Adventures in Cooking
We Don't Know What We're Doing! - 11.26.04
Brandon
We didn't really have a recipe for this adventure. Really, Anne and I just got bored and started cooking things. (There's a reason why this section isn't just called "Recipes" or "How to Make Food Correctly the First Time.") Eventually, we make brownies, but right now we're going to focus on the Asian food we made (a continent was about as close as we could get in defining this food). First off: Anne's Asian Stir-Fried Things!
Ingredients
- A light oil (we used canola)
- Sesame oil (not to be used as a cooking oil! added for flavor)
- Soy sauce
- Frozen green beans (snap or snow peas probably would have been a better choice)
- Little baby corn
- Water chestnuts
- Bean sprouts
Note: It's very important that you do not measure anything. Measuring things destroys the charm of improvisational cooking. And really, you don't know what you're doing—is measuring really going to help if you don't have a recipe? Anyway, if it turns out rancid, you'll have an excuse to fall back on.
Basically, we just threw everything in the pan with some oil. Really, we should have been using a wok to do this. I'm not sure if it makes a real difference, but it provides a nice, Asian feel. A word of caution with the sesame oil: a little bit goes a long way. Don't use more than a teaspoon or two (you might be good with a few drops). Cook until you think it's done.
And now my part: Honey Garlic Teriyaki Chicken! Yes, that's right--I'm combining the powers of honey, garlic, teriyaki, and chicken into one powerful food! Anne thought I was joking at first ("Is that like the honey maple ranch dipping sauce?"), but seriously--it's good stuff. (And to give due credit, I think John is the one that came up with this.) Surprisingly, this is pretty hard to screw up.
Ingredients
- Honey
- Garlic teriyaki sauce (yes! such a thing exists!)
- A light cooking oil (we used canola)
- Chicken, cut into strips or chunks
Note: Again, don't measure anything!
Pour the oil and put the chicken in. Now apply liberal amounts of honey and garlic teriyaki sauce. Seriously, that's it. Just make sure to add lots of both—it's not as much as you think it is, I promise. Try to flip the individual chicken strips/chunks so they cook a little more evenly. Cut a thicker strip/chunk open to see if they're done. Don't overcook the chicken.
Voila! Easy Almost-Asian meal. I guess you could serve it with some sort of Asian side dish, like rice. In fact, rice is a good idea. Cook rice.
But the real question is: Is it good? Is it ever!
And for dessert, brownies. Brownies are not Asian at all.
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