Thai Chicken and Coconut Soup

Sous Vide Details: Cook Chicken at 142ºF for 2 hours

Ingredients, Serves 2-4:

• 1 skinless chicken breast
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 13oz can of unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 red pepper, seeds removed and thinly sliced
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms (use your favorite mushrooms)
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup small diced celery
• 1 stalk of lemongrass, smashed and halved (3" length)
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons minced ginger
• 1/3 cup chopped Thai basil
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1 fresh lime
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVO)
• 1-3 tablespoons chopped Thai peppers (depending on how spicy you want it)
• Salt and pepper for taste

I LOVE Thai food and Thai soup is a special treat.  So I decided to try to re-produce a Thai chicken coconut soup that I always get from my local favorite Thai restaurant.  The key to Thai soup is the delicate flavor.

First we want to get the chicken cooked and what better way than to sous vide the chicken.  Sous vide chicken is incredible!  Pre-heat water bath to 142ºF.  Take the chicken breast and lightly salt and pepper.  Place in plastic bag and seal.  Place in water bath and cook for 2 hours.

A half an hour before the chicken is done, you can start on the soup.  In a large pot, heat the EVO on medium high heat.  Add the garlic and ginger and stir until their aroma is released.  Add the mushrooms and cook until soft.  Add the lemongrass, red peppers, celery and carrots and cook for 3 minutes.  Add the Thai peppers and cook for 1 minute.  Add the chicken stock, coconut milk, fish sauce and sugar and turn heat down to a simmer.  Simmer for 10 minutes.

When the chicken is done, remove from the water bath and bag and cut up the chicken into bite size pieces. Add the chicken and chopped Thai basil to the soup and cook for 3-5 minutes to infuse flavor.  Finally squeeze the lime juice into the soup.  Ladle the soup into bowls and top with cilantro and scallions.  Enjoy!

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Turkey Breast Roulade with Wild Rice and Mushrooms

Sous Vide Details: Cook Turkey Roulade at 138ºF for 3 hours

Ingredients, Serves 4:

• 1 large Turkey breast with skin on
• 1 cup cooked wild rice (I used a basmati herbed rice mix)
• 1 cup of your favorite mushrooms (I used mix of shitake and oyster)
• 2 cups fresh spinach
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped celery
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup small toasted bread crumbs (slightly smaller than 1/2" x 1/2")
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped thyme
• 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Sauce:
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped thyme
• 1/4 cup thinly chopped scallions
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
• 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed

I love Turkey breast sous vide, but it seams that I'm always waiting until Thanksgiving to have it.  Well, it's party because seeing the slices whole breast of white meat brings Thanksgiving visions to me every time.  So I decided to do a Turkey breast roulade as a change up.

Pre-heat water bath to 138ºF.  First we need to make the roulade stuffing.  Heat a medium skillet on medium high heat.  Add garlic and shallots and cook until shallots are transparent and there is a nice aroma.  Add the celery, mushrooms and thyme and cook until mushrooms are tender and soft.  When done, transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add the cooked rice, parsley, pecans and toasted bread crumbs.  Stir to combine, salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

Now, we need to "flatten" our Turkey breast.  Take the breast, skin side up, and make a horizontal slice in one side, stopping about 1" before getting to the other side.  Open the breast up like a book.  Place a large sheet of saran wrap on the counter and place the opened Turkey breast on the saran wrap. Place another large sheet of saran wrap over the top of the breast.  Using a meat mallet, flatten the Turkey breast until it is roughly 1/2" thick.  You can use a slightly diagonal striking motion to move the meat away from the center.

Once you have flattened the breast, remove the top saran wrap and place the spinach leaves over the breast.  Add the stuffing mixture over the spinach in a uniform layer.  Now, using the front of the saran wrap as a guide, carefully roll the Turkey breast into a log, wrapping the bottom saran wrap around to tighten the log form.  Pinch and twist the two sides to create a tight "log".  Place the whole Turkey breast log into a plastic bag and seal.  Place in the water bath and cook for 3 hours.

About a half an hour before the Turkey roulade is done, preheat the oven to 450ºF.  You can also start on the sauce.  In a medium sauce pan, heat the shallots and garlic over medium heat until shallots are transparent.  Add the white wine and reduce heat to a simmer and simmer until wine reduces to a thick liquid (almost completely reduced). Add the heavy cream, parsley, thyme and scallions and simmer until reduced to a thick consistency.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the butter, one cube at a time and whisk to combine.  Keep sauce warm, but not boiling until ready to serve.

When the Turkey is done, take it out of the water bath and plastic bag and carefully pat it dry.  Place it on an oven tray and place it in the oven.  Cook until skin is golden brown (about 5-8 minutes).  Remove from oven and place on cutting board.  Take a new sheet of saran and place it over the Turkey roulade and using a large knife, cut the roulade into slices.  Remove the saran and place the slices on a serving tray.  Serve with sauce on the side and enjoy!

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Turkey Bacon Wrapped Chicken Roulade

Sous Vide Details: Cook chicken roulade at 142ºF for 2 hours

Ingredients, Serves 2:

• 1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 5 slices of turkey bacon
• 1 1/2 cup of spinach
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons grape seed oil

Chicken by itself, even cooked sous vide can be a little "boring" at times.  I've found that an easy way to spice it up both flavor-wise and visually is to make chicken roulade, or a chicken breast roll.  It turns a boring breast into a fancy main entree!  For this particular roulade I thought I'd spice it up even more by wrapping it with turkey bacon, a little healthier than normal bacon.

Pre-heat water bath to 142ºF.  Lay out a large sheet of saran wrap on your counter top.  Place the chicken breast bottom side up in the middle and place a second large saran wrap on top.  Using a meat mallet or the bottom of a skillet, pound the breast till it is roughly 1/2" thick.  Holding both saran wrap sheets, flip the breast over and remove the top sheet.  Place the slices of bacon, perpendicular to the counter top edge, slightly overlapping over the chicken breast then place a new large sheet of saran wrap on top of the bacon.  Again, flip the sheets and breast over again so the bacon side is on the bottom.  Remove the top saran sheet and distribute the spinach over the chicken breast.  Then sprinkle the cheese over the spinach.

Now slowly roll the chicken breast into a log, using the bottom saran wrap to help form the log.  Pinch and twist the ends to compress the log at each end.  Place the chicken roulade (including the saran wrap) into a plastic bag and seal.  Place in the water bath and cook for 2 hours.

When the roulade is done, heat the grape seed oil in an iron skillet on medium high heat.  Remove the roulade from the water bath and open the plastic bag.  Remove the roulade and cut open and remove the saran wrap.  Pat the roulade dry with a paper towel.  Place in skillet and sear the bacon on all sides, roughly 30 seconds per side.  To slice it cleanly, you can place the roulade on a cutting board and place a new piece of saran wrap over it and then use a sharp knife to slice it into clean pieces.  Remove the saran after slicing.  Plate it up and server!  Enjoy...

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Vinaigrette Cole Slaw

Ingredients, Serves 6-8:

• 1 head green cabbage, julienned
• 1 head red cabbage, julienned
• 1 red pepper,  julienned
• 1 green pepper,  julienned
• 1 orange pepper,  julienned
• 1 cup julienned carrots
• 1 scallion, cut to 1" lengths and then julienned
• For the vinaigrette:
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVO)
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon minced shallots
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste

I don't normally like cole slaw, but this vinaigrette based slaw is delish and super easy to make.  You can julienne the vegetables with a mandoline if you have one or just old fashion knife and hand!

Whisk all the vinaigrette ingredients in a bowl until well integrated.  Mix all the vegetables in a large bowl.  Pour vinaigrette over vegetables and toss to mix.  Cover and chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.

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