Normally I steer clear of chicken breasts as they all too often come out dry and boring. I’m a dark meat girl. Give me a hunky juicy thigh and I am in heaven. But I was pleasantly surprised by the tender juiciness of the chicken breasts my aunt made the other night.

As her sous chef I was instructed to do the stuffing. We made a paste with garlic and kosher salt and had a pile of fresh fragrant cilantro. I sliced the breasts almost through and liberally stuffed them with the garlic paste and freshly chopped cilantro (you could also substitute Italian parsley or basil if you aren’t a cilantro fan). Then we pan fried them in a bit of olive oil. To finish them off we squeezed fresh lemon juice on top and sprinkled on some lemon zest.

Easy. Delicious. And, yes, they were juicy! Dark meat girl was sold.

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I call these Coconut Shrimp Salad Rolls, but those are only two of the tasty ingredients wrapped up in thin rice paper. Frankly, Coconut Shrimp Ginger Carrot Lime Cilantro And More Rolls was just too long. I could have also called these Mieng Kum Rolls, but I think my title is more “user-friendly.”

But, in fact, that’s just about what these rolls are, mieng kum, all wrapped up in rice paper instead of a leaf. Mieng kum is a delicious Thai dish that packs nearly every flavor in one punch. These wonderful, healthy salad rolls were inspired by that dish.

Coconut Shrimp Salad Rolls

Just wing it with the amounts of each ingredient. Balance the flavors to adjust to you liking. If you want more ginger, add more ginger. Spicier? Toss in a few more chilies.

Shrimp, cooked and cut into pieces
Toasted coconut
Grated carrot
Ginger, finely chopped
Lime, sliced into tiny pieces with the rind on
Cilantro, chopped
Shallots or red onion (adds nice color), finely diced
1-2 Thai chili peppers (or any spicy pepper will do), finely chopped
Rice paper sheets

Toss the ingredients in a bowl. Fill a deep, flat dish with about 1/2″ of water. Place one sheet of rice paper in the water until it softens, then gently remove the sheet and place on a paper towel. Pat off excess water. Like you’re making a burrito, place the mixture in row on the sheet, fold in the sides, and roll.

Sprinkle some crushed peanuts and whole cilantro leaves on top and serve with peanut dipping sauce.

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One of the delicious dishes we created in our Indian cooking class the other night was a chicken curry with cashews. As I said in Part I, the dishes that were prepared were quite easy yet wonderful and full of all that flavorful Indian goodness! If you are tired of hearing, “Chicken again?” try this recipe.

Curried Chicken with Bell Peppers & Cashews

1/2 C olive oil
8 cloves of garlic, minced
4 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 T ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 lbs. chicken, cubed
2 C diced bell pepper (we used a combination of red, yellow and orange which was beautiful)
1 C diced yellow or white onion
1 C peas
1 C cashews
1 C cilantro, coarsely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat 1 T olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and garlic and cook until wilted. Add the bell peppers and cook until onions are translucent. Take veggies out of the skillet and set aside.

Pour in the remaining oil to the skillet and add all the spices. Stir quickly until completely mixed. Toss in the chicken and cook approximately 7 minutes or until no longer pink. Put the veggies back into the skillet along with the peas. Cook until heated through. Stir in the cilantro and cashews, then serve. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with more chopped cilantro and cashews on top.

*Options: you can adjust the level of any of the spices for added flavor. We like a little kick to our food so next time I will increase the cayenne pepper amount.

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It’s cold outside and the fire’s going, you’d think I’d want a nice hot soup. But, no, I want ceviche! Normally I think of this as a warm-weather dish: chilled, citrusy, something you’d eat al fresco. But last month we visited El Salvador and the ceviche we had there is still ever-present in my mind. It was perfectly “cooked” and had a wonderful hint of fresh ginger. While not exactly the same this Peruvian recipe looks quite appetizing and encompasses much of what was in our dish. I also love variations with cilantro, mango, avocado, etc.

I’ve had a difficult time finding a really good, comprehensive ceviche cookbook while there are thousands upon thousands of sushi cookbooks. Why have we not embraced this delicious South American dish con mucho gusto!? For inspiration and entertainment check out Chef Melissa’s blog on ceviche, the wrath she endured over her stated provenance of this dish and a great clip of Anthony Bourdain’s show No Reservations. If you’re not familiar with this show and love food and travel (and New York humor) then put this show on your TiVo list.

For even further inspiration check out the beautiful variations of ceviche on Flickr.

Cheers and good eats!

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