Thai Grilled Chicked with Cilantro Dipping Sauce

My family calls this dish "Green Chicken."  Maybe it is because the title is too long to say, or because it really is green.  The marinade for the chicken has cilantro and jalapeno pepper, along with garlic, fish sauce, sesame oil, and olive oil blended into a liquid, which is green.  When the chicken marinates in the liquid for any time, it takes on the greenish color.  Don't let the fish sauce turn you away from trying this recipe.  Many people aren't fans of fish sauce because of the smell right out of the bottle, but when you cook with it, the dish doesn't have a fishy flavor at all.  The fish sauce adds saltiness and a rich flavor to the dish.  Enjoy!

Thai Grilled Chicken with Cilantro Dipping Sauce
Marinade
1-2 Jalapeno peppers, seeded and ribs cut out
3 cloves Garlic
1/2 c Cilantro leaves and stems
2 tbsp Fish Sauce
1 tbsp Olive oil
1 tsp Sesame oil
1/2 tsp Salt
4 chicken breasts up to 2.5 lbs of chicken breast tenders (depending on number of people being served)

Dipping Sauce - for two people
6 tbsp Rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp water
1/2 tsp Red pepper flakes, divided
2 cloves Garlic, minced and divided
3 tbsp Cilantro (leaves and stems), finely chopped, and divided

Marinade and Meat

In a blender or food processor, combine all the marinade ingredients except the chicken.  One jalapeno will add hardly any heat to the meat.  Add more jalapeno if you want more heat on the chicken.  Process until all the jalapeno pepper and garlic is chopped and the liquid is fairly smooth.  Place the chicken and marinade in a gallon zip lock bag and let marinate for at least 4 hours, up to 6 hours.

There are two options for cooking the chicken - grilling or broiling.  I've tried this recipe both ways and my favorite way is to broil it.  Grilling it is fine, but I don't enjoy the flavor of the grilled cilantro.  Grill or broil the chicken on one side until it is tanned, then turn the meat over.  Cook it until the juices run clear.

Dipping Sauce

In a small sauce pan, combine the rice vinegar, sugar, and water.  If you are serving 3-4 people, double the sauce recipe.  Bring to a slow simmer just until all sugar is dissolved.  While this is cooking, prepare the remainder of the sauce. 

In each of two ramekins (I'm showing three because I'm making sauce for 3 of us), place 1 1/2 tbsp cilantro, 1/8 to 1/4 tsp (depending on heat tolerance) red pepper flakes, and one clove minced garlic.

Once the sugar is dissolved in the vinegar and the mixture is just starting to simmer, divide the liquid evenly between the ramekins.  I like to let the sauce set for about 10-20 minutes before serving it to allow the heat to be extracted from the red peppers, and all the flavors to mingle.  I usually let the sauce set while the chicken is cooking.  

 Place a sauce ramekin at each person's place setting.  Serve with the hot chicken.  I like to serve this dish with a green salad and ginger rice.  This is a great recipe to serve company - just make sure they like cilantro and that you adjust the amount of red pepper to each person's heat tolerance.  Enjoy!

Salmon with Smokey Lemon Aioli

Salmon is my absolute favorite seafood.  If I lived where I could get salmon every week, I would have it for dinner at least once a week.  Out of all the ways I fix salmon, this recipe is my absolute favorite.  I first had a version of this recipe when I was in college and was invited to an older couple's house for dinner.  Of course I didn't get the recipe, so I had to figure it out later.  This is my version of the recipe.  It is simple to fix, cooks quickly, and tastes heavenly.  Enjoy!

Salmon with Garlic and Lemon Ailoi
1 salmon filet
2/3 c mayonnaise (I prefer Best Foods, regular or reduced fat is fine)
3 gloves garilc
2 tbsp lemon juice (bottled for from a fresh lemon)
3/4 tsp smoked paprika (has to be smoked)
1 tbsp dill (dried is great to use)
1 tsp Mesquite garlic salt (if you don't have this, a hickory smoked salt would work, or just plain salt coupled with the smoked paprika is fine)
Dash black pepper
Optional spices : 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, 1/2 tsp crushed fennel seed

In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise, garlic, lemon juice, paprika, mesquite garlic salt (or salt), black pepper, and optional spices.  I like to let this set in the refrigerator for about 1-2 hours to allow the flavors to mingle.  If you don't have this time, 15-30 minutes will suffice.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Lightly grease a broiler pan and place the salmon on it skin side down.  Spread all the aioli sauce over the salmon. 

Cook the salmon for about 25 minutes.  The sauce should be tanned, and the salmon should flake with a fork when it is done.  Serve while hot.

Another way I love to cook this salmon is grilled on a cedar plank.  To cook the fish on a cedar plank, you have to place the board in water for about 10 minutes.  Most directions say to let it soak for an hour.  That is fine and dandy when you are cooking a meat for a long period of time, but the salmon doesn't need more than 25 minutes to cook.  Letting the board soak for about 10 minutes will keep it from burning through, but still allow it to start smouldering and give the fish flavor.  After soaking the board, place the fish on the board and apply the sauce.  Cook the fish in a medium heat grill for about 25 minutes, or until the sauce is tanned and the fish flakes.

Enjoy!