MENU
Chineasy Cucumber Salad and Soy Sauce Eggs (the eggs are optional and may or may not slip in under the two-hour wire, but they’re so delicious and easy, I really want to share them with you all)
Chinese-Lacquered Chicken AND Spicy Roast Chicken AND Five-Spice Chicken (so you’ll learn THREE-all delicious-Chinese Roast Chicken options)
Dry-Fried Green Beans with Fresh Ginger, Sambal Olek and Soy
Roasted Butternut Squash with Red Glaze and Scallions
Basic Rice or Noodles (optional additions though we may not make them in class)
Frozen Key Lime Pie (not included in the 2-hour window but this dessert is so easy, it almost slips in. Also, can be made and frozen MONTHS in advance to be pulled out and meringue-topped last minute)
About the Class
For those of you pressed for time, finding the life-work balance a bit of a challenge or who just want to know how to whip up a great dinner for company--and here it's CHINEASY to boot-- in under two hours, do think about attending.
In class we’ll go through the entire meal step-by-step as TIMING and ORDER OF PREPARATION are critical when under the gun time-wise To prepare the entire menu in under two hours without going nuts, one must know the chronology of working on the recipes simultaneously rather than consecutively.
ABOUT THE MENU
This menu is an ideal jumping off point for people interested in mastering Chinese cooking at home. The recipes are quick, easy and surprisingly perfect. We'll make THREE (not one, but THREE) different-but-all-fabulous versions of roast chicken. I think the Lacquered is my fave but the others are close seconds. And I wanted to give you options.
The starter is ideal here--a light but flavor-heavy crushed Cucumber Salad enhanced with peanuts and a pour-over of soy, sesame, chili oil, Chinese vinegar and peanuts. The amazing hard-boiled eggs are optional and may or may not slip in under the two-hour wire, but they’re so delicious and easy (AND can be make up to a week in advance) that I really want to share them with everyone. And they're a match made in heaven with the cucumbers.
Sides include Dry-Fried Green Beans with Fresh Ginger, Sambal Olek and Soy AND luscious Roasted Butternut Squash with Red Glaze and Scallions. They complement the chickens and round out the main course. Both way better than their simple prep should allow!!!!
I’ve been assured by some of you that the “under two hours” requisite needn’t include dessert. Call it a day with a fabulous store-bought, local- bakery find -- la mode even better -- an always-welcome, no-brainer alternative. OR with this Chinese menu, a simple sorbet---mango, lemon, lime, tangerine or even chocolate--with sliced tropical fruit--is a wonderful palate cleanser after so many exotic spices.
For those of you committed to homemade dessert, we'll make a Frozen Meringue Key Lime Pie, It's child's-play-easy and can be readied and frozen many months in advance. To serve, last minute either top with whipped cream or beat up some egg whites and sugar and once meringue pop in a hot oven for 3 minutes before serving. I’ll also give recipes for (but we won’t prepare in class) super simple individual Molten-Center Chocolate Cakes to be made, frozen and baked off--in under 7 minutes--for serving. I often have a dozen or more stowed away in the freezer to pull out for both drop-in guests and serious entertaining.