Happy 2024!
I hope you all had a beautiful, joyful (maybe even a little bit restful?!) end to the year and a wonderful holiday season!
We spent our December totally engrossed in festive activities (which I must say are mighty adorable with a two-year-old) and spending as much time as possible with friends and family. The start of our year has been pretty much the exact opposite. We’ve been moving slowly, getting back into the rhythms of normal life again. We didn’t set any resolutions perse but have been enjoying our usual January 30 Days of Yoga with Adrienne and trying this Decluttering Challenge I heard about on a podcast (you get rid of one thing on the first day of the month, two things on the second day of the month, etc, etc). It’s been calming and inspiring and relatively effortless to integrate into our daily lives, which is just the kind of fun start to the year activity I crave.
Our meals have been (mostly) nourishing and simple: my favorite mushroom tacos, this amazing pasta with tomato sauce and roasted eggplant from our freezer, this winter fattoush salad, and a hilarious amount of Chicago dogs with these potatoes on the side. I’ve also been completely addicted to this red lentil soup all winter and will have an adaptation for you soon with many more veggies incorporated.
Food has been about ease, satisfying cravings at home, and getting through the many, many butternut squash and storage root veggies we still have on hand. One favorite combination I stumbled upon while working through the dozens of Korean and daikon radishes in my fridge was this warm and cool, sweet and salty, crunchy, bright plate of food.
These Chicken Cutlets with Peanuty Radish Salad are incredibly tasty and a breeze to whip up (yes, even though you’ll be breading and frying). You marinate some chicken, you make a quick salad, 40 minutes later you coat and fry some chicken cutlets, and then you toss the salad on top with some already roasted peanuts. Just a few quick steps for a perfectly balanced plate of food that will help you love radishes more. Magic!
I hope you enjoy and I hope you too are having an inspiring January so far. If you’re in Wisconsin, I hope you’re both surviving the cold snap AND loving the snow. Real winter has arrived!
-Lauren
Chicken Cutlets with Peanuty Radish Salad
I have been making this dish in deep, dark winter when I have no herbs to speak of (why I never move any herbs indoors for winter is beyond me), but if you do have herbs on hand or feel like grabbing some— mint, cilantro, Thai basil, or chives would all work beautifully in this simple radish salad.
Serves 4
Takes 1 hour, 15 minutes
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups panko breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
Vegetable oil
Peanuty Radish Salad:
Juice of 2 limes (about 1/4 cup fresh juice)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3-4 thinly sliced Korean radishes (or 1 thinly sliced Daikon radish)
1/2 cup salted peanuts, roughly chopped
Place chicken thighs on a cutting board and cover with plastic wrap. Gently pound out any thicker parts of the chicken so you are left with consistently thin pieces.
In a medium bowl, combine oyster sauce, soy sauce, black pepper and sugar. Place chicken cutlets in a bowl and toss until well-coated. Place in the fridge to marinate for 45 minutes.
As soon as you get the chicken into the fridge, combine lime juice, brown sugar, fish sauce, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a medium bowl. Whisk until combined. Add daikon radishes and toss until veggies are coated with dressing. Set aside.
When the chicken has about 5 minutes left to marinate, heat about a 1/2-inch of vegetable oil in a large deep skillet over medium heat until it reaches 350 degrees.
Combine egg and cornstarch in a wide shallow bowl (I love to use pie pans for my breading station). Whisk until smooth. Combine panko breadcrumbs and salt in another wide shallow bowl. Dip each piece of chicken into the egg mixture and then into the breadcrumbs.
Place two coated chicken pieces in the preheated oil, and cook on each side for 4 minutes until the panko is well-browned and chicken is cooked through. I like to use a thermometer to be extra sure the chicken has reached 165 degrees. Place chicken on paper towels and fry the other two pieces the same way.
Right before plating, add peanuts to salad and toss gently to incorporate.
Serve chicken warm with a hefty portion of salad on top.