Chicken with Mango Salad

Kevin and I are going through a mango phase. I blame this on his uncle John in T.O. When we visited them over easter break, he gave us a couple fo mangoes. These mangoes were not ripe yet. The week after we visited them, we went on vacation in Punta Cana. When we got back, the mangoes were just perfect. And that got us hooked on mangoes. So we kept buying mangoes at the grocery store.

When they went on sale, I bought too many and they were going bad, so I had to look for a recipe to use it up. This recipe was originally for tilapia, but I used chicken.

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 chicken breasts butterflied.

1 large ripe mango, peeled, pitted and diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 tablespoons minced red onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

1. Whisk together the extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, parsley, garlic, basil, 1 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl and pour into a resealable plastic bag. Add the tilapia fillets, coat with the marinade, squeeze out excess air, and seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
2. Prepare the mango salsa by combining the mango, red bell pepper, red onion, cilantro, and jalapeno pepper in a bowl. Add the lime juice and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and toss well. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and refrigerate until ready to serve.
3. On the grill: Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat, and lightly oil grate.
   Remove the chicken from the marinade, and shake off excess. Discard the remaining marinade. Grill the chicken until cooked. Serve the chicken topped with mango salsa.
4. In the oven: Preheat to 400F. Bake until cooked, about 20-25 minutes depending on thickness. Serve with Mango Salsa.

The mango salsa is what makes this dish. I loved it so much that I made the salsa on its own a few days later. The chicken was not great, but kevin said that the blend of herbs tasted like pesto.

Singapore Noodles

One of my favorite noodle dish to have in a Chinese restaurant is Singapore Noodles. I'm usually someone who likes saucy dishes...but i guess the spicy curry in this dish made up for it. Kevin's not a huge curry fan. Most of the time he's just afraid to bring strong smelling food for lunch at work. Me...I don't care too much.

1 pound dry vermicelli pasta
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into strips
2 butterfly pork chops, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 carrots, thinly sliced
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1/2 (12 ounce) package frozen shrimp, thawed
1 cup bean sprouts
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons curry powder
1/4 cup water

sesame oil

fish sauce

cayenne pepper

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add vermicelli and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. In a deep skillet or fry pan, brown chicken, pork and garlic in the oil over medium-high heat.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low, and add the onion, carrots and water; cover and steam for 5 minutes. Stir in celery and shrimp. Cover and steam for 2 minutes.
4. Mix in the bean sprouts, curry powder and soy sauce; stir together until blended and hot, 4 to 5 minutes. Toss with noodles, and serve with the option of hot pepper sauce and soy sauce as condiments

Make sure you have a giant wok to make this, because my poor little one was over flowing with ingredients. I ended up with vermicelli pieces all over my stove. The measurements can be more or less depending on your taste. I used a bit more curry and soy sauce. Fish sauce and sesame oil was not in the original recipe, but i added it for the extra flavor. I also added some cayenne pepper for that extra spiciness. For the meat part of this recipe, I only used shrimp. I was too lazy and cheap to add pork and chicken too. But if you happen to have leftover pork and/or chicken that would work. For veggies, I used only green onions (shallots), onion, and red pepper. I couldn't justify buying a whole bag of carrots and a whole stalk of celery just for one recipe. We don't eat those veggies very often. The results ended up pretty good. It tastes better the next day when the dish has absorbed all the flavours. Kevin told me he liked it too. Although he took something else to work for lunch. My one complain was that the vermicelli I had was a bit too thin. I would have preferred a slightly thicker vermicelli.