Improvised rice noodle salad

Overall it's been a good day for home cooked food. Breakfast was kind of a variation on Eggs Benedict (well, any kind of poached-egg-on-English muffin combo): English muffin, split and toasted, topped with a slice of tomato, then a poached egg, and finished with a covering of chive cream sauce with a little cheddar cheese added (and black pepper).

For lunch I decided to make a rice noodle salad with more Panko chicken, since noodles are quick and we've run out of short-grain rice...

Panko chicken thighs (with basil): I just pounded out chicken thighs, coated each in an egg-and-water mixture, stuck basil leaves on each piece, then flour with salt and pepper, and finally a layer of panko, and shallow-fried in oil, about 4 minutes on a side (until golden brown and cooked through).

rice noodle salad:

-rice noodles, boiled, drained and rinsed to cool

-dressing: fish sauce, soy, grated ginger, a little rice vinegar, juice of half a lime, chopped bird's eye chiles (1-2 would probably be plenty). Amounts to taste, depending on how many people you're serving. Mix well to combine.

chopped fresh herbs, about a tablespoon each: basil, mint, cilantro

-salad: about a cup of beansprouts; one baby bokchoy, chopped

To serve: layer the vegetables on a large plate. Add the noodles. Top with sliced chicken (one breast or thigh per person). Sprinkle herbs over the entire salad and pour the dressing over, making sure the noodles get coated. Dig in.

I was kind of sweating it out over the chiles, but hey, it cooled me down!

Best cold cure

Nothing much on the food front, which is why I haven't been writing in a little while. Since it's been so hot I've mostly been making quick things with leftovers, like quinoa and bean salads. On Sunday I made some panko chicken and we ate it sliced on top of salads.

I'm getting ready to travel again, this time home to Minnesota for a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, M got sick over the weekend (a bad cold) and it appears that I have come down with something too (surprise, surprise). Woke up with a sore throat and a congested feeling. Hopefully I'll feel better before I have to get on the plane.

Last night I was still feeling pretty good, and I made some Thai-style soup noodles as food medicine for M (and preventive medicine for me, I guess that didn't work so well...). Making spicy soup noodles for colds is something that I learned from my dad, who lived in Thailand for three years when he was in the Army back in the early 70's: if you're sick with some kind of a cold, sweat it out over a bowl of hot (both spicy and temperature-wise) noodle soup. I loaded ours up with chopped birds-eye chiles (I think I put in at least 12) and added fresh lime juice to the coconut-and-chicken broth. I also threw in some chopped bok choy and bean sprouts, and the "base" for the soup contained grated ginger, some shrimp paste stuff that we got at the Vietnamese market on Park (I think it's Park; it's the same street the Giant is on), just off of 14th, and one finely chopped stalk of lemon grass. Served it with tomato slices (to warm up in the broth), cilantro, shredded bok choy leaves, and extra lime, chiles and bean sprouts.

We were prepared; M grabbed a roll of tissue before we sat down to deal with the inevitable sniffling and sweating. Maybe it sounds kind of gross, but it's very satisfying. M said he felt better afterwards, although to be honest he said he wasn't sure *how* much it helped with his congestion (maybe "best" cold cure is a little misleading?). Even if it's just psychological, it's still very tasty. I had a large bowl of the leftovers for lunch today.

Uyghur Cultural Day

I'm going to Congressional Uyghur Cultural Day tonight with M. Looking forward to 羊肉串！(lamb kabobs). If there are not, I will be disappointed...