Korean Job Discussion Forums

[pangaea]

I want to make a nice dinner for my boyfriend, but I'm afraid I'm not very creative and I feel very limited without an oven. We usually have some variation of spaghetti, alfredo, or fried rice and I'm getting tired of those. I have a range, a rice cooker, and an old toaster oven to cook with. I do not want to invest in anything else because I only have 2 months left. Any suggestions on what I can make? We both prefer chicken or shrimp to other kinds of meat and we both like vegetables. I am willing to try new things but I want to do this tomorrow night and I don't have to time to go out in search of exotic spices. At the moment I have mixed herbs, oregano, basil, curry, cinnamon, rosemary, parsley, red pepper, and minced garlic, along with basic salt and pepper. Any suggestions? Preferably something that goes well with a sweet wine?

[northway]

Roast chicken in the oven?

[Mr. Peabody]

[northway]

[pangaea]

Are you trying to be funny or did you completely miss the title and entire text of my post?

[northway]

[pangaea]

I said I have an old toaster oven. As in useless for anything except making toast. If I had the kind of toaster oven that could cook a chicken, I wouldn't be asking for recipes using only a range, now would I?

[Steelrails]

Stir Fried Vegetables and Tofu?
I dunno, it's spring time, food is weird this time of year...

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

What kind of food does he like?

[northway]

If it can fit a chicken, I don't see how it's age is relevant to anything.

Regardless, the following is pretty amazing served with rice:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons garlic olive oil
2 tablespoons salted butter (I reccomend Plugra)
2 1/2 pounds boneless filet of Hawaiian butterfish, chopped into large cubes.
(Since this can be tough to find, you can substitute black cod or regular cod)
1 14 oz can coconut milk
1 medium onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, cut into cubes
1 teaspoon garlic
red chili flakes to taste
Citrus ponzu (see recipe below)
3 tablespoons grainy French mustard
black pepper to taste
sea salt to taste

Citrus ponzu:
1/2 cup sliced scallions (green onions)
1/4 cup low sodium tamari or soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 cup orange juice

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir well.


Preparation

Season fish with sea salt and black pepper, marinate in citrus ponzu.

In a heavy pan, saute onion, red chili flakes, and red pepper for five minutes until onions are tender. Add garlic, then one cup of coconut milk, reserving the remaining six ounces for additional liquid if needed. Lower pot to a simmer. Add butter, mustard and fish. Take care to strain fish from citrus ponzu marinade and not let too much marinade get into the pot. Simmer for an additional three minutes. Mixture should be thick not watery. Salt and pepper to taste.

[pangaea]

My toaster oven is ancient and it's not a model intended to cook anything other than bread. It only goes up to 15 minutes. I have tried to cook other things in it before and it stops heating after about 10 minutes. Thanks for the recipe. It sounds good.

@ NYC_Gal: We both prefer chicken, shrimp, and other seafood to any other kind of meat. We also both like lots of vegetables. He prefers food that is spicy or has complex flavors. I like spicy, too, but not the kind that takes your head off. I would really like for us to have something besides pasta for a change.

[airrazr23]

Eggplant is pretty cheap right now. You can make your own bread crumbs by leaving a couple pieces out until they harden and mashing them up. Then use those with egg to coat the eggplant, pan fry with some marinara or cheap spaghetti sauce and make some eggplant parmesan. Serve on top of noodles or even just with some steamed veggies on the side.

You can also cook different rice dishes in your rice cooker by throwing in buillon cubes, dices chicken or pork, veggies, etc. I've even done a shrimp risotto in it.

[kenglish]

[sojuSthompson]

http://www.amazon.com/Two-Dudes-One-Pan-Minimalist/dp/0307382605

You should try and find this book. It's perfect for what you're asking.

[Dazed and Confused]

Something like fish and chips with cole slaw and no bake cookies for dessert would be easy enough. A pan fried steak? fried chicken? some fancy soup? paella? gumbo?
Try allrecipes.com as it has thousands of recipes.