Chicken & Red Chile Enchiladas
Vegetable Fried Rice with a Fried Egg
Panda Express's Beijing Beef (with fried rice)
1,220 calories
56 g fat (11 g saturated, 0.5 g trans)
1,710 mg sodium
Price: $5.49
It's not often that red meat gets a piping-hot oil bath, which—if this Panda Express dish is any indication—is good news for your waistline. The battered beef here is the worst Panda has to offer, and its sweet sauce—a frequent offender on Asian-American menus—contributes more than a Twix Bar's worth of sugar. Nearly as bad as the beef is the rice, which adds a staggering 530 calories to this dish on its own, a reminder that starch—as much as oil and salt—is a killer at Chinese restaurants.
Eat This Instead!
Beef with Broccoli (Check out our recipe!)
330 calories
13 g fat (4 g saturated)
900 mg sodium
Cost per serving: $3.23
Save! 890 calories and $2.26!
WORST STIR-FRY
PF Chang’s Kung Pao Chicken
1,100 calories
66 g fat (10 g saturated)
2,130 mg sodium
Price: $13.95
“Kung pao” sounds like a fierce martial arts move, which is appropriate considering it might chop your chances of sporting a flat belly. The bird is battered and fried—the one-two punch responsible for the undoing of most Asian-style chicken dishes. Chinese food is usually associated with takeout, but if you take it in—to your home kitchen, that is—you can create a much less oily opponent.
Eat This Instead!
Kung Pao Chicken (Check out our recipe!)
290 calories
13 g fat (2 g saturated)
670 mg sodium
Cost per serving: $1.96
Save! 810 calories and $11.99!
Cheesecake Factory’s Steak Diane with Fries
2,090 calories
N/A g fat (55 g saturated fat)
3,850 mg sodium
Price: $19.95
According to our research, Steak Diane is named after Diana, Roman goddess of the heft—err—hunt. But regardless of its namesake, the French-American specialty is fried in butter and swimming in cream, so it comes as no surprise that the Factory’s version breaks the 2,000-calorie mark. Swap this meal for our French-style steak and french fries just once a week and you could save 24 pounds and $851 in a year.
Eat This Instead!
Steak Frites with Compound Butter (Check out our recipe!)
460 calories
24 g fat (11 g saturated)
660 mg sodium
Cost per serving: $3.57
Save! 1,630 calories and $16.38!
On the Border’s Pepper Jack Chicken Grilled Enchiladas (with refried beans)
1,270 calories
57 g fat (22 g saturated)
3,650 mg sodium
Price: $9.99
Enchiladas have always been a humble home-cooked comfort staple across Mexico, but when they resurface on Tex-Mex menus in America, the reality gets a bit murkier. On the Border takes what should be a beautifully simple dish—shredded chicken wrapped in a corn tortilla and covered in salsa—and muddies up the concept with excess cheese, creamy sauce, massive portions, and sorry sides. Grab a rotisserie chicken, a package of corn tortillas, and a bottle of salsa and return the enchilada to its rightful place as a lean and satisfying comfort food.
Eat This Instead!
Chicken and Red Chile Enchiladas (Check out our recipe!)
375 calories
12 g fat (5 g saturated)
630 mg sodium
Cost per serving: $1.83
Save! 895 calories and $8.16!
WORST CHINESE BEEF ENTRÉE
PF Chang’s Double Pan-Fried Noodles Combo
1,125 calories
61 g fat (10 g saturated)
5,160 mg sodium
Price: $11.25
With a name like this, it's hard not to expect a bit of trouble. But a plate of noodles with more sodium than 14 large orders of McDonald's french fries crosses the threshold from disappointing to downright dangerous. At its best, Chinese cuisine is one of the healthiest on the planet, but these noodles illustrate the many perils of eating it outside of your own home.
Eat This Instead!
Sesame Noodles with Chicken (Check out our recipe!)
340 calories
11 g fat (2 g saturated)
400 mg sodium
Cost per serving: $2.05
Save! 785 calories and $9.20!
Admit it: At some point you've caved to the dubious promise of some whiz-bang new piece of kitchen gadgetry. Maybe it was late at night and you ordered a bread knife capable of sawing through a Master Lock. Or perhaps some smarmy pitchman at the mall convinced you to buy a 12-gallon margarita machine that now gathers dust in your attic. Forgive yourself. Your intentions were good. But realize this: While the Ron Popeils and Cutcos of the world try to reinvent the wheel, one tool has proven impervious to technological advancement or entrepreneurial tinkering: the mortar and pestle.
The simplicity is almost off-putting. It's essentially a bowl and a stick. But there's a reason why it continues to be one of the most important tools in kitchens from Thailand to Spain to Mexico: Together, the bowl and stick are vital for unlocking layers of flavor, whether mashing garlic into smooth purées, smashing herbs into aromatic pastes, or pulverizing dried spices into potent powders.
So why not use a spice grinder or a food processor? Three reasons: The fast-moving blades can bruise soft leaves, the heat-generating motor can burn off delicate oils, and the machines are intrinsically more difficult to clean. The mortar and pestle move only as fast as your hand, generate a negligible amount of friction heat, and require cleaning that is as simple as wiping down with a clean rag.
OUR PICK:
LE CREUSET 10-OZ MORTAR & PESTLE
$30, Cookware.LeCreuset.com
You can find cheaper sets, but we're fans of Le Creuset's durability, polished look, and unglazed interior walls. They're just abrasive enough to easily tear and pulverize seeds, herbs, nuts, and spices.
Mortar & Pestle
SUPERPOWERS
The best salsa and guacamole come from a mortar and pestle. Start by mashing garlic with a pinch of salt, then add in cilantro and onion, then either chopped tomatoes (for salsa) or fresh avocado (for guac). Finish with a squeeze of lime and serve directly from the mortar.
Whole spices have more flavor than the pre-ground stuff you find in bottles. Buy whole seeds like coriander, cumin, and cardamom and crush them up just before cooking. Dried chiles and whole peppercorns will add more punch after they've been bashed up in a mortar.
Muddle mint for mojitos, crush basil (along with garlic, pine nuts, and olive oil) into pesto, or bash up cilantro, parsley, or oregano just before garnishing pasta or soup.
Wok cooking goes back nearly as far as cavemen roasting meat on sticks, and even after thousands of years of culinary advance- ments, it remains one of the quickest, most efficient, unfussiest, and delicious cooking forms on the planet. Once you learn a few basic principles and map out your favorite flavor profiles, you can wok your way to hundreds of different meals—all with little to no forethought and only a few minutes of concentrated cooking.
Choosing your protein...
• Slice meat thin so it cooks quickly.
• When choosing beef, lean sirloin is best.
• When choosing tofu, make sure to purchase firm tofu and cut into ½-inch cubes.
Choosing your sauce...
• Figure 1 tablespoon of any sauce per serving.
• When choosing soy sauce, combine with a bit of rice wine vinegar and chili sauce.
Choosing your garnish...
• Like peanuts and cashews, water chestnuts add textural contrast.
It's nearly impossible to make a bad stir-fry with the ingredients laid out to the right. These combinations just happen to be some of our favorites.
Chicken & Red Chile Enchiladas
We’d love to bag on restaurant-style enchiladas, but truth is, even in the worst Mexican chain restaurants, enchiladas are normally your safest bet—as long they’re made with corn tortillas (lighter than flour), filled with shredded chicken (better than ground beef), and covered in salsa and a layer of cheese (gentler than the battery of condiments that cover most Mexican dishes). Play with the filling as you see fit, but this is the blueprint for enchilada success.
Other ways to construct an enchilada masterpiece:
• Fill with grilled zucchini, peppers, and onions and top with bottled salsa verde and Jack cheese.
• Fill with grilled shrimp and black beans and top with bottled salsa verde.
• Fill with Braised Brisket and follow the instructions in this recipe.
You’ll Need:
1 can (28 oz) whole peeled tomatoes, excess liquid poured off
1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp chipotle pepper
1 tsp cumin
Pinch of cinnamon (optional)
Salt and black pepper to taste
½ Tbsp canola or peanut oil
2 cups shredded chicken, preferably from a store-bought rotisserie chicken
12 corn tortillas
1 cup shredded Jack cheese
Fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)
How to Make It:
• Combine the tomatoes, half the onion, the garlic, chipotle, cumin, and cinnamon (if using) in a blender. Puree until smooth. Season with salt and black pepper. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the sauce and simmer for 15 minutes. Spread one-third of the sauce on the bottom of a 13" x 9" baking dish. Combine the chicken with another third of the sauce in a mixing bowl.
• Wrap the tortillas in a damp kitchen towel and microwave for 30 seconds, until hot and pliable. Arrange a few generous tablespoons of sauced chicken down the center of a tortilla and gently roll up. Place the filled tortilla seam-side down in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining chicken and tortillas.
• Cover the enchiladas with the remaining sauce and top with the cheese. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Top the enchiladas with the remaining onion slices and cilantro, if you like, before serving.
Makes 6 servings
Per Serving:
$1.83
375 calories
12 g fat (5 g saturated)
630 mg sodium
Vegetable Fried Rice
with a Fried Egg
Making a dish like fried rice healthy requires the same strategy employed when lightening a bowl of pasta: The add-ins need to be more abundant than the carbs themselves. Use any mixture of firm vegetables you have in your refrigerator (the more the merrier!), just be sure to cut them into similar-size pieces so they cook in the same amount of time. Eggs are normally scrambled directly into the rice, where they get lost in the jumble of grains and soy. We prefer a single, just-cooked egg on top; break the yolk and dig in.
You’ll Need:
1 Tbsp canola or peanut oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
4 cups chopped vegetables, such as asparagus, broccoli, carrot, bell pepper, zucchini, snap peas, green beans, onions (the more variety the better)
4 cups cooked brown rice, cooled
2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
4 eggs, fried sunny side up
Sriracha for serving
How to Make It:
• Heat the oil in a large wok or nonstick skillet over high heat. When the oil is lightly smoking, add the garlic, ginger, and chopped vegetables. Stir-fry the vegetables for about 5 minutes, until lightly browned and softened, using a spatula to keep the ingredients moving so that they cook evenly.
• Add the rice and cook, stirring, for another 3 minutes, then add the soy sauce and cook for 1 minute more. (If you like crispy bits in your fried rice, leave the rice to cook, undisturbed, for 1 minute. A nice crust should form on the bottom layer of rice.)
• Divide the fried rice among 4 plates or bowls and top each with a fried egg. Serve with sriracha.
Makes 4 servings
Per Serving:
$1.31
360 calories
12 g fat (2.5 g saturated)
390 mg sodium
Swedish Meatballs
We’re used to our meatballs coming in a vat of bubbling red sauce, but that’s a very narrow definition of a food so diversely interpreted throughout the world. Swedes have been forming spheres of beef and veal and covering them in sauce for hundreds of years, and when Scandinavian immigrants landed in the Midwest, they brought this taste of home with them. This version cuts the beef with turkey, which is tender and light like veal, but considerably leaner.
You’ll Need:
2 slices white bread, torn into tiny pieces
½ cup 2% milk
12 oz ground chuck
12 oz ground turkey
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1½ cups low-sodium beef stock
1 Tbsp Greek yogurt
Cranberry or raspberry marmalade for serving (optional)
How to Make It:
• Combine the bread and ¼ cup of the milk in a bowl and soak for 5 minutes. Drain and use your hands to squeeze out some of the liquid absorbed by the bread (you want it to be moist, not sopping). In a mixing bowl, combine the bread with the beef, turkey, onion, garlic, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Gently mix, then form into golf ball-sized meatballs.
• Heat the butter in a large nonstick sauté pan or skillet over medium heat. Add the meatballs and cook, turning occasionally, for about 10 minutes, until nicely browned on all sides and cooked through. Remove the meatballs to a plate and reserve.
• Add the flour to the pan, stirring with a whisk or a wooden spoon to incorporate evenly into the remaining fat. Add the stock slowly, stirring frequently to keep lumps from forming. Add the remaining ¼ cup milk and simmer for about 3 minutes, until the flour begins to thicken the liquid. Stir in the yogurt, then return the meatballs to the pan, cooking for about 10 minutes longer, until the sauce clings tightly to the meatballs. Serve by themselves, or with boiled potatoes or lightly buttered noodles. Pass the marmalade at the table, if using.
Makes 6 servings
Per Serving:
$1.45
280 calories
15 g fat (6 g saturated)
700 mg sodium
Steak Frites
with Compound Butter
At Le Relais de Venise in Paris, people line up around the block for a taste of some of the city’s best steak frites. Inside, it’s all business: A crew of stone-faced female servers in French maid outfits serve up nothing but beef (entrecôte, cooked to the rosy side of red) and potatoes (thin and crispy), all covered in an herb-spiked butter sauce that will haunt you for months to come. This is our nod to meat and potatoes done the French way.
You’ll Need:
4 Tbsp butter, softened*
Juice of ½ lemon
1 small shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, peeled and grated
1 Tbsp minced fresh chives
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire
1 lb skirt or hanger steak*
Salt and black pepper to taste
* Punch up the butter an extra notch by adding 2 tablespoons of crumbled blue cheese. Form it into a log using plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
* You can use any cut of steak you like here, but the texture and beefiness of skirt or hanger steak most closely captures the cuts of steak commonly used in the classic French brasseries of Paris.
How to Make It:
• Combine the butter, lemon juice, shallot, garlic, chives, mustard, and Worcestershire in a mixing bowl. Stir to thoroughly combine. Reserve on the countertop.
• Preheat a grill, grill pan, or cast-iron skillet over high heat. Season the steak all over with salt and plenty of black pepper. Cook the steaks, turning frequently, for about 8 minutes total (depending on the thickness), until well browned on both sides and firm but still easily yielding to the touch. Rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing. Top each steak with one-fourth of the butter and serve with the hot fries.
Makes 4 servings
Per Serving:
$3.57
460 calories
24 g fat (11 g saturated)
660 mg sodium
Thai Chicken Curry
Redolent of ginger and lemongrass, chiles and coconut milk, Thai curry brings all of the classic flavors of Southeast Asian cuisine—salty, sour, bitter, hot—together in one dish. What’s more, it derives all of its flavor from ingredients packed with powerful antioxidants. Even coconut milk contains lauric acid, among the healthiest forms of fat you can consume. The flavors may be exotic, but the tender chicken, the bouquet of vegetables, and the rich coconut milk will all taste wonderfully familiar.
Red Curry Paste
Available in Asian markets and the international sections of large grocers, red curry paste is a potent blend of chiles, herbs, and spices that can be used to ratchet up both the flavor and the nutritional profile of common dishes. Try it rubbed on pork or chicken as a pre-grill marinade, stirred into Greek yogurt and lime juice as a dipping sauce for fish, or blended with peanut butter, lime, and coconut milk to make a satay sauce, the Asian-style barbecue sauce of unrivaled depth and complexity.
You’ll Need:
1 Tbsp peanut or canola oil
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 Tbsp red curry paste
1 can (14 oz) light coconut milk
1 cup chicken stock
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into cubes
8 oz green beans
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into ¼"-thick pieces
Juice of 1 lime
1 Tbsp fish sauce (optional)
Chopped fresh cilantro or basil, for garnish
How to Make It:
• Heat the oil in a large saucepan or pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, and ginger and sauté for about 5 minutes, until soft and fragrant. Add the curry paste, cook for a few minutes, then stir in the coconut milk and broth and bring to a simmer.
• Add the sweet potato and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the green beans and chicken and cook for about 5 minutes, until the vegetables are just tender and the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the lime juice and fish sauce, if using. Serve over steamed brown rice, garnished with cilantro or basil, if you like.
Makes 4 servings
Per Serving:
$3.17
340 calories
13 g fat (6 g saturated)
400 mg sodium
Pork Chile Verde
This isn’t a dish that’s on most Americans’ radar, but it should be—tender pieces of pork stewed in a lively, slightly spicy broth studded with vegetables. Add a few warm tortillas, a hunk of lime, and a cerveza and you’re halfway to Mexico with a huge grin on your face. Just make sure you enjoy this one in the comfort and safety of your own kitchen, okay?
Extra chile verde is an infinite source of inspiration and deliciousness. Start at breakfast: Warm up a small bowl of the leftovers and top with two gently poached eggs. For lunch, serve a scoop over a bowl of black beans and fresh avocado. For dinner, chop the meat and the vegetables and stuff into warm corn tortillas. Top with the stewy liquid and cheese and bake in a 400˚F oven for 15 minutes. Finish with slices of raw onion and you have first-class enchiladas.
You’ll Need:
1 Tbsp canola oil
2 lb boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1" cubes
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 cup low-sodium chicken stock
1 bottle (15 oz) salsa verde*
1 medium onion, quartered
1 large green bell pepper, chopped into big chunks
2 cups small marble or fingerling potatoes (optional)
8 corn tortillas
2 limes, cut into quarters
* Salsa verde is a mild salsa made from onion and tangy tomatillos. Perfect for tacos and eggs.
How to Make It:
• Heat the oil in a large skillet or sauté pan over high heat. Season the pork with salt and pepper. Working in batches, add the pork to the skillet and sear on all sides until caramelized on the outside but still raw in the center (don’t overcrowd the pork or it will steam, not brown). Transfer to a slow cooker.
• Add the broth to the hot skillet and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any crispy, flavorful bits of pork. Pour the broth over the pork, along with the salsa verde, onion, and bell pepper. Set the slow cooker to high and cook for 4 hours (or low and cook for 8), until the pork is extremely tender. If using the potatoes, add them to the pot in the final hour of cooking.
• Serve the pork in bowls with the stewed vegetables, along with a ladle of the cooking liquid. Have hot corn tortillas and lime hunks on hand for makeshift tacos.
Makes 6 servings
Per Serving:
$2.90
460 calories
24 g fat (8 g saturated)
620 mg sodium
Beef with Broccoli
Beef with broccoli is one of the most recognizable stars in the Chinese-American food galaxy. No doubt it has spent some time hanging out in your refrigerator in a cardboard delivery box—a pile of beef with a few flecks of broccoli buried under a viscous tide of salty brown sauce. This recipe captures the soul of the original recipe, but without all of the excess sauce, oil, and sodium. Instead, count on plenty of lean meat, tons of fresh broccoli, and a delicious sauce that lightly coats the stir-fry.
You’ll Need:
3 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
3 Tbsp oyster sauce
2 Tbsp Shaoxing rice wine, sherry, or dry white wine
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp cornstarch
1 lb flank steak, thinly sliced
½ Tbsp canola or peanut oil
1 lb broccoli, broken into bite-size pieces
1 red or yellow bell pepper, cored and sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
¼ cup low-sodium beef stock
How to Make It:
• Combine the soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing, brown sugar, sesame oil, and cornstarch in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine the liquid with the cornstarch. Mix in the beef and let marinate for 30 minutes.
• Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the broccoli, bell pepper, garlic, and ginger and stir-fry, using a spatula to keep the vegetables moving, for about 5 minutes, until the vegetables have softened. Add the beef and its marinade and continue cooking, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, until the beef is browned and nearly cooked through. Add the stock and cook for another 2 minutes, until the sauce thickens and clings to the beef and vegetables. Serve over steamed brown rice, if you like.
Makes 4 servings
Per Serving:
$3.23
330 calories
13 g fat (4 g saturated)
900 mg sodium
Sesame Noodles
with Chicken
Italians might cringe in horror to hear it, but the noodle originally comes from Asia. In 2005, archaeologists discovered what they believe to be the oldest bowl of noodles on record, dating back some 4,000 years. (No word yet on what type of sauce they were dressed with.) The point being that sometimes a box of fettuccine is just as appropriate for an Asian-inspired meal as it is for an Italian repast. Think of this as a salad, with the noodles sitting in for lettuce. Add some protein and as many or as few vegetables as you like, and toss the whole package with a light but powerful dressing. It’s the culmination of four millennia of noodle knowledge. (Well, maybe not, but it’s awfully tasty.)
You’ll Need:
6 oz whole-wheat fettuccine
2 tsp toasted sesame oil, plus more for noodles
Juice of 1 lime
2 Tbsp warm water
1½ Tbsp chunky peanut butter
1½ Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp chili sauce, such as sriracha
2 cups shredded chicken
1 red or yellow bell pepper, sliced
2 cups sugar snap peas*
1 cup cooked and shelled edamame (optional)
Chopped peanuts, sesame seeds, or chopped scallions (optional)
* The sugar snaps work perfectly fine raw in this dish, but if you prefer them cooked, toss them in with the pasta 2 minutes before it finishes cooking. You can do the same with green beans if you can't find sugar snaps.
How to Make It:
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain the pasta and toss in a large bowl with a bit of sesame oil and rice wine vinegar to keep the noodles from sticking.
• Combine the lime juice, water, peanut butter, soy sauce, chili sauce, and sesame oil in a microwave-safe mixing bowl. Microwave for 45 seconds, then stir to create a uniform sauce.
• Add the sauce to the noodles and toss to mix. Stir in the chicken, bell pepper, sugar snaps, and edamame, if using. Top individual servings with peanuts, sesame seeds, or scallions if you like.
Makes 4 servings
Per Serving:
$2.05
340 calories
11 g fat (2 g saturated)
400 mg sodium
Lamb Tagine
Lamb might not be most Americans’ first idea of comfort food, but consider the luxe treatment of this underappreciated protein: lavishly seasoned with the best of the Moroccan spice cabinet, bolstered with golden raisins and fresh ginger, and braised in a slow cooker with a flavorful broth until falling apart. Serve it all up over a soft bed of golden couscous with a ladle of the braising liquid and you begin to understand why lamb is one of the world’s most popular meats.
You’ll Need:
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 lb lamb stewing meat (from shoulder or leg)
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
2 large onions, quartered
4 carrots, peeled and chopped into ¾" pieces
3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tsp cumin
1 stick cinnamon (or ½ tsp ground cinnamon)
¼ tsp cayenne
1 can (15 oz) chickpeas
¼ cup golden raisins
2 cups cooked couscous
Chopped cilantro
How to Make It:
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the lamb all over with salt and pepper and cook for about 7 minutes, until nicely browned on all sides. Transfer the lamb to a slow cooker. Add the stock to the pan and scrape up any brown bits, then pour over the lamb. Add the onions, carrots, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, and cayenne to the cooker. Cook on the high setting for 4 hours (or the low setting for 8), until the lamb is falling apart.
• Fifteen minutes before serving, stir in the
chickpeas and raisins. Discard the cinnamon stick if using. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and black pepper. Serve the tagine over the couscous and garnish with cilantro.
Makes 8 servings
Per Serving:
$2.85
440 calories
25 g fat (10 g saturated)
460 mg sodium
Kung Pao Chicken
What makes a stir-fry so incredibly comforting? We think that it is knowing that after a long, difficult day, a lean, flavor-packed meal can be prepared in a single pan in under 10 minutes for under $10. A real kung pao kicks like a karate kid, loaded with dried chiles that imbue the mash-up with a capsaicin glow. But in most versions across the restaurant and takeout spectrum, the heat takes a backseat to Chinese-American food’s more dominant flavor profile: fat plus salt. This one puts heat back in the driver's seat.
You’ll Need:
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, diced
¼ cup rice wine or sherry
¼ cup low-sodium chicken stock
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
½ Tbsp sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp sriracha or other Asian chili sauce
1 Tbsp peanut or canola oil
4 dried red chiles (or 1 tsp red pepper flakes)*
4 scallions, chopped, white and green parts separated
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 large zucchini, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
¼ cup roasted peanuts
* You can adjust the heat to suit your own spice tolerance. Four chiles represents a medium-spicy kung pao.
How to Make It:
• Combine the chicken, rice wine, stock, soy sauce, balsamic, sugar, cornstarch, and sriracha in a large bowl. Cover and marinate for 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours in the fridge.
• Heat the oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add the chiles, scallion white parts, garlic, and ginger and stir-fry for 30 seconds, until fragrant but not browned. Add the zucchini and bell pepper and continue cooking, using a metal spatula to keep the ingredients in near-constant motion, for about 3 minutes, until the vegetables are lightly browned.
• Remove the chicken from the marinade and add to the wok, stir-frying for about 3 minutes, until lightly browned on the outside. Add the marinade and peanuts and cook for 3 minutes longer, until the liquid comes to a boil and begins to thicken and cling to the chicken and vegetables. Stir in the scallion greens and serve over a small scoop of steamed brown rice, if you like.
Makes 4 servings
Per Serving:
$1.96
290 calories
13 g fat (2 g saturated)
670 mg sodium
Chicken Tikka Masala
So dense is the Indian population and so ubiquitous their imprint on the country that many call tikka masala the national dish of England. It takes many years to master the complex spice art at the heart of Indian cuisine, but tikka masala is the perfect beginner’s dish—light on ingredients and relatively mild in flavor. Tikka masala normally involves a heavy hand with both butter and cream, but we found that the combination of Greek yogurt and half-and-half gives you the same velvety texture for a fraction of the calories.
You’ll Need:
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1" piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground cardamom
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 cup 2% Greek yogurt
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
½ Tbsp olive oil
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
¼ cup half-and-half
How to Make It:
• Combine the garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, cardamom, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl. Spoon half of the mixture into a sealable plastic bag, along with ½ cup of the yogurt and the chicken. Squeeze the air out of the bag, seal, and massage the contents to evenly distribute. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours.
• Preheat the broiler.
• Heat the oil in a large saucepan or sauté pan over medium heat. Add the remaining ginger-spice mixture and sauté for about 3 minutes, until the ginger is soft. Add the tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn the heat down to low and stir in the remaining ½ cup yogurt and the half-and-half and simmer while you broil the chicken.
• Remove the chicken from the bag and use paper towels to wipe the marinade from the chicken. Spread the chicken on a baking sheet and place directly underneath the broiler. Broil for about 2 minutes, until the top sides are nicely browned. Flip the chicken and broil for 2 minutes more. Rest for a few minutes, then chop into large pieces and add to the simmering tomato sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Serve over steamed rice.
Makes 4 servings
Per Serving:
$1.71
260 calories
8 g fat (3 g saturated)
780 mg sodium