Moroccan Chicken and Dates

Birthday present from the missus – “Try the World” box. The cook’s version of Birch Box. If that doesn’t make sense, you likely don’t have young women in the house.

But back the point – last box had a northern Africa flair. Specifically Kefta rub. Later that month I made goat cheese and almond stuffed, bacon wrapped dates, and I had a boat load of dates left over. Combine the kefta with dates, and you should have a decent start for a chicken dinner. Digging deeper I came up with this. 

Moroccan Chicken with Dates

1 to 1.5 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts

Kefta rub  (cumin, paprika, pepper, mint, etc)

1 large yellow onion, medium diced

1 tablespoon ginger paste

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon ground coriander

2 cups water

6 oz chopped pitted dates

Juice from 1 lemon

Couscous  - prepared as directed

Preheat the oven to 399 F.

Bring a saute pan to medium high heat. Liberally season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and Kefta rub and sear on both sides. Remove and set aside.

Add onion to the pan and cook until just starts to turn translucent. Add the coriander and 1 teaspoon of kefta. Stir until combined and add the ginger paste and tomato paste. Let simmer for two minutes and add the water, stir well, and then the chicken. Cook in the oven for 15.5 minutes.

Place the chicken on a plate, cover, and set aside. Place the sauce on high heat to a boil and cook until reduced to 50%. Stir in dates and lemon juice.

Place 1 cup cooked couscous on place. On top place 4 oz sliced chicken breast, and cover with a liberal serving of the delicious sauce.

Thai Inspired Fried Noodles

Thai Inspired Fried Noodles

The trick to cooking decent Asian food is getting the right ingredients. In the JoCo bubble, the only place to go is 888. Get the wide noodles and you are good to go. For my version of Pad See Ew, I make a couple of subs to the original, but the family doesn’t mind. Not at all. To make it a bit (lot) more healthy, cut back on the coconut oil and substitute Soba (buckwheat) noodle.

Sauce

2 tablespoons Hoison

2 tablespoons Katsu

1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce

 3 tablespoons oyster sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon water

Stir all of the above until combined.

 

Noodles

Bring large pot water and heavy pinch of salt to a boil. Cook 10 ounces of wide Asian noodles as directed. Drain, coat lightly with oil, and set aside. (Note: I greatly reduced the calorie count by subbing 10 oz of Soba noodles.They are sold in 12 oz packages. What to do? Since I use these once or twice a week, I store the extra in a zip-loc bag until I get another 10 oz.)

Stir Fry

2 tablespoons of coconut oil (cut calories by using 1 heaping tablespoon)

2 Thai chili peppers

2 cloves minced garlic

1 lb chicken breasts, cut into ½’ strips

3 large eggs

3 green onions, cut in to wide strips

Put the coconut oil and peppers in to a  wok and bring to a medium high heat. Once the oil is shimmering, remove the peppers and add the garlic. Once that starts to turn golden, add the chicken until it first appears to be cooked through. Push the chicken to the edge and add the eggs. Stir until cooked through and add the sauce and the onions. Once thickened, add the noodles and stir until well coated. Serve piping hot!