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Creative cookbook pairs journeys with recipes

Photo by JADEN HAIR

Instead of the usual heavy peanut sauce, this Asian chicken salad recipe uses sesame seeds.

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By JADEN HAIR

Tribune correspondent

Published: April 10, 2009

I have a special section on my bookshelf called "Inspiration and Eye Candy," and only a handful of lucky titles get a coveted spot on that shelf. These are books that I reach for when I'm feeling hungry-but-not-hungry-but-hungry, which really means I want to eat but I can't muster up the energy to be creative and whip up something on the fly. Currently on the shelf is "Nobu, The Cookbook" (recipe next week), "Things Cooks Love" by Marie Simmons from Sur La Table (recipe soon), and "Delicious Days" by Nicole Stich.

Nicky is an award-winning food blogger (www.deliciousdays.com), an amazing cook, photographer, creative designer and naturally gifted writer. Oh, and she's married to handsome Oliver, has beautiful friends and they live in Germany. Sounds so exotic, doesn't it? Well, friends, wait until you see this book; you will love it. The cookbook contains hundreds of photographs so vivid you can totally pretend you're there.

Instead of traditional cookbook chapters, Nicky and Oliver bring you on a food journey and divide the book into mini-sections like "Boat Trip in Greece" and "Bella Italia." Recipes that accompany these journeys are fabulous, many of them with only a handful of ingredients. A simple Greek Yogurt with Honey and Roasted Nuts is so much more special when Nicky and her friends are savoring it aboard a yacht sailing the Aegean.

For more food adventures, visit Jaden's Web site at www.steamykitchen.com.

ASIAN SESAME CHICKEN SALAD

(adapted from "Delicious Days Cookbook")

I simply love this recipe. Instead of the usual heavy peanut sauce, this recipe uses sesame seeds. Kejap manis is a sweet Indonesian soy sauce you can find in any Asian market.

1 pound boneless chicken breasts

Salt

3 tablespoons cooking oil (peanut, vegetable or canola)

1-2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns (optional)

1/2 large red chili pepper, sliced

1 cucumber, washed and thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, peeled

5 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, divided

4 tablespoons kejap manis

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

31/2 ounces thin, dried Japanese or Chinese noodles (such as somen or soba)

Place the chicken breasts in a pot with enough lightly salted water to cover the chicken. Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce heat and cook in the barely simmering water for 10-15 minutes until done.

Test for doneness. Remove the chicken and let it cool. Return the water back to a boil and cook the noodles according to package instructions and drain. Heat a wok or frying pan with the cooking oil, Sichuan peppercorns and red chili pepper until the peppercorns let loose their aroma. Add the cucumber and fry it for 30 seconds. Let it cool.

In a mortar, crush the garlic and just 4 tablespoons of the sesame seeds until it forms a rough paste. You can also do this in a blender. Add the remaining tablespoon of sesame seeds, kejap manis, sesame oil and about 5 tablespoons of water. Stir the sesame sauce.

Shred the cooked chicken meat, toss with the sesame sauce along with the oil-peppercorn-pepper mixture and drained noodles.

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