Serendipity and Sesame Chicken

When I was 15 and learning to drive with my dad (a self-proclaimed Driving Nazi) told me to never drive behind a van or truck with a ladder tied on top, lest the idiot who tied it down did a bad job and one hard stop causes the ladder to fly off the back, impale my windshield, and skewer me.

He also told me to never drive over seemingly harmless wooden boards or construction debris because there could be a nail or something sticking out of it that will puncture my tire. I can't tell you how many times he's told my mom and I that.

How often do you see either of those things happening? How often would you think about anything like that happening while you're driving? Who thinks about that stuff?

My dad does. And wouldn't you know it, one day my mom and I were walking through a parking lot when we found that board with the big-ass nail sticking out of it that my dad always talks about! And wouldn't you know it, six years after my dad told me to watch for loose ladders, I actually witnessed one fly off the back of a van just like he said it would! (Fortunately the guy was making a right turn and the ladder did not impale anyone).

When we first moved into our apartment here in Boston, my dad (who had driven a Penske truck 2700 miles with my husband from Arizona) noticed we had a gas stove. Since I grew up with only electric stoves he said, "Flip on that switch right before the striker hits and take a whiff of that." It was then I learned what gas smells like, and that if I turn on my stove when my kitchen smells like that, my kitchen will explode into a fiery oblivion. Or something like that, more or less.

And wouldn't you know it, today I came home and my house smelled like a furnace. I don't know too many people who go around thinking gee, what if my kitchen slowly fills with gas and explodes? But I'm glad my dad thinks of stuff like that or my kitchen very well might've gone up in flames. Or something like that, more or less.

So I called maintenance who confirmed I had a pretty significant gas leak. Right now I have three big men in my kitchen fixing the pipe. Thank God for big men who know how to fix things.

*Update: When the stove was pulled out and the guys had stepped out to get something, I found a gap between the sheet rock behind one of the cabinets big enough for a mouse to squeeze through. Given that they keep coming from underneath the stove, perhaps that is where they are getting in?? I hope so, because the guys just filled it :)

Exploding kitchen crisis fortuitously averted.

In honor of not dying a slow fiery death, and in keeping with my current Asian food obsession, I thought I would share a simple recipe for sesame chicken that I tried out the other day that was quite delicious.

1/4 to 1/2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt (can be omitted)
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
4 boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves cut into pieces
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. dark sesame oil
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted
1/4 c. chopped fresh scallions

I began by toasting my sesame seeds so I wouldn't have to use another pan later. These can kind of burn quickly in my experience, so keep an eye on them. Stir stir stir.

Not toasted yet...

 In a gallon sized plastic bag, pour in your flour, salt (which you might consider omitting if you are not using low sodium soy sauce), and pepper and shake well, coating chicken in flour. Very lightly coat a skillet or large frying pan with oil (canola, vegetable, olive, whatever) and cook your chicken over medium-high heat until no longer pink.

 Transfer your chicken to another plate. Reduce your heat to medium and combine your soy sauce and sugar in your pan until the sugar dissolves, about 1-2 minutes max. Add oil and sesame seeds before adding your chicken and scallions (I was fresh out of scallions, but I tossed in some of those dried onion flakes you can buy in the spice section of the grocery store).

Then toss and serve immediately, perhaps over rice, before enjoying :)