Everyday Asian
Asian Flavors + Simple Techniques = 120 Mouthwatering Recipes

The author says: This dish will appeal to even the fussiest eater in your family. I speak from experience; when I was a child I was such a picky eater that this was the only food I would eat when I visited my family in Malaysia. Not only is it delicious, it is quite a lot of fun unwrapping a fried parchment paper--wrapped parcel. If you don't want to bother wrapping the chicken, just roast it in a shallow roasting pan, but the chicken is never as flavorful or moist. This is a great dish to bring to picnics.

Makes 8 servings

1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons diced ginger
1 Tablespoon Basic Five-Spice Powder
8 scallions, white parts only, cut into 2-inch lengths
4 chicken breast halves, skinned
4 chicken thighs, boned and skinned
8 pieces parchment paper, approximately 10 by 5 inches
Peanut oil for deep frying

In a large bowl, combine the soy sauce, sugar, ginger, five-spice powder, and scallions. Whisk until the ingredients are well combined. Turn the chicken pieces in the mixture to coat them, and marinate, covered and refrigerated, for up to 12 hours but no less than an hour.

Place a parchment-paper piece on a work surface, with the 10 inch sides at the top and bottom. Put a piece of chicken and one to two scallion pieces in the center of the paper. Fold the top half of the paper down over the chicken to meet the bottom of the paper. Fold up the open edges to form a fairly tight seal. Repeat with all the chicken and parchment, to make eight tighly sealed packets.

Heat an inch of the oil over high heat in a deep-sided pot, 15 minutes before serving. When the oil reaches 350 degrees, lower the heat and fry three to five packets a time, slipping them slowly and carefully into the oil. Turn the packets over a few times with long tongs, and fry for 7 to 10 minutes. Drain and serve the chicken in the packets.

* The chicken can be baked (with or without the packet) in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.

FROM THE BOOK JACKET:

The Flavors of the Pacific Rim and beyond have never been more popular. Everyday Asian combines them with seasonal market-basket ingredients and simple techniques to creat utterly inventive and luscious dishes just right for weekday meals or simple home entertaining. Everyday Asian defines "Asian" in the broader global sense and includes 120 recipes with Far Eastern, Indian, and Souteast Asian accents, including:

• Chinese Chicken Salad with Pickled Vegetables
• Seared Tuna and Three-Bean Salad
• Smoky Eggplant and Yogurt Puree
• Steamed Mussels with Green Curry Broth
• Roasted Five-Spice Chicken
• Thai Pork Curry
• Stir-Fried Beef with Black Beans
• Baked Coconut Rice Pudding

• Patricia Yeo is the perfect chef to bring these recipes and many more into your kitchen. Her fusion dishes have been praised in The New York Times, which gave her a three-star review to her restaurant A/Z. And her own background growing up in Malaysia, being fed by her Chinese family, training in France, and then starting her career in Bobby Flay's kitchen at Miracle Grill and the San Francisco restaurant China Moon Cafe have combined to give her a unique perspective on both techinque and presentation of clear, crisp flavors in every recipe.