March 11--Some days I gaze into the refrigerator and see the same old, same old. Lean chicken, pork and broccoli. Potatoes and onions. Bags of well-intentioned fresh produce and cut greens. Row upon row of partially used condiments.
Recently, all this fridge-gazing helped me dislodge my dinner doldrums. Truth be told, I simply wanted to reduce the number of containers on a shelf, so I poured several condiments into a squeeze bottle: Hoisin sauce, ketchup and the oh-so-trendy Sriracha hot sauce.
After tasting the spontaneous blend, ideas flowed. Ever since, I've been refilling the bottle so I can season everything with the sweet, spicy, deep red concoction that's better than ketchup, less "ethnic" tasting than hoisin and tamer than straight Sriracha.
The recipes that follow reflect our new-found love. I use the sauce to glaze pork tenderloin and sliced firm tofu. It's a simple way to enliven a stir-fry of vegetables and rice noodles or to coat roasted eggplant for a meatless main.
If nothing else, use the sauce to "candy" walnuts. Amazing. I could eat them on everything, but my favorite version pairs the walnuts with skillet-roasted shishito peppers for a zesty, messy appetizer or side dish. Shishito peppers can be found in Asian markets or Trader Joe's produce section in small bags. They'll keep a week or so in the refrigerator which makes them invaluable for inspired cooking.
I usually stock lean and speedy-to-cook pork tenderloin for weekday dinners. Glazed with the spicy barbecue sauce, the pork tenderloin transitions from mundane lean eating into something truly craveable.
The same thing happens to my standard vegetable and noodle stir-fry -- which makes a great accompaniment to the pork. The sauce easily adds complexity that makes me happy to cook. I like rice noodles because they only require a hot water soak while I prepare the vegetables. Select fairly wide noodles, such as the version intended for pad Thai, because the sauce clings to them beautifully. Skinny rice vermicelli (also known as glass noodles) taste great, as does fettuccine.
Armed with one great homemade condiment, dinner doldrums disappear and happy cooks appear.
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Spicy hoisin barbecue sauce
Prep: 5 minutes
Makes: 2 cups
Dark, sweet hoisin sauce is made from a combination of fermented soy, garlic, vinegar, chili and sugar. Sriracha, a red chili sauce, likewise has a sweet and garlicky edge to it; look for a brand free of preservatives.
1 cup hoisin sauce
1/2 cup each: ketchup, Sriracha hot sauce
Mix everything in a container with a tight-fitting lid. Keeps, refrigerated, a week or more.
Nutrition information per tablespoon: 22 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 5 g carbohydrates, 0 g protein, 261 mg sodium, 0 g fiber
Spicy barbecued roasted walnuts
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 1 minute
Makes: about 1 1/2 cups
Peanuts or cashews can be substituted for the walnuts.
1 1/2; cups (5 ounces) coarsely broken walnut halves
1/2; tablespoon safflower oil or expeller-pressed canola oil
1/4; cup spicy hoisin barbecue sauce, see recipe
Place all ingredients near stove. Heat a large well-seasoned cast-iron skillet or griddle over medium-high heat until hot. Add oil, heat, then add walnuts. Cook, stirring, until nuts are lightly toasted (watch carefully), about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat; stir sauce into walnuts to coat them nicely. The heat of the pan will glaze the nuts. Serve hot.
Nutrition information per 1/4 cup serving: 178 calories, 17 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 6 g carbohydrates, 4 g protein, 174 mg sodium, 2 g fiber
Seared shishito peppers with spicy barbecued roasted walnuts
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 12 minutes
Makes: 4 to 6 servings
12 ounces whole shishito peppers, rinsed, patted dry
1 to 2 tablespoons safflower oil or expeller-pressed canola oil
Coarse salt
1 recipe spicy barbecued roasted walnuts
1. Heat a large well-seasoned cast-iron skillet or griddle over medium-high heat until hot. Add 1 tablespoon oil, then half of the peppers. Cook, stirring frequently, over medium-high heat, until blistered and golden on all sides, 5-6 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon to a plate.
2. Repeat to cook remaining peppers adding a little oil if needed. Sprinkle peppers with coarse salt. Scatter the nuts over the peppers; serve with plenty of napkins.
Nutrition information for each of 6 servings: 181 calories, 18 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 7 g carbohydrates, 4 g protein, 272 mg sodium, 2 g fiber
Barbecued rice noodles and vegetables
Prep: 20 minutes
Stand: 20 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Makes: 4 servings
I like to use bitter melon in place of the zucchini when I can find it. Cut the bitter melon lengthwise in half, scoop out the seeds and slice it super thin on the diagonal.
2 small green zucchini (12 ounces total), halved, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ounces rice stick noodles (1/4-inch wide) or bean thread vermicelli noodles (also known as glass noodles)
1/4 cup spicy hoisin barbecue sauce, see recipe
1 tablespoon each: soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons expeller-pressed canola oil, safflower oil or peanut oil
4 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, caps cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 cup snow pea pods, ends trimmed
1 medium orange or yellow bell pepper, quartered, seeded, cut into thin slices
3 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped
Garnish:
3 green onions, sliced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1. Mix zucchini and salt in a colander; let stand 20 minutes. Pat dry.
2. Soak noodles in a large bowl with 4 cups very hot (nearly boiling) water, until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain.
3. Mix spicy barbecue sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, sesame oil and 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl.
4. When ready to cook, have all the prepared ingredients near the stove. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over high. Add zucchini; stir fry until golden and tender, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, pea pods and bell pepper; stir-fry, 2 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute.
5. Add sauce mixture, then stir in drained noodles. Stir-fry to heat through, about 1 minute. Serve garnished with green onions, cilantro and mint.
Nutrition information per serving: 255 calories, 9 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 41 g carbohydrates, 5 g protein, 522 mg sodium, 3 g fiber
Glazed BBQ pork tenderloin
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Makes: 2 to 4 servings
1 pound boneless pork tenderloin
Expeller-pressed canola oil or safflower oil
1/4 cup spicy hoisin barbecue sauce, see recipe
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a nonstick grill pan over medium-high heat until hot. Coat the pork tenderloin lightly with oil. Add the pork to the grill pan. Cook, turning once or twice, until nicely grill-marked on all sides, about 10 minutes total.
2. Brush pork on all sides with the spicy barbecue sauce. Slide the pan into the oven; cook until an instant-read thermometer registers about 145 degrees, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven. (If desired, put the pork under the broiler to char the glaze a bit, about 3 minutes.) Slice pork very thinly to serve.
Nutrition information for each of 4 servings: 219 calories, 10 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 78 mg cholesterol, 5 g carbohydrates, 25 g protein, 314 mg sodium, 0 g fiber
Roasted BBQ eggplant
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Makes: 4 servings
3 medium (1 1/2; pounds total) light purple long Chinese eggplants, ends trimmed, quartered lengthwise, then cut into 1-inch chunks
3 to 4 tablespoons expeller-pressed canola oil or safflower oil
3 tablespoons spicy hoisin barbecue sauce, see recipe
Chopped fresh cilantro
Cooked jasmine rice
Spicy barbecued walnuts, optional (or chopped dry roasted peanuts)
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Put eggplant onto one very large or two smaller nonstick baking sheets. Add oil; toss well to coat eggplant. Roast on a rack set in the upper third of the oven, stirring once, until eggplant is golden and tender, about 20 minutes.
2. Remove from oven; dollop with the barbecue sauce. Stir gently to coat all the eggplant pieces with the sauce. Sprinkle with cilantro. Serve warm over rice sprinkled with the nuts.
Nutrition information per serving: 144 calories, 11 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 12 g carbohydrates, 1 g protein, 199 mg sodium, 4 g fiber
