So, tonight I was a bit desperate in regard to dinner. As I worked all weekend, my usual grocery day on Sunday didn’t happen. My pantry is always fairly stocked, so tonight I decided to clean it out a bit and see what the results yielded. I didn’t expect the meal to come together as a whole terribly well. But, my efforts did yield two Asian-influenced dishes that will each stand well on their own or with slight modifications. The really exciting ingredient tonight was the cilantro I snipped from my newly planted herb garden. It was incredibly fragrant and flavorful – already paying off! A little too late I realized I did not have any tortillas or wraps, so I omitted the wrap filling ingredients. I served the glazed chicken on a bed of the jicama slaw with steamed broccoli on the side, then garnished it with basil chiffonade. The chicken wasn’t the best match with the slaw, but the nutty flavor of the slaw would have worked as a side if the grapefruit had been omitted. I imagine the wraps served with a cucumber salad with a honey-rice wine vinaigrette. The jicama slaw I currently envision with a Thai style curry. Not bad as a result of cobbling a meal together out of the pantry!
- 1 large jicama, peeled and shredded
- 2 carrots, peeled and shredded
- 1 large ruby red grapefruit
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 T rice vinegar
- 1 T ancho chili powder
- 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
- 2 T honey
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1/4 C peanut oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 T sesame seeds
- 1 handful cilantro, finely chopped
- 8 – 10 chicken fingers or tenderloins, cooked (these can be leftover, fried, grilled – however you like them)
- 1 1/2 T peanut oil
- 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated
- 2 cloves of garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
- 1 T chili paste (sambal oelek)
- 1/4 C honey
- Juice and zest of 1 medium naval orange
- 4 T low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 a small red onion, cut into thin slivers
- 3-4 scallions, green and white parts, sliced thin
- 1 head romaine lettuce, shredded
- 2 handfuls cilantro, roughtly chopped
- 1 cucumber, cut into matchsticks
- 1 carrot, grated
- 4 tortilla wraps, burrito sized