asian sensations…la cucaracha

At 5:15 a.m. this morning, I sauntered to the bathroom, ready to take a shower, when I was met by a large cucaracha, scurrying across the floor. In my bleary state, I gasped, as I was still unable to form words at such an hour.

Much like a fencing match, we dueled it out. I lunged at him; he retaliated by lunging at me. Neither gave up much ground, and neither wanted the other to leave the confines of the bathroom.

Throughout this epic battle, I found my voice, though I’m not so sure it was one of courage. My husband, who had been up for 30 minutes and was eating breakfast in the nearby kitchen, did not immediately come to my rescue. Instead, when he heard my yelps, he deduced it was a cucaracha, and proceeded to call out, ‘You sound like you’re having a baby in there.’

This fueled my fire to win the battle, and I proceeded to trade in my given weapon, a flip flop, with something more substantial, a wedge shoe. But alas, I still had not awakened enough to regain my normal panther-like movement.

After more noises of frustration, my husband yelled, ‘Remember, you’re bigger than him.’ To which I replied, ‘Yes, but he’s faster.’

At this point in the duel, my knight husband stepped in, grabbed a flip flop, and nailed Mr. Cucaracha with one swipe. I’m chalking it up to the fact that I’d worn the roach out and that, unlike me, my husband was wide awake.

I spread the cucaracha’s ashes in the flushable sea, and vowed to buy a roach control kit at the store today.

But I digress, the real point of this post is to tell you about the Asian meal we had on Monday night. It appears that some Asian restaurants serve cucarachas, which I find abominable. But rest assured that my recipes boycott them completely.

Asian Chicken Delight

Ingredients

• 3 chicken breasts, trimmed and halved
• Trader Joe’s Island Soyaki
• 2 sliced zucchinis
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 sliced bell pepper

1. First, place halved chicken breasts in non-metallic bowl and marinate in Island Soyaki sauce in the fridge for at least an hour. Soyaki? I know, I know, but no preservatives or artificial colors or flavors!

2. When you’re ready to cook, tear 6 12-inch sheets of tin foil and place 1 piece of chicken on each.

3. Top chicken with zucchini, mushrooms, carrots and bell pepper, and drizzle Island Soyaki over the top. (You can use most any veggies.)

4. Close tin foil around chicken and veggies so that there are no holes, and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, start prepping for Asian Chopped Salad.

Asian Chopped Salad

Ingredients

• 1 head of napa cleaned and chopped
• 1 stalk of bok choy cleaned and chopped
• 1 bunch of green onions cleaned and chopped
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp teriyaki sauce
• 1tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp almond butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp agave nectar
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/4 c sesame seeds
• 1/4 c chopped pecans
• 1/4 c slivered almonds

1. Chop bok choy, napa and scallions and place in bowl.

2. Melt butter in large skillet and brown sesame seeds, pecans and almonds until well toasted, about 5 minutes. You’ll smell it once it starts to brown.

3. Place on wax paper to cool. (In an airtight container, topping keeps for up to a week.)

4. In small mixing bowl, whisk vinegar, sesame oil, teriyaki sauce, lime juice, olive oil, almond butter and agave. I loved this dressing. It packs a lot of taste, and could be great on other salads or as a sauce for chicken.

5. Toss salad with dressing, and sprinkle with topping.

Enjoy along with Asian Chicken Delight.

Notes: I will say that this salad is more “green” tasting than spinach. But the scallions and dressing really make it come together. I couldn’t imagine a normal salad dressing on the bok choy!

Also, the carrots had a bit of a crunch to them, which some people don’t mind. But next time, I’ll shred the carrots in long strips like I did with Italian Chicken Delight so that they cook completely.