Tasty Recipes from Recipe Wizards

Sticky rice with mango

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 35 minutes

Serves 2 to 4

This recipe comes from Vitoon Assavarungnirund of Tuk Tuk restaurant in Natomas.

Note: The prep time does not include the 1-hour soak time for the rice. Sticky rice is also known as short-grain, pearl or glutinous rice.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups uncooked sticky rice, soaked in cold water for at least one hour and drained

1 1/4 cups coconut milk

Pinch of salt

1 1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons sugar

2 large ripe mangoes, peeled and sliced

INSTRUCTIONS

In a saucepan, bring to a boil the rice, coconut milk, salt, sugar and 1 1/4 cup water. Stir. Lower heat and simmer, uncovered, 8 to 10 minutes, until all the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand 5 minutes. Transfer rice to a steamer or double saucepan and steam 15 to 20 minutes over boiling water, until the rice is cooked through. Mold the cooked rice into individual ramekins or small cups lined with plastic wrap. Cool to room temperature. At serving time, unfold onto a plate and top with mango.

Per serving based on 4 servings: 472 cal.; 6 g pro.; 79 g carb.; 15 g fat (14 sat., 1 monounsat., 0 polyunsat.); 0 mg chol.; 84 mg sod.; 4 g fiber; 23 g sugar; 29 percent calories from fat.

Thai beef salad

Prep time: 40 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Serves 2-3

This recipe comes from Vitoon Assavarungnirund of Tuk Tuk restaurant in Natomas.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound sirloin or similar-quality steak

5 fresh hot Thai chilies (prik kee noo), sliced crosswise very thin; or substitute jalapeños, minced (wear gloves)

2 large cloves garlic, sliced crosswise very thin

1 tablespoon sugar

5 tablespoons fish sauce

5 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice (1 medium lime)

1/2 hothouse cucumber or 1 small cucumber (seeds removed), peeled and sliced thin

2 to 3 shallots, sliced crosswise very thin, or 1 small red onion, sliced very thin

1 head Bibb or Boston lettuce, or one heart of Romaine lettuce

3 or 4 sprigs cilantro, stems removed

INSTRUCTIONS

Grill or broil the steak until medium rare. Trim off any fat. Cool and slice thin, into pieces about 2 inches across and 1/8 inch thick. Mix chilies, garlic, sugar, fish sauce and lime juice in a small bowl. Add the sliced meat and toss with the cucumbers and shallots. Taste and add more fish sauce if desired. Make a bed of the lettuce on a serving plate. Place the beef on top. Garnish with cilantro.

Per serving based on 3 servings: 374 cal.; 49 g pro.; 15 g carb.; 12 g fat (5 sat., 6 monounsat., 1 polyunsat.); 135 mg chol.; 2424 mg sod.; 1 g fiber; 6 g sugar; 30 percent calories from fat.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Leave it to sportswriters.

Surrounded by myriad dining options in a city that arguably is one of North America’s culinary capitals, we line up at a hot dog cart on Burrard Street.

But give us credit for this much: The Japadog is no ordinary hot dog.

We’re not talking foil-wrapped, soggy ballpark dogs here. Or the water-boiled, kraut-topped street-vendor ilk. These heated canines are haute cuisine

That’s why the all-day lines at the two Burrard Street carts are the longest this side of Canada Hockey Place – or anywhere Molson’s is sold.

And soon an indoor Japadog – the first of many, its creator hopes – will open in a storefront near crowded Robson Square.

“You have one of these,” said Ed Hamilton of West Vancouver, as he waited recently in a 20-deep lunchtime line at the cart outside the Sutton Hotel, “and you’ll never want a regular old hot dog again. Believe me. I have one just about every day. Sometimes two.”

The Japadog is a unique by-product of Vancouver’s unique culture. This Pacific Coast city sometimes, and in some places, seems more Asian than Canadian.

Noriki Tamura arrived here from Japan in 2005 and was immediately struck by that cultural duality. Being a former advertising executive in Tokyo, and inspired by British entrepreneur Richard Branson’s book, he looked for ways to capitalize.

Asian-fusion restaurants were as commonplace as hockey fans. While he researched, he vended traditional hot dogs. After a few weeks, he hit on his brilliant concept:

Why not combine North American and Japanese cuisines in a fast-food sort of way?

Voila! The Japadog.

Tamura’s homemade sausages are concocted from various meats – some turkey, some pork, some Kobe beef. They’re delicious in themselves, but the secret to why the Japadog is hotter than a Vancouver winter is in the toppings.

Wasabi, seaweed, bonito flakes, daikon, nori, and such sauces as teriyaki, tonkatsu and soy. Tamura used them all in creative combinations.

Among the varieties of on-the-site grilled Japadogs are the Misomayo, a turkey sausage topped with radish sprouts, sesame miso, and a Japanese mayo; the Kurobuta, a pork hot dog smeared with soy, daikon relish, and seaweed; an Oroshi, a traditional bratwurst topped with green onions, grated daikon, nori, and teriyaki sauce; and an Okonomi, a flattened Berkshire pork sausage garnished with cabbage and bonito flakes.

No surprise, the Japanese journalists and competitors at these 2010 Winter Olympics were quick to discover Tamura’s downtown carts. And when one Tokyo TV reporter asked if he had anything honoring Japanese figure skater Mao Asada, the Mao was born.

While most of the dogs sell for between $4 and $7, the Mao goes for $10.

The dog itself is made from expensive Kobe beef. Tamura sprinkles it with tonkatsu sauce – a ginger-flavored dipping sauce. He tops that with tiny shreds of red and gold yuba – a variety of tofu – cut into the shape of tiny Canadian maple leafs.

“I think I can take Japadog around the world,” Tamura, by now accustomed to being interviewed, said as he grilled a row of dogs on an oversize hibachi. “You can see. The Canadians love it. The Americans love it. The Japanese love it.”

As far as anyone can tell, there’s just one problem with Japadogs: The “fast” in fast food might be something of a misnomer. Tamura and his helpers painstakingly grill and top every individual dog. Customers, particularly those at the back of the glacier-paced lines, often drop out in frustration.

“That’s OK,” said Hamilton. “You don’t want something that’s been sitting around for hours, do you?”

Before you slice into a tomato, chop an onion, pull out a skillet – before you even turn on the stove – turn on your senses.

Your ability to use all your senses – to see, hear, smell, feel and taste – may be the simplest way to up your culinary cred.

“To ignore that is to deprive yourself of some of the natural, most basic pleasures of the craft,” said Lauren Braun Costello, New York-based chef-stylist and cookbook author during a phone chat. Most important, she said, learn to taste.

“You peel a carrot. It feels firm, and you say OK, it’s crunchy. You bite into it, and it’s not that sweet, it’s not that full of flavor or it has an odd texture. You’re tasting before you start cooking,” said Costello, who has written “Notes on Cooking” and “The Competent Cook.” “You’re a conductor and you’ve got all these musical instruments and you’re going to create a melody. You have to really taste and see and feel and touch and smell how all that is coming together.”

For Marcus Samuelsson, chef at restaurants Aquavit, in New York, and C-House, in Chicago, that might mean incorporating vinegar or lime juice into a savory sauce to brighten its flavor.

For Thomas Keller, chef at Napa Valley restaurants French Laundry and Ad Hoc, that might mean getting comfortable with touching food.

“I’ve found a lot of people are afraid to touch food,” he writes in “Ad Hoc at Home.” “Touching food is good. It … gives you results impossible to achieve when you’re using long metal utensils.”

MORE TIPS:

Season as you go: “Season meat before you brown it. Season meat as it comes off the heat. Season the meat as you slice it,” Costello said.

Season correctly: “When you season food … whether the food is raw or cooked, always season from high above the food to ensure even distribution,” writes Keller.

Sweet, too: In “New American Table,” Samuelsson mixes Dijon mustard, maple syrup, lime juice and olive oil for brushing on grilled tuna. For salmon, a similar sauce uses honey instead of syrup. Balsamic vinegar adds its sweetness to a toasted sesame oil, olive oil and lime juice mix he splashes on grilled chicken.

Balance a plate: “The contrast and repetition of shapes, colors, textures and sizes provide a powerful form of culinary communication,” Costello writes.

CRISPY BRAISED CHICKEN THIGHS

Prep: 20 minutes Cook: 45 minutes

Makes: 6 servings

A one-pot dish adapted from chef Thomas Keller’s “Ad Hoc at Home.”

12 chicken thighs

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup canola oil

1 cup coarsely chopped onion

1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic

3 large fennel bulbs, trimmed, cored, cut into 2- by 1/2-inch batons (about 3 cups)

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 cup large green olives

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

4 fresh or 2 dried bay leaves

4 strips lemon zest

8 sprigs thyme

1 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Season the chicken thighs on both sides with the salt. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the thighs, skin side down, in batches if necessary, until brown, about 6 minutes per batch. Turn the thighs over; cook 1 minute. Transfer to cooling rack set in a baking sheet. (Add more oil to skillet if needed to cook second batch.)

2. Reduce the heat to medium low; add the onion. Cook 1 1/2 minutes. Add the garlic; cook 1 minute. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the fennel; turn the heat up to medium. Cook, stirring often, until the fennel is crisp-tender, about 10 minutes.

3. Pour in wine; simmer 2 minutes. Stir in the olives, red pepper flakes, bay leaves, lemon zest, thyme and chicken stock. Heat to a simmer; cook until the fennel is tender, about 1 minute.

4. Taste the stock; season with salt as needed. Return the chicken to the skillet, skin side up, in a single layer (if your skillet is not large enough, use a roasting pan). When the liquid returns to a simmer, transfer to the oven; cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Turn on the broiler; put the pan under the broiler to crisp and brown the chicken skin, about 2 minutes. Transfer to serving platter; garnish with parsley.

Nutrition information:

Per serving: 571 calories, 65 percent of calories from fat, 41 g fat, 9 g saturated fat, 159 mg cholesterol, 15 g carbohydrates, 36 g protein, 779 mg sodium, 5 g fiber

TURKEY MEATLOAF WITH TOMATO-SPINACH SAUCE

Prep: 20 minutes Cooking: 1 hour 35 minutes Makes: 4 to 6 servings

Adapted from chef Marcus Samuelsson’s “New American Table”

3/4 cup water

11/2 teaspoons salt

3/4 cup uncooked semolina couscous

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 red onion, chopped

8 tomatoes or 1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes

1 green bell pepper, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon mild chili powder

1 teaspoon thyme leaves

1 large egg

1 pound ground turkey

Freshly ground pepper

2 cups baby spinach

4 basil leaves, torn in small pieces

1. Heat water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to a boil in a medium saucepan; turn off the heat. Add the couscous; cover and let sit 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder and thyme; simmer until the tomatoes are broken down and softened to a sauce, about 25 minutes.

3. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Remove 1 cup of the tomato sauce; let it cool. Let the rest of the tomato sauce continue to simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, combine the 1 cup tomato sauce with couscous, egg and turkey. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and pepper to taste. Shape the mixture into a loaf. Arrange the loaf on a parchment-lined sheet pan; bake 1 hour.

5. Five minutes before the meatloaf is ready, reheat the tomato sauce. Fold the spinach and basil into the sauce. Season with remaining 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and pepper to taste. Serve the sauce with the meatloaf.

Nutrition information: Per serving: 280 calories, 28 percent of calories from fat, 9 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 65 mg cholesterol, 27 g carbohydrates, 25 g protein, 269 mg sodium, 4 g fiber

You vow to become a better cook, to expand your range beyond the dozen dishes you prepare from memory, to give your dishes a gourmet spin.

But admit it: You recoil in horror when a recipe takes two days to make.

We hear you. So do some of America’s top chefs whose newest cookbooks are filled with tips geared to help home cooks up their culinary game without foam-makers, gallons of truffle oil and battalions of sous-chefs.

Two notables: Thomas Keller and Marcus Samuelsson.

Keller, chef of Napa Valley restaurants French Laundry and Ad Hoc, counsels in his cookbook “Ad Hoc at Home”: “Learn to use salt properly. … It may be the single most important skill a home cook can learn.”

Among his caveats on the subject: “We use pepper to introduce a new flavor to a dish. You should be able to taste it. By contrast, salt only enhances flavors that are already there,” he writes. “If you can taste the salt in a dish, it’s too salty.”

In “New American Table,” chef Samuelsson of Aquavit in New York and C-House in Chicago urges cooks to think of condiments – from balsamic vinegar to soy sauce and fish sauce – not as “crusty old bottles that take up space on the refrigerator door,” but as integral parts of cooking. “You can play with the different flavors for simple shortcuts to enliven your cooking.”

And he’d love to see you expand your concept of sauces beyond the butter-based variety.

“You really want to put something on your protein that you can eat with noodles or bread,” Samuelsson told us in a phone interview. But instead of a gravy alongside grilled meats, fish or vegetables, try light, bright vinaigrettes, such as an herb-rich chimichurri sauce, or a Puerto Rican sofrito.

Or consider reductions, liquids cooked until the volume reduces and the flavors intensify. No need for butter or cream, said Samuelsson, who likes beet or carrot reductions with a bit of orange or lemon juice, perhaps ginger. “Add a little cumin and lime juice instead.”

A perfect example? This roast pork recipe that uses a whole-grain mustard vinaigrette to enhance the meat’s flavor.

Tip: Use a vinaigrette for meat

ROAST PORK TENDERLOIN AND ASPARAGUS WITH MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE

Prep: 10 minutes Cook: 25 minutes Makes: 4 servings

Adapted from “Real Simple: Easy, Delicious Meals”

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 pork tenderloin, about 1 1/4 pounds

1/2 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 pound asparagus

3 shallots, cut in wedges

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Season pork with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and pepper to taste. Cook, turning, until browned, 5-6 minutes. Transfer skillet to the oven. Roast until pork is cooked through, 12-15 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before slicing.

2. Meanwhile, on a rimmed baking sheet, toss asparagus, shallots, 1 tablespoon of the oil, remaining 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and pepper to taste. Arrange vegetables in a single layer. Roast, tossing once, until tender, 12-15 minutes.

3. Whisk together vinegar, mustard and remaining 1/3 cup of the oil. Slice pork; serve with vegetables. Drizzle all with vinaigrette.

Nutrition information

Per serving: 440 calories, 64 percent of calories from fat, 31 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 94 mg cholesterol, 7 g carbohydrates, 33 g protein, 422 mg sodium, 2 g fiber

Ginger has received its share of accolades for its tummy-calming properties, but the pungent root also is known to quiet a cough and soothe a scratchy throat – powerful feats this time of year.

If you’re looking to incorporate more ginger into your culinary repertoire, give the crystallized version a whirl. Crystallized ginger, also known as candied ginger, is fresh ginger that has been peeled, boiled in sugar and water, dried and coated in granulated sugar. It offers the same health benefits as the fresh stuff.

Crystallized ginger is generally sold in the baking aisle and is good for up to three months when stored in an airtight jar.

Here are some ways to use it this winter:

Chop and add to banana or pumpkin bread batter.

Sprinkle over the ice cream or whipped cream that tops a warm apple pie.

Add to a turkey brine.

Toss into homemade or store-bought granola.

Dip pieces in melted chocolate for quick, bite-size desserts.

Mix into stir-fry vegetables and meat.

Drop into a mug of hot tea along with a spoonful of honey.

Throw into a food processor with orange zest and add to homemade cranberry sauce.

Sprinkle on hot oatmeal in the morning.

Stir into brownie mix.

Is it blasphemy to give hallowed gumbo an Italian makeover? This idea was inspired by a half-full jar of giardiniera in the fridge, and the desire to use this popular Italian staple in something other than a sandwich.

For the unacquainted, giardiniera is a spicy Italian relish made of pickled vegetables (onions, celery and carrots are common ingredients). It’s typically offered in mild or hot versions at Italian markets, most supermarkets and sometimes at the deli counter.

Gumbo starts with a roux, made by blending flour and oil. We thought using the oil and vegetables from a jar of giardiniera – not to mention the seasonings already in the relish – would add an interesting approach to this one-pot dish. Be sure to buy an oil-based giardiniera (most are). Frozen chopped vegetables add speedy support.

Tips

If you’re using hot giardiniera, you might want to omit the ground red pepper.

Italian sausage is delicious in this recipe, but it requires an extra step: Saute the sausage in a large skillet until it’s cooked, 10-15 minutes. Then add it to the gumbo.

Beverage

An Italian beer would pair well with the spicy flavors of the gumbo.

GUMBO ITALIANO

Prep: 20 minutes Cook: 20 minutes Makes: 6 servings

1 package (8.8 ounces) microwaveable white rice

1/4 cup mild or hot giardiniera plus 2 tablespoons oil from the jar

2 tablespoons flour

3 ribs celery, diced

1 bell pepper, diced, optional

1 cup frozen each: chopped onion, chopped okra, see note

1/2 teaspoon each or to taste: salt, ground red pepper

1 container (32 ounces) low-sodium chicken broth

1 can (16 ounces) diced tomatoes

15 precooked frozen shrimp, tail off

2 to 3 links flavored smoked chicken sausage, such as artichoke and garlic, cut into 1/2-inch slices

1. Prepare rice according to directions; set aside. Meanwhile, heat the giardiniera oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat; add flour. Cook, stirring, until flour has browned, about 3 minutes. Add the giardiniera, celery, bell pepper, onion, okra and red pepper; cook, stirring, until vegetables have browned and softened, about 5 minutes, adding additional oil if necessary.

2. Stir in the broth and tomatoes; heat to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer; stir in the shrimp and sausage. Cook until meat and fish have warmed, 3-5 minutes. Divide the rice among six bowls; add the gumbo.

Note: If you only find whole frozen okra in the freezer case, add the whole pods to the pan; before serving, just chop each pod into large chunks with a pair of kitchen shears.

Nutrition information:

Per serving: 349 calories, 24 percent of calories from fat, 9 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 43 mg cholesterol, 49 g carbohydrates,

17 g protein, 624 mg sodium, 3 g fiber