Sesame Chicken

Sesame Chicken
Originally found at Food.com

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 cup water
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp flour
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Cut chicken into 1 inch strips or cubes. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken for about 6 minutes, or until no longer pink. In a medium bowl, mix together honey, soy sauce, water, ginger, red pepper flakes, and flour. Whisk until well combined. Pour over chicken and cook until sauce thickens slightly and chicken begins to soak up sauce.

Serve over rice and top with sesame seeds.

My Notes:

So, I used already cooked chicken for this recipe and had to cut down the proportions because I didn't want that much sauce with my less than 2 lbs chicken. It still produced a lot of sauce. I was skeptical about how it was going to taste while I was making it, because all I could really smell was the soy sauce, but it turned out very well. Nice kick of spiciness from the red pepper flakes and sweetness from the honey. I think it would've been even better had I breaded the chicken a little (just tossed it in some flour beforehand), but as I said, I used already cooked chicken and it wasn't practical. Next time I suppose.

Salmon-Asparagus Orzo Salad

Salmon-Asparagus Orzo Salad
Originally found at My Recipes.com

6 cups water
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 3-inch pieces
1 cup uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
1 (1 1/4-pound) skinless salmon fillet
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat broiler. Put water into a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add asparagus; cook 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove from water, reserving water in pan. Place in ice water; drain and set aside.

Bring reserved water to a boil; add orzo and cook until al dente. Combine dill, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour over salmon fillet and place on a foil-lined broiler pan. Broil 5 minutes* or until fish flakes easily with fork.

Using two forks, break fish into chunks. Combine fish, orzo, and asparagus in a large bowl and toss. Season again with lemon juice and olive oil, if desired.

My Notes:
*If you're using a frozen salmon fillet, use the low broiler setting and cook 10-15 minutes, until the center is a light pink. No, I don't really trust raw fish.

A few months ago, I went to a restaurant called Orzo. The menu wasn't fabulous for a kosher-style diet, as most of the dishes contained pork. But, I lucked out and found a broiled salmon fillet over a bed of asparagus orzo. I hadn't really ever had asparagus before, so I was hesitant to get it, but I went for it, thinking I could pick out the asparagus if it came down to it. I actually found that I really liked it. This recipe basically mimics it, except that you break the salmon into the salad.

I changed the original recipe a little by using the 'vinaigrette' to flavor the salmon instead of tossing the whole salad in it. As a result, there wasn't a ton of flavor on the orzo itself, but that was easily fixed by some more lemon juice and olive oil.

And notice! It's not a dairy recipe!