | Dry Riesling or Gewürztraminer or beer |
| SERVE WITH | Easy Rice or any rice dish; Green Salad with Soy Vinaigrette or any light salad |
TO MAKE YOUR OWN
coconut milk, combine 2 cups grated unsweetened coconut and 2 cups boiling water in a blender; let cool a bit, then blend carefully, taking care that the hot liquid does not splatter. Strain and discard solids.
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For the chicken, substitute peeled shrimp or scallops; the cooking time will be a little bit shorter, though not much. Scallops would be decidedly better if you sear them in a very hot pan before adding them to the curry.
Shallots, and Ginger
TIME:
30 to 40 minutes
MAKES:
4 servings
Eggplant is so strongly associated with the cooking of Italy and southern France that regardless of cooking method it is almost always prepared with olive oil and garlic. This need not be the case, of course, and with a few ingredient changes—like the addition of ginger—you can make a novel and delicious kind of “ratatouille” that readily converts an ordinary grilled or broiled boneless chicken breast into an unusual and appealing dish.
8 ounces shallots (about 6 large)
¼ cup grapeseed, corn, or other light oil
1 to 1¼ pounds eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger, or 2 teaspoons dried
1½ pounds boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (4 half breasts)
¼ cup or more minced fresh cilantro
Peel the shallots and cut them in half the long way (most large shallots have two lobes anyway, and will naturally divide in half as you peel them). If they are small, peel them and leave them whole. Start a medium hot charcoal or wood fire, preheat a gas grill to the maximum, or preheat the broiler. Set the rack 4 inches above the heat source.
Pour the oil into a large, nonstick skillet and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the shallots and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until they begin to brown. Add the eggplant, salt, and pepper and lower the heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally until the eggplant softens, about 15 minutes.
When the eggplant begins to brown, add the ginger and cook for another 3 minutes or so, until the eggplant is very tender and the mixture fragrant. Meanwhile, rub the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon of the ginger. Grill or broil for 3 minutes per side, or until done.
Stir 2 tablespoons of the cilantro into the eggplant mixture. Serve the chicken breasts on a bed of the eggplant and garnish with the remaining 2 tablespoons cilantro.
| WINE | Rough red from the south of France, Zinfandel, Syrah, or Chianti |
| SERVE WITH | 60-Minute Bread or good store-bought bread; boiled or Mashed Potatoes or Easy Rice |
UNLESS YOU HAVE
reason to believe that your eggplant is extremely bitter (if it has a lot
1
of seeds it might be), don’t bother to salt it. If you choose to, sprinkle the cubes liberally with salt and let them sit in a colander for at least 30 minutes. Rinse and dry before proceeding.
IDEALLY
, this dish combines creamy eggplant with tender but ever-so-slightly crunchy shallots and ginger that hasn’t lost its sharpness. So be sure to spend a few minutes thoroughly cooking the shallots before adding the eggplant, allowing them to brown and begin to soften; and don’t overcook the ginger.
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For a more traditional dish, substitute garlic for the ginger (or use 1 tablespoon of each) and cook in olive oil. Use parsley in place of cilantro.
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Stir in a cup or more of seeded and chopped tomatoes at the last minute; these boost color as well as flavor, and the combination of tomatoes and ginger is another unexpectedly pleasant one. (Peel the tomatoes if you like, but I don’t think it’s worth the effort in this case.)
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Cook some chopped red or yellow bell pepper along with the eggplant.
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Use any reasonably tender steak of beef, pork, or lamb, or a sturdy piece of fish, such as tuna or swordfish, instead of the chicken.
