Oriental-Style Chicken Salad and Rice Noodle Salad

One of my best friends once gave me a cookbook called The Cuisine of California by Diane Rossen Worthington. It has turned out to be quite the gem. Every recipe I've made out of it has been really delicious. The other day I was craving the oriental-style chicken salad. I still haven't found the right rice wine vinegar for the dressing (I use a rice vinegar meant for sushi, which is okay, but I believe there's better kinds out there) but the dish tastes wonderful anyways. Since I had leftover dressing I used rice noodles instead of chicken the next day to make a rice noodle salad. Rice noodles only take about 4-5 minutes to cook so it was a really quick dinner to make. 

Serves 6-8
For dressing
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon peanut butter
Pinch of sugar
Pinch of Chinese hot mustard (haven't searched for this ingredient yet)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons hot pepper oil (didn't use this, although I'm sure the heat would add a nice touch)
1/4 cup sesame oil


3 cups chicken stock or water combined with 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 pounds chicken breasts, boned
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
1 medium European cucumber, julienned
2 green onions, thinly sliced on diagonal
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro


1. For dressing: combine all ingredients except the oils and whisk well to combine. Slowly whisk oils into dressing until combined. Set aside.


2. In a medium, deep skillet or a large saucepan, bring chicken stock or enough water to cover chicken to a simmer. If stock doesn't cover chicken, add water to cover. Add chicken breasts and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on size, or until just tender.


3. Cool chicken in liquid. Drain chicken and remove skin. Shred by tearing meat into long, thin pieces (or slice with a knife, if desired). Reserve in a medium serving bowl. 


4. To toast sesame seeds, place in dry medium skillet over high heat. Shake until seeds turn light brown, about 2 minutes. Remove immediately from skillet. Reserve. 


5. Add cucumber, green onions, and 1 tablespoon cilantro to bowl with chicken. Add dressing and mix well. Taste for seasoning. Garnish with sesame seeds and remaining cilantro. 


May be prepared up to 8 hours ahead through step 3 and kept in refrigerator. Toss with dressing just before serving. 

Chocolate in London, Paris and Zurich

Wow, what a week! Within one single week I tasted chocolate in London, Paris and Zurich. Not bad, huh? But I'm pretty sick of chocolate now (I never thought I'd ever say that!).

Last weekend I was in London and was able to stop by the shop Melt in Notting Hill. It was a very cute shop with a small selection of chocolates and chocolate bars. Perfect, as too large a selection makes me suspicious as to the freshness of the products. I bought the dark chocolate bar with mint (which never left London), the dark chocolate with sea salted caramel bar (which didn't make its first night back in Basel) and the dark chocolate bar with orange (which I just took a nibble of and presumably will disappear within 24 hours). As the name suggests, these chocolates melt in your mouth, creating a very smooth and fresh feeling. Very tasty and definitely worth another visit the next time I go to London.

When my sister was in Paris a few weeks ago she bought me a bar of dark chocolate with orange from Jean-Charles Rochoux, a shop I had recommended to her from my last trip to Paris last fall. It was so delicious that I decided to stop by the shop again this past Wednesday while I was on a work trip to Paris. And I was not disappointed. I bought a chocolate bar filled with praliné and caramel and topped with almonds as well as a selection of little chocolates. All were very tasty and fresh, but my favorite was the raspberry one called "maraba". Raspberry and dark chocolate are a couple wed in heaven. Mmhmm. 

When I found out that the Salon du Chocolat was to take place for the first time in Zurich at the end of March I knew I would have to go visit. That's exactly what I did yesterday. There was a small number of exhibitors from Switzerland and other European countries, most of which I'd heard of before, such as Sprüngli, Cailler, Honold, and Beschle. After snatching free samples of chocolate Luxemburgerli and dark chocolate truffles from Sprüngli (and they taste so much better fresh!) I went to the Beschle stand, a chocolatier from Basel. I'd only ever tried their chocolate here and there and was excited to have the opportunity to try some different flavors at their stand. I tried dark chocolate and ginger, white chocolate and lassi, white chocolate with blueberries and almonds as well as dark chocolate with rosemary and lemon thyme and dark chocolate with pistachios and fleur de sel. The latter two were my favorite and I bought a bar of each. Normally I don't care for chocolate that has flavors usually found in savory dishes, but the rosemary and lemon thyme chocolate was really delicious and fresh-tasting. A palate-cleanser.