Barbecue Chicken Pizza Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients:
Pillsbury Thin Crust Dough (in the refrigerated section next to biscuit dough)
1/2 cup barbecue sauce (I like Sweet Baby Ray's)
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
1/2 of a red onion, sliced thinly
2 grilled chicken breasts, chopped (season raw breasts with salt and pepper and grill or pan fry til fully cooked)
handful of cilantro, chopped

Directions:
1. Follow directions on package of pizza dough
2. Using a silicone brush (or whatever spreading tool you have), spread BBQ sauce evenly over the crust
3. Coat chicken breast pieces with 1/4 cup BBQ sauce
4. Sprinkle chicken and red onion on crust
5. Top with mozzarella cheese
6. Follow package directions for baking pizza after adding toppings

NOTE: Use the regular mozzarella cheese and not the low fat kind because it will turn out dry and not melty. Also, do not leave pizza in the oven more than is recommended on dough package or else the crust will burn.

Ginger Salmon Recipe

Serves 2

Ingredients:
1 piece of salmon (4 oz or whatever size you have)
1 small piece of ginger (about one inch knob)
Ponzu sauce

1. Cut salmon in half and season with salt. Julienne ginger.

2. Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add ginger and stir fry until fragrant (this flavors the oil).

3. Push ginger to the side so it doesn't burn too quickly. Then add salmon to the pan. I prefer my salmon crispy on the outside and flaky on the inside so I pan fry the pieces golden brown on each side.

4. Once salmon is cooked, transfer to a plate, top it with the ginger and drizzle ponzu sauce over it. Ponzu sauce is a Japanese citrus soy sauce and can be found in the Asian aisle of your local grocery store or in the soy sauce section of your local Asian supermarket. Enjoy!

NOTE: I usually serve this as one of the entrees for a family style dinner. The last time I made this, I served it with 2 other dishes -- stir fried greens with garlic and Taiwanese san bei ji (a sweet, salty and spicy chicken dish flavored with garlic, ginger, scallions and jalapenos). I'll be posting those recipes here as well.

Chicken Katsudon Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts

1 cup panko crumbs

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 onion (white or yellow), sliced

4 eggs

Sauce

1 cup dashi broth (japanese broth)

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/4 cup mirin (sweet japanese cooking wine)
1/4 cup soy sauce

1. Cut each breast lengthwise (as though to butterfly it with the knife being parallel to the board) so that you have two rather thin pieces of chicken. Then pound each piece of chicken with a mallet until it is uniform in thickness. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Put all purpose flour and panko crumbs side by side on a baking sheet. Beat the eggs in a bowl. Take each seasoned chicken piece and dredge in flour then dip in the eggs and finally coat with panko crumbs.

3. Heat about 2 tablespoons or so of cooking oil in a medium pan over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, place down as many chicken pieces as you can but do not overcrowd them (I actually used a small pan for this so I could only fry one piece at a time). Fry until golden brown on each side. Once cooled, cut into half inch strips.

4. Combine all sauce ingredients in a small pot over medium high heat. Once it starts to boil turn heat down to low and let simmer. TIP: dashi broth can be made using hondashi powder/granules (pictured below, usually found in the spice aisle of your local asian store) and hot water. I used a teaspoon of hondashi granules and 1 cup of hot water to make 1 cup of instant dashi broth.

5. Pour 1/4 cup of the sauce and about a quarter of your sliced onions in a small pan over medium heat and let simmer for a few minutes, covered.

6. Push onions to the side and add the sliced chicken cutlet to the pan, then place the cooked onions on top of the chicken and pour 1/4 of the egg mixture on top. Let simmer for about 30 seconds, covered.

7. Place desired amount of rice in a bowl and slide your chicken katsu and sauce over the rice. Additionally, you may top it with seaweed shreds and chopped green onions. Enjoy!