Asian Chicken

I used to make this all the time in college for a quick and easy dinner.  I love dark meat chicken, but you're welcome to use whatever kind you life.  You could even buy family-size packs, marinate the whole lot, and throw in just a few pieces into individual freezer bags.  Once you freeze it, you can defrost at your leisure throughout the month.

Asian Marinated Chicken

:: 2 pounds chicken (I used whole legs, whatever cut works)
:: 1/2 cup honey or sugar
:: 3/4 cup soy sauce
:: 3/4 cup water
:: 8 cloves garlic, smashed or minced
:: 3 scallions, cut into 1-in pieces
:: 1-inch chunk of ginger, cut into thin discs
:: 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
:: hot sauce to taste, or 1 jalapeno, sliced thinly
:: 1 tsp sesame oil

Mix everything together except for the chicken.  If you are using skinless chicken, marinate for about 6 hours.  If you are using skin-on chicken, marinate overnight.  In retrospect, I probably would have poked a few holes in the skin to let the marinade really penetrate.

When you're ready to eat, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Lay the chicken skin-side down in a baking pan, pour marinade over chicken.  Bake for 25 minutes, turn heat up to 375, and flip chicken over.  Bake an additional 25 minutes.** 

Remove chicken from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.  If you'd like a thicker sauce at this point, pour excess marinade from roasting pan into a small saucepan over medium heat.  Meanwhile, combine 1 tbsp corn starch with 1 tbsp COLD water into a slurry.  Stream the corn starch slurry into the chicken marinade, stirring the whole time until sauce thickens.

I served this with white rice and broccoli!
** for crispier skin, bake at 350 for 25 minutes, 375 for 20 minutes, and broil on low for the last 5 minutes of cooking time.

Cold Sesame Noodles

Growing up, one of my favorite summer lunches was cold sesame noodles.  My parents were never big believers of air conditioning (or heat in the wintertime, for that matter...) so a cool noodle dish was always a nice treat to have.  The only cooking involved is for the noodles, the rest is just mixed up in a bowl, ready to eat!

Cold Sesame Noodles
(serves 6-8)

:: 1 box long pasta (soba, spaghetti, egg noodles...NOT chinese wheat noodles; these will fall apart)
:: 1 cucumber, julienned (cut into long thin strips)
:: 2 scallions, thinly sliced (I wish I had these on hand, but didn't!)
:: handful chopped cilantro (optional)
:: 2 tsp white sesame seeds (optional)