The classic method for Hainanese chicken rice, which has you gently poach a whole bird and use the resulting broth to cook the rice, makes for a flavor cycle where nothing is lost. In her smart and deeply comforting take, Genevieve Ko streamlines the cycle further by cooking the chicken and the rice in the same pot, making it a perfect meal for any given Wednesday. Even more, instead of the three sauces that are traditionally offered alongside, she opts for a single killer one, a pungent mix of ginger and scallions warmed by a drizzle of sizzling oil. With its silky chicken, gingery rice and aromatic, bright green sauce, this is a vibrant, satisfying meal that will elevate your week.
Featured Recipe
One-Pot Ginger Scallion Chicken and Rice
Copious amounts of grated fresh ginger are a great way to add sparkle to a dish without much effort; a spoonful of chile crisp is another. No chile crisp on hand? No problem. In her speedy recipe for chile crisp shrimp and green beans, Ali Slagle shows how to make your own by frying a mix of shallots and garlic with potent red pepper flakes and cumin. Then she uses that oil to stir-fry some shrimp and green beans for a 20-minute meal that packs a fragrant wallop.
Also from Ali comes an adaptation of Michele Baldacci’s black pepper and onion spaghetti, a dish that has been on the menu at Locanda Vini e Olii in Brooklyn since it opened two decades ago. To make it, a mix of red and white onions are very slowly braised in olive oil and their own juices until they nearly fall apart. These sweet alliums are tossed with pasta and then seasoned simply with tarragon, plenty of black pepper and some grated cheese stirred in at the end, if you like.
It does take over an hour to make, so save it for a stretch of time when you can luxuriate in its aromatherapeutic cloud of simmering onion steam. This weekend would be perfect for an onion-spa day, unless of course you’re happily cooking for Lunar New Year, the Super Bowl or both!
The Year of the Dragon begins this Saturday, bringing with it a period of good luck and positive change, which everyone could probably use. Ring it in with dumplings or noodles, or take a cue from Andrea Nguyen and simmer up a pot of thit heo kho trung (pork and eggs in caramel sauce). A must-have on many southern Vietnamese Tet menus, the mix of tangy coconut-water caramel, soft and brawny pork and jammy-yolked eggs is complex and haunting. Serve it with something bright and crunchy (traditionally, pickled bean sprout salad) to cut the richness and plenty of rice to soak up the sauce.
For all of you Super Bowl superfans (either of the game or of the snacks), Priya and Ritu Krishna’s five-star Indian-ish nachos with Cheddar, black beans and chutney deliver a surefire mix of melty cheese and crisp chips topped with tomatoes, onions, yogurt and a sweet-tart tamarind sauce.
For dessert, you could bake a batch of Yossy Arefi’s chewy, nubby peanut-butter chocolate-chip cookies. Made with an ultra-ripe banana instead of eggs and butter, they’re full of vegan-friendly pleasure.
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