Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken

This Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken recipe is made with the best citrusy lemongrass marinade, and can be grilled, baked or sautéed. New favorite marinade alert! We’ve been on a major Vietnamese food kick lately, trying to master some of our favorite dishes here at home (especially since good Vietnamese is hard to find here in Barcelona).  And I […]

This Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken recipe is made with the best citrusy lemongrass marinade, and can be grilled, baked or sautéed.

Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken

New favorite marinade alert!

We’ve been on a major Vietnamese food kick lately, trying to master some of our favorite dishes here at home (especially since good Vietnamese is hard to find here in Barcelona).  And I have to say that our most recent attempt mayyy have even better than the restaurant version that inspired it — lemongrass chicken!  Or, if you’re not into chicken, this marinade could just as easily be used to make lemongrass beef, pork, shrimp, scallops, fish, roasted veggies and more.

Basically, this marinade is going to make you want to lemongrass everything. 

Fresh lemongrass, with its signature delicate, tangy, lemony, minty, slightly-gingery flavor, is the starring ingredient here and somehow transforms a simple garlic-soy marinade into one that tastes fabulously fresh and light.  And once it’s paired with lightly-charred juicy chicken — either grilled, baked or sautéed — I’m telling you, this slightly-sweet, savory, citrusy combo is downright irresistible.

Bonus?  I’ve saved us a bunch of chopping with this recipe and in favor of just blitzing the marinade ingredients together in the blender, making this recipe a bit quicker and easier to prepare.  And I can vouch that the lemongrass marinade recipe also holds up well in the fridge for a few days if you would like to prep it in advance.  (Or do what I do and make a double batch of the marinade, so that you can have it again for dinner later in the week!)  Once you do cook up the lemongrass chicken itself, it can be served with everything from rice to rice noodles, salad, veggies and more.  And of course, makes for fantastic leftovers itself.

If you’re new to working with lemongrass, don’t worry — it’s a really simple ingredient to use and I will walk you through everything you need to know.  So scout out a few stalks the next time you’re at the grocery store, and let’s make some lemongrass chicken together!
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Blistered Shishito Peppers

Are you acquainted with shishito peppers? They are thin-skinned little green peppers that you can cook up in a skillet in ten minutes. Once they have a…

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charred shishito peppers recipe

Are you acquainted with shishito peppers? They are thin-skinned little green peppers that you can cook up in a skillet in ten minutes. Once they have a little char on them, they’re so irresistible.

Nine out of ten shishitos are quite mild, but then you’ll come across one that makes your eyes water! That’s part of the fun.

washed and dried shishito peppers

I’ve been craving blistered shishitos since we returned from Spain, where we found the shishito’s cousins cooked the same way. So, I’ve been scooping them up at Whole Foods, and tossing them in a skillet at home.

It took me a few tries to get my technique down. Most recipes will tell you to cook the peppers over high heat, but that will fill your kitchen with smoke. I’ve dialed down the heat and figured out how to make consistently great blistered shishitos. Ready for the easiest appetizer recipe ever?

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Fresh Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce

My now-husband asked me out for spring rolls and beer for our first date. I vividly remember walking into the nearby Thai restaurant to meet him. Our…

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fresh spring rolls recipe

My now-husband asked me out for spring rolls and beer for our first date. I vividly remember walking into the nearby Thai restaurant to meet him. Our waitress had to come back three times to get our order, since we could not be bothered to look at the menu.

We were too busy connecting over our love for our dogs (we each have one), coming from families of three kids (I’m the oldest; he’s the youngest), our shared love of food and travel, a million other little things…

He finally ordered us a double batch of his favorite spring rolls. I was too nervous and full from a day of recipe testing to eat much. The waitress kicked us out because the restaurant was closing. I came home and danced around in the living room with Cookie. He asked me out again.

spring roll ingredients

A couple of months later, I confessed that I didn’t share his level of appreciation for the spring rolls. Too much noodles, not enough veggies. The carrots taste like chlorine. The peanut sauce could be more bold. He dared me to come up with something better, and I finally have.

These are the fresh, veggie-packed spring rolls I want to order at Thai and Vietnamese restaurants. I can’t say they’re 100 percent authentic, but they’re pretty close.

Of course, I came up with an irresistible peanut dipping sauce to go with them. Invite some friends over and make it a spring roll party! Ready for the recipe?

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egg and chive potstickers

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After making a bunch of Adam and Ryan’s potstickers for meal prep, I got on a potsticker kick and wanted to make more! Even though my very puffy pregnant hands made pleating a little bit difficult, I spent two extremely pleasant afternoons sitting at the kitchen table, folding dumplings while ice skating was on (this was back in February during the Four Continents competition). It also made me feel like I was in the dumpling scene in Crazy Rich Asians. For this second round of dumplings, I wanted a super low maintenance filling that would also pack some protein, so I went with a classic- egg and chive! The soft fluffy filling could not be easier and it’s so easy to adjust if you want a little more ginger or heat or whatevs. I also like that since it’s totally cooked before going into the dumplings, it makes for a kid-friendly project where you don’t have to worry raw meat getting everywhere. So, Bernie, when you’re ready, say the word and we’ll get pleating!!!


Egg and Chive Potstickers

Makes 38-40 dumplings

Ingredients

8 large eggs

1 tb soy sauce, plus more for serving

1 tb rice vinegar, plus more for serving

1 tb unsalted butter

1 tb sesame oil

1 tsp fresh ginger, minced or grated

1 c (1 1/2 oz) chives, finely chopped

Black pepper

Sriracha or crushed red pepper

All purpose flour, for dusting

40 store-bought dumpling wrappers

Flavorless oil (if frying)

Clues

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, soy sauce, and rice vinegar and set aside. In a large skillet, heat the butter and sesame oil over medium high heat. Add the ginger and cook for about a minute, until fragrant. Add the eggs and cook, stirring gentled with a rubber spatula until just set (don’t over cook, otherwise the filling will be dry). Transfer to a large bowl (I use the same bowl that I whisked the eggs in) and break up the egg into small pieces with your spatula. Stir in the chives, a few good turns of black pepper, and sriracha or crushed red pepper to taste. Taste and adjust as desired.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and dust with flour. Fill the dumpling wrappers by moistening the edges with water, adding a heaping teaspoon of filling, and pleating the edges, pinching well to seal. (I do this step seated at my kitchen table since it takes kind of a while. I’d also recommend YouTubing pleating videos, way easier to see it than to describe it!) Place the dumplings on the sheet pan. 

If cooking immediately, you can either steam or fry them. To steam, cut out a round of parchment paper to fit in the bottom of your steamer and cut a bunch of holes in it. Place the dumplings in the steamer leaving a little bit of room between them and set the steamer over a pot of boiling water. Steam for about 10 minutes, or until cooked through. Let cool slightly and serve. I like dipping mine in a half-and-half mixture of soy sauce and vinegar. Maybe a drizzle of sesame oil.

To fry, heat a thin layer of flavorless oil in a large lidded nonstick skillet. Place the potstickers flat-side down in the skillet in a single layer and cook until browned on the bottom, 2 to 4 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of water and immediately cover the pan, since it will be very spitty. Cook for 3 minutes, then remove the lid and continue to cook until all of the water evaporates. Let cool slightly and serve. I like dipping mine in a half-and-half mixture of soy sauce and vinegar. Maybe a drizzle of sesame oil.

To freeze, stick the sheet pan into the freezer and freezer for a few hours until the dumplings are firm. Transfer to a ziploc bag and stick back in the freezer for up to 3 months. Heat them either by steaming or frying (adding an extra few minutes for each method), or using one of the methods here.

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-yeh!

photos by chantell and brett quernemoen

Mango “Burrito” Bowls with Crispy Tofu and Peanut Sauce

Think of these sunny mango bowls as a Thai spin on your favorite burrito bowl. They’re refreshing and hearty, sweet and savory, and my new favorite summertime…

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vegan mango tofu rice bowls

Think of these sunny mango bowls as a Thai spin on your favorite burrito bowl. They’re refreshing and hearty, sweet and savory, and my new favorite summertime dinner.

These bowls were inspired by my Thai mango cabbage wraps, which are such a fun appetizer. I’ve added rice and shredded the cabbage to turn them into a more hefty dinner.

ingredients

These bowls feature perfectly cooked brown rice and shredded cabbage topped with crispy baked tofu, fresh mango salsa and peanut sauce. None of the components are difficult to prepare, and the combination is irresistible.

You could make these bowls on a relaxed weeknight, or save them for the weekend. Invite friends over, or keep your leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch. You can’t lose with this one.

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veggie potstickers with spicy dipping sauce

Adam and Ryan from Husbands That Cook are two of the sweetest humans on the planet and I’m so excited to be sharing this recipe from their new book tod…

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Adam and Ryan from Husbands That Cook are two of the sweetest humans on the planet and I’m so excited to be sharing this recipe from their new book today! I’ve gotten to hang out with them a few times in LA and every time it’s like an espresso shot of joy. Their book totally captures that happy, joyous energy through a ton of delicious approachable everyday recipes that all happen to be vegetarian. I’ve kept their book on the shelf in my kitchen where I keep my most used cookbooks and it exudes great energy all over. One of the first things that I made from their book were these veggie potstickers and they are so good!!! I was deep in meal prep mode when the book arrived and looking for something kind of snacky and vegetabley that I could keep in the freezer, and these checked both of those boxes. So I made a big batch of them and kept a stash in my freezer for dumpling emergencies. The flavors are great, Adam and Ryan understand my need for a very gingery potsticker, and these can be steamed or pan-fried! I prefer them crispy and pan fried, but pulling out my little bamboo steamer and steaming a cute basket of them is also fun :)!

Anyway, if you don’t yet follow Husbands that Cook or have their book, get on it!!!! Your life will be warmer and more delicious, I promise. 

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veggie potstickers with spicy dipping sauce

makes about 40

from Husbands that Cook

ingredients

for potstickers:

4 tb vegetable oil, divided

2 c (200g) finely chopped onion (about 1 medium onion)

3 c (185g) sliced bok choy cabbage (about 2 small cabbages)

2 c (155g) grated carrots (about 2 medium carrots)

1 c (120g) grated daikon radish (about one 6-inch piece)

2/3 c (40g) sliced scallions (about 3 scallions)

4 tsp tamari or soy sauce

2 tb (24g) minced ginger

3 large garlic cloves (15g), minced

40 gyoza wrappers

gyoza dipping sauce, for serving (to follow)



for dipping sauce:

1/4 c (60 ml) rice vinegar

1/4 c (60 ml) tamari or soy sauce

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp ginger powder

clues

for potstickers: place a large, deep skillet over medium heat, and add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. when hot add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. add the bok choy, carrots, daikon, and scallions, and cook for 4 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally. Add the tamari, ginger, and garlic, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more. remove from heat and transfer the vegetable mixture to a bowl or plate to cool enough to handle comfortably. use the filling immediately, or transfer to a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

to make the potstickers, first prepare a work station with the gyoza wrappers, the bowl of filling, a small bowl filled with water to wet your fingers, and a tray lined with parchment for the finished dumplings.

hold one gyoza wrapper flat in the palm of your hand. scoop about 2 heaping teaspoons of filling into the center of the wrapper. fold the wrapper over, pinching and pleating the edges to seal them tightly. place on the prepared tray, and repeat with the remaining wrappers until all the filling is used up, arranging the finished potstickers so they are not touching. they can be cooked immediately, or frozen for future use (freeze them directly on the tray, then transfer to a sealed container in the freezer for up to 2 months).

place a large, deep skillet over medium heat, and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. when hot, place the potstickers flat-side down in the skillet in a single layer, as many as will fit comfortably without touching. cook without stirring until deeply browned on the bottom, 2 to 4 minutes (add 1 to 2 minutes of cooking time if frozen). without stirring, add 1/4 cup of water and immediately cover the pan, as it will spatter aggressively. cook for 2 to 3 minutes, then remove the lid and continue to cook until all of the water evaporates. serve immediately with dipping sauce and enjoy!

for dipping sauce: in a small bowl or measuring cup, stir together all the ingredients. let sit for 15 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to blend. use immediately or keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week. makes about 1/2 cup.

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-yeh!

photos by chantell and brett!