Tropical BBQ Chicken & Mango Salsa

Excuse the crappy cell phone picture.

Trying to eat more protein and veggies can be very boring, especially when one is too busy to get creative and there isn't much time to prepare a meal. This recipe is a modified version of the "Caribbean Chicken" recipe from The Eat Clean Diet: Recharged. It's very tasty, easy to make and can be served in many ways. I cook a few chicken breasts at a time and save them for lunches and even snacks throughout the week.

Ingredients:

- 1 orange

- 1 lime

- 1 tbsp agave nectar

- 1 tbsp sucanat

- 1 tbsp minced ginger

- 4 gloves garlic, minced

- pinch ground cinnamon

- pinch ground nutmeg

- 1 tsp hot sauce of your choice

- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

- 1 tbsp ketchup

Directions:

1. Remove the zest from the lime and orange, setting aside for later use, then juice each fruit.

2. Add juice, agave, sucanat, ginger, garlic, cinnamon and nutmeg to a jar and shake well.

3. Place chicken in a shallow dish. Pour marinade over top. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

4. When ready to cook, remove from marinade and place chicken in grill pan or over BBQ until cooked through.

5. While chicken is cooking, pour marinade into a small sauce pan with citrus zest and heat over medium-high heat. Boil until sauce has reduced slightly. Lower heat and add ketchup. Bring to a boil again and boil for 5 minutes.

6. Pour sauce through a fine mesh strainer, using the back of a spatula to squeeze out the liquid. Discard the solids.

7. Once chicken is cooked, remove from grill and baste with the strained sauce.

Eat hot off the grill topped with mango salsa and grilled veggies, or slice and serve warm or cold over spinach salad. Top your salad with the left over Tropical BBQ sauce.

For an easy Mango Salsa, chop 1 fresh mango, 1/2 a small red onion and 1 handful of fresh cilantro. Toss together in a bowl with lime juice, salt, pepper and a pinch of red pepper flakes or hot sauce.

Chicken Hekka

Another tropical recipe from Sam Choy. Mr. Choy says while growing up, his family always made Chicken Hekka for mainland guests. He describes this dish as being "comfort food" and a "cornerstone recipe" in his cookbook.

But what the heck is Chicken Hekka? There isn't much about it online. Hekka is apparently a Hawaiian word but when I played around with Hawaiian/English translators, I found no entries. Other blogs claim Hekka is based on Japanese cooking and is pretty much the same as Japanese sukiyaki - a one pot meal made with thin sliced vegetables and meat.

Regardless of what it is, Chicken Hekka is easy to make and it's pretty good.

Marinade:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into cubes
1/4 cup soy sauce*
1/4 cup sesame oil
2 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp sucanat

1. Combine marinade ingredients in a shallow dish. Add chicken and toss well to coat. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Sake Sauce:
2 tbsp agave syrup
1/2 cup soy sauce*
1/4 cup chicken broth*
1/4 cup sake or Chinese cooking wine

1. Mix everything together in a small bowl and set aside.

Hawaiian cooking does not involve spice. You may wish to add a dash or two or Sriracha to spice things up, or leave as is for a mild flavour.

Stir Fry:
marinated chicken (as above)
1 tbsp sesame or peanut oil
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and smashed
1 can sliced bamboo shoots
1 carrot, julienned
1 stalk celery, julienned
3 stalks green onion, cut in 1 inch lengths
1/2 onion, sliced thin
1 cups watercress leaves
1 bundle (2 oz) thin rice noodles, cooked, drained and cut into 1 inch lengths
prepared Sake Sauce (as above)
1/2 block firm tofu, drained and cut into 1" cubes (optional)

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add ginger and chicken. Brown chicken.

2. Add bamboo shoots, carrot and celery. Stir fry for 3-4 minutes. Add onion and green onion and stir fry for another minute or two.



3. Add 1/2 cup Sake Sauce and rice noodles. Let simmer for 5-8 minutes. Sauce will absorb into noodles.

4. Gently stir in tofu and watercress. Mix everything together well. Remove from heat. Serve with rice, more rice noodles or as is.



*Use Gluten Free, if needed.

Haupia (Hawaiian Coconut Pudding)

Haupia is a traditional Hawaiian Lu'au desert made with coconut milk and arrowroot starch. When heated together, the ingredients take on a gelatinous texture, and when cooled, the result can be cut into cubes for serving. Top with fresh fruit and sorbet and you have quite a nice dessert for dinner party guests!

After Dinner Notes: I was excited to try this recipe. I love coconut and I thought coconut with raspberry sorbet and fresh raspberries would be a perfect after dinner treat for my family's recent lobster dinner get together. I prepared the Haupia around 4:30pm and put it in the fridge to set. I was optimistic that it would set within a few hours. When the time came to serve dessert at 7:00pm, the Haupia was solid and firm, but it wasn't firm enough to cut into cubes as the recipe indicated. Instead, I spooned it out like a pudding, except it had the consistency of gelatin. The taste was good but the elastic, gelatinous consistency wasn't super appealing. I'm not sure the Haupia just didn't fully set, or if that is the way it is supposed to be. It did go quite well with the fruit sorbet and fresh fruit. Overall I would say it was a bit of a bust. Not sure if I would try it again. I'm going to post the recipe anyway in case any of you are interested or are familiar with the dish and have any tips or suggestions.



Haupia (Hawaiian Coconut Pudding):

Recipe from Say Choy's Aloha Cuisine

1 12oz can coconut milk
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp arrowroot starch*
dash of clear vanilla extract

1. In a large saucepan combine coconut milk and milk.

2. In a small bowl, blend together sugar and arrowroot starch. Add to saucepan and stir into coconut mixture. Whisk well to avoid lumps.

3. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens. This will only take a couple minutes.

4. Pour into an 8 inch square glass baking dish. Chill in refrigerator for several hours. When firm, cut into small squares or triangles.

5. Serve with fresh fruit, sorbet, chopped roasted nuts or a drizzle of honey or agave syrup.

To make your own coconut milk, mix 4 cups freshly grated coconut with 2 cups boiling water. Let stand 20 minutes, then drain through a double thick cheesecloth. Squeeze the cheesecloth several times to extract as much liquid as possible. Keep refrigerated.

*Bob's Red Mill makes Arrowroot Starch, but if you can't find it at your local grocer, substitute cornstarch in place.

Shrimp & Scallop Spinach Salad with Mango Dressing

This is my absolute favourite salad, barely beating out my second favourite salad.

Another dish inspired by the Island flavours of Hawaii and renowned Island chef, Mr. Sam Choy. Fresh, crisp, bright, delicious - the perfect summer salad.

Serves 2 Main Dish Salads
To serve as an appetizer salad, reduce the amount of seafood to 2-3 of each piece per person.

Shrimp & Scallop Spinach Salad:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
salt & pepper to taste
10 sea scallops
10 large prawns, peeled & de-veined, tail on
4 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
1 small red onion, sliced very thin
1/2 fresh mango, peeled and sliced thin
1/2 avocado, peeled and sliced thin
Mango Dressing (see below)

1. Heat olive oil over high heat and sauté garlic for 30 seconds. Add prawns to pan. Sear 1 minute each side. Remove from pan and set aside.

2. Pat scallops dry with paper towel. Season with salt and pepper. Add to hot pan and sear for one minute on each side, until lightly brown in colour. Remove from pan and set aside with prawns.

3. Place spinach and onion in a large bowl and toss together. Divide spinach/onion mix between two plates.

4. Arrange the seafood, alternating scallops and prawns, around the outer edge of each plate.

5. Fan a few mango and avocado slices on top and across the middle of each plate.

6. Drizzle Mango Dressing over top of everything.

Mango Dressing:

Yields 1/2 cup dressing

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 fresh mango, peeled & pitted, puréed in blender (for 1/2 cup purée)
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp sucanat
1/2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup macadamia nut or avocado oil

1. Combine all ingredients except oil. Whisk until well blended and sucanat is completely dissolved.

2. Gradually add oil while continuing to whisk. Pour into a container with tight fitting lid and refrigerate at least 20 minuets prior to using. Remove from fridge and shake well to mix. Drizzle over salad.

Macadamia Nut Crusted Prawns with Pineapple-Papaya Marmalade

A few years ago I went to Hawaii and became obsessed with island food. I loved it so much that I brought home a copy of Sam Choy's Aloha Cuisine and a new phase in my cooking life began. It's been a while since I've made any Island inspired dishes but with the return of summer, I think it's time for a change!

Macadamia Nut Crusted Prawns

1 lb raw jumbo shrimp (21/25 count), peeled & de-veined, with tails on
3 eggs
2 cups panko bread crumbs
1 cup finely chopped macadamia nuts
pinch each of salt and pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

1. Butterfly shrimp and pat dry. Follow instructions here if you aren't sure how to butterfly shrimp.

2. Crack eggs in a shallow dish and beat well.

3. In a separate shallow dish, mix together the panko, macadamia nuts, salt and pepper.

4. In a deep skillet, heat olive oil to medium.

5. Bread each prawn by dredging the prawn through the egg mixture, then with your other hand, dredge it through the breadcrumb mixture, firmly pressing the prawn into the breadcrumbs so it is well coated. Set aside.

6. When you have 5 or 6 prawns coated, place them in the hot skillet. Turn after one minute and continue cooking for another minute, until golden brown. Remove from skillet and place on a paper towel lined plate. Continue with the rest of the prawns.

7. Serve with a side of Sam Choy's Minted Pineapple-Papaya Marmalade.

Variation: Try adding shredded coconut to your panko/macadamia nut mixture. About one cup will do for delicious Coconut Mac Nut Crusted Prawns!

Sam Choy's Minted Pineapple-Papaya Marmalade

1/2 cup papaya, diced
1/2 cup pineapple, diced
3 tbsp sucanat
few leaves of fresh chopped mint

1. Combine papaya, pineapple and sucanat in a saucepan. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a pinch of fresh mint and stir. Set aside to cool.