Tex-mex Soy-Sauce Chicken Recipe from Bon App.

Hey sorry this is going to be a brief post. I mostly need to type it up before I forget what I did. I didn't really know what I was going to get when I made this this week. It was just a "hmmm we have chicken, and spices, lets see what I can marinate the chicken in" recipe that allowed me to avoid going to the grocery store since Chris and I have so many dinner plans this week. As a result there aren't many pictures, but it turned out pretty good and is really easy.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
2 large lemons
about 4 tablespoons of soy sauce
about 2 tablespoons of sugar
2 teaspoons of chili powder
1 teaspoon of Cayenne pepper (which I never know how to spell)
1 teaspoon of oregano (dried)
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

1 small onion
1 medium bell pepper

1 half a head of cauliflower
1 cup of rice

Serves 4

Defrost the chicken.

In a medium size Tupperware, so one big enough to fit two chicken breasts in plus a good amount of sauce, mix all of the sauces and seasonings listed after the chicken. Taste the sauce and add more of what you think is missing. I thought it was a little sweet last time, so I think I might add a little more soy sauce next time. You need the sugar for the caramelization that happens when you cook the chicken so do not skimp on that. Add your two chicken breasts to your sauce concoction and then place the lid on the tupperware. Shake to coat the chicken in your marinade. Then let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour. The original recipe called for breasts with skin on them and for you to let it marinate over night...I didn't do that and it turned out fine. I also shook up the tupperware after about 30 minutes to coat the top of the chicken breasts again.

Then start your rice in a separate pot/rice cooker.

Take a medium size skillet and put it on over medium high heat to warm up.

Also chop up your cauliflower and steam it in a pot of water. See explanation for how to cook broccoli below. Cauliflower wont turn green obviously, so I usually poke it after the water starts to boil furiously to see if my fork slides in easily. That usually means it is done. So then I strain it. If after straining (i.e. holding the lid of the pot at an angle that keeps the cauliflower in the pot but allows the water to flow out into the sink. Don't burn yourself on the steam!) the cauliflower is still too hard for my taste I leave it in the pot with the lid on. It will "cook" a little longer like this.

The place your chicken and about 3/4 of your marinade in the skillet to cook. Let it cook for about 6 minutes on that side. Then turn and cook another 6 minutes on the other side. This was the perfect amount of time for one of my chicken breasts, but the other one was really thick and needed more like 8 minutes on each side. Just slice your chicken open to make sure it is white on the inside and not clear/pink at all. While your chicken cooks be sure to scoop up sauce in the skillet and pour it over the top of the chicken to make it get nice and caramelized.

While your chicken is cooking cut the onion and bell pepper in to strips. Like cut the onion in half and then do slices from that piece. Bell pepper, cut it into length-wise strips and then cut those in half. Once the chicken is done take it out with tongs/knife whatever, just keep the sauce in the pan. Then add your veggies to let them get soft and absorb some of the flavors as well as add some liquid to your sauce. About 3 minutes.

Then serve your chicken, veggies, and sauce over some rice. Makes for a great and quick meal.

I will add pics once they are uploaded to the computer.

Miso Salmon and Lemony Green Beans

I'm trying to recreate dishes that I've had from restaurants. I went to a place called Garlic Joe's in Newport Beach with friends once, and we all liked the miso salmon. I also like green beans from Bucca di Beppo because it's super lemony and perfectly cooked.

Miso Salmon:
1 pound salmon (that's an estimate, I had four good-sized pieces)
1/8 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon hot water
1 tablespoon miso
splash of vinegar

Lemony Green Beans:
Juice from half a lemon
Zest from said lemon
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
half an onion
1 pound green beans

1. OMG my dad cooked my salmon that I was defrosting when I wasn't home! Noooo. Well anyway, take your salmon and lay if on a piece of foil. Set your oven to 450 to broil, as the original recipe said. Today, I used my toaster oven.


2. Mix the rest of the ingredients for the miso sauce. Lay some of the sauce on the bottoms of the fish, and spread some on the top. Reserve some sauce for basting later.

3. Broil for about 12 minutes or until the fish is flaky. Halfway through the broiling, put more miso sauce on top of the fish.


4. For the green beans, start off by microwaving your green beans for about 90 seconds, so that the beans are halfway cooked.

5. Zest your lemon. Combine the juice, sugar, and salt in a bowl. The green beans from Bucca are really lemony, so if the mixture is too sour, add more sugar.

6. Cook the onions in some oil on medium or medium-high until browned. Add the lemon juice mixture and the green beans.


7. When your green beans are almost fully cooked, add the butter. It's ready to serve when the butter melts in.

Taa-daa! Serve with some rice.