Basil Chicken Fried Rice or I Wokked Out

   Once I read something about lo mein being standard college fare.  Nope; not for us.  Standard college fare was pizza with the occasional delivered salad... and the salad was also full of cheese.  I know this for a very real fact.  Because I worked in the restaurant (actually there were two) that made this stuff.

 But when I read about someone's college goto being lo mein, I was jealous.  I should have gone to college THEN.  I adore lo mein and can even make a pretty darned good imitation.  Well, since then, I've moved over to adoring Thai and because I'm so late-trendy, I like Basil Chicken.  I seem to always miss it when things are "in."

And I like it when Bhan Thai makes it, not me.  Mine is ok.  Still,  knowing how much Emily also likes Thai, I started looking for easy Thai recipes with videos and I came up with Thai Food Tonight...a series of lessons and videos, etc. by Dim Geefay.   Dim brings along her American-born daughter Cathy to help translate and, between the two of them, we figure it out.  The videos were, I think, originally on tv, but are now free online.

Dave has always been our wokman, though I occasionally use it, too.  For the Basil Chicken Fried Rice, I did the planning, research, shopping,  part of the prep, table set and so on.  Dave cut the chicken (he's much better at that) and then just continued on cooking.  I stood and kibitzed while drinking a lovely halb-trocken German Riesling, which suited the Thai dish to a T.

Did I say this was YUMMY TO THE MAX?  And, unlike a lot of Asian food, it was nearly as good the next day. Yes!

Set the table before you begin to cook.

I made the rice in the afternoon and spread it out to dry on a baking sheet.

Wokman

Hates cooking alone.

Very quick, this man is.

Not sure we had the heat up high enough.

Turn off as soon as you add the basil.

Garnish with cilantro and lime.

Add pieces of cucumber for crunch and coolness.

 Basil Chicken Fried Rice  by Dim Geefay    Watch her video about how to make this dish.
4 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 cups already cooked rice
• 6 big cloves of garlic, crushed (together w/ peppers w/ mortar and pestle or lrg knife)
• 2-4 Thai (bird) red and green chili peppers or 1-2 Serrano peppers, crushed  (I used 1/2 jalapeno*)
• 1/4 c cooking oil  ( I used canola; you could also use peanut.)
• 1 to 1 1/2 lbs chicken meat (I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs.)
• 3T Oyster sauce
• 2T Fish Sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 medium-sized red bell pepper, julienned
• 2 c fresh sweet basil leaves, whole
• 1 cucumber, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1/2 c cilantro leaves
• 1 lime, cut into quarters

 Instructions:

1. Heat oil in deep pan or wok over high heat.
2. Wait until oil starts to smoke.
3. Add crushed garlic and peppers.
4. Stir quickly; don't let them burn
5. Immediately add chicken, stiring.
6. Add oyster sauce, fish sauce, sugar.
7. Stir until chicken is cooked through. (no pink)
8. Add already cooked rice.
9. Stir quickly until sauces are blended with rice. (a couple of minutes)

*1/2 jalapeno made the dish tasty, but quite mild.  Use a whole if you like some spice.

Two-Dog Kitchen and Around the 'Hood

-I'm busy packing.  I hate it.  Who likes it?  Enough said.  
-Had a perfect Valentine's Day..God was good; my husband was home and he made reservations at Pizzeria Rustica in Old Colorado City, one of my favorite places.  They had a food and wine pairing deal--lovely.
-Dogs got groomed and are hot to trot.  It was almost 70 F.

If only we could just get dropped off somewhere where they threw us in first a cage, then a tub, trimmed us all up, blew us dry, tied bandanas around our necks, gave us treats, and threw us back in a cage again. (Somehow it's just not the same when I go to the hair dresser's, though it's slightly reminiscent of the Wizard of Oz.  I guess I'd skip the cage.)
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If you're keeping up with some of the responses to the "Deathly Letter" from within a segment of the Presbyterian Church, USA, here is another one I found intriguing:


http://www.wilsonpresbyterian.org/2011/02/resonse-to-the-deathly-letter-to-the-pcusa-by-rev-blake-spencer-second-presbyterian-church-nashville-tn/

Very well done indeed.  If you are a Presbyterian in this country and wonder how we came to be likely to split, check this out--it's the chart of which Presbyterians came when and did what:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Connection2_900.jpg

Perhaps today isn't so unusual after all.  Pray for this church.  Pray for our seminarians.  I have to admit I'm a bit abashed about worshiping at the UCC (along with quite a few other Colorado Springs Presbyterians)...  But it's been a life-changing experience.  Not enough words available.



Sing a new song,
Alyce