Good morning. If you follow the YouTube channel closely, you might have noticed an exciting community announcement. Set your calendar for a cooking livestream on the channel and a special announcement with Ethan tomorrow, January 22nd at 6 pm CST. See you then!

TRY SOMETHING NEW 🤯

Chicken satay + peanut sauce

It’s time to upgrade your weeknight grilled chicken. Pick up some red curry paste and you’ll be set for punchy, flavorful meals all of 2024 (extra keeps well in the fridge or freezer).

Dish Components

Marinated chicken

• Chicken thighs, cut into 1” cubes

• 2 parts coconut cream (enough to coat the chicken)

• 1 part red curry paste

• Sprinkle of curry powder

• Sprinkle of salt

Peanut sauce

• 3 parts peanut butter

• 2 parts water

• 1 part sugar

• 1/2 part red curry paste

• 1/4 soy sauce

• 1/4 vinegar or lime juice

Equipment

• Metal, wooden, or bamboo skewers

Instructions

1) Marinate the chicken: In a bowl or freezer bag, massage together all marinated chicken ingredients and set in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.

2) Make the sauce: Combine all peanut sauce ingredients until smooth. Taste and adjust as needed. This can be done in advance.

2) Assemble the skewers: When you are ready to cook, add a row of marinated chicken cubes to the skewers. Use a paper towel to remove excess marinade.

3) Grill & serve: Preheat a grill or pan to high, then sear the skewers until they are lightly charred on each side and the chicken is cooked through.

• Serve with the peanut sauce for dipping.

Pro-Move: This marinade and sauce works on proteins in general. Try this on shrimp or tofu skewers!

THROWBACK TIME 🍳

Steak fundamentals

To nail a perfect steak, you have to understand its hierarchy of needs, as covered by this video. In order of importance, here they are:

1) Maillard reaction: Without a deeply browned crust, a beef cut won’t taste or look like steak.

2) Internal temperature: However, you have to nail the internal doneness to get a tender texture.

3) Salt: Without salt, a steak won’t taste like much. Dry brining in advance seasons a steak evenly and deeply.

4) Added aromatics: Lastly, you can upgrade the flavor of your steak with extra seasonings, butter or flavored oils, and basting with herbs or alliums.

Check out the video deep dive for more info on each of these areas.

THE LEFTOVER SHELF 🥡

Steak stroganoff

With leftover steak, you have to choose between heating it up and losing the perfect cook, or maintaining its color and texture and eating it cold.

• With stroganoff, you can add a sliced-up steak to the finished sauce to gently warm it through. You get to enjoy leftover steak in a warm dish that doesn’t overcook it. Win-win.

Dish components

Base

• Leftover steak, thinly sliced.

• Short pasta or egg noodles of choice

Sauce

• A few spoonfuls of oil or butter

• Aromatics: 1 lb (450 g) mushrooms, thinly sliced; 1/2 yellow onion, diced; 2-3 garlic cloves, minced

• Thickeners: a spoonful of flour + a few dollops of sour cream

• Cooking liquid: Beef broth, water, or white wine

• Umami booster of choice:

• Flavor adjuster options: Salt, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard, lemon wedges, & chopped parsley.

To assemble

Boil pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, make the sauce base. Sauté the mushrooms first in the oil until their moisture evaporates and they begin to take on color. Add the onion and garlic, and saute until softened and fragrant.

Add the flour and stir through until the flour has toasted and absorbed the fat in the pan. Slowly add in the beef broth, stirring to get rid of lumps, and the sauce reaches a thin glaze consistency. Simmer to thicken a bit, cut off the heat, and mix in just enough sour cream to reach your desired consistency and color.

Taste and add your desired flavor adjusters to balance the salt, umami, and acid levels. The sauce should taste seasoned, savory, and bright. Add in the leftover steak slices to the sauce, cover, and let them gently warm through from the residual heat for a few minutes.

Serve the sauced beef over cooked, drained pasta, and garnish as desired.

FOOD TRENDS EXPLAINED 🚀

Black bean boom

Q: I’ve heard that black beans are healthier than pinto beans. Fact or fiction?

A: The truth is black beans and pinto beans are very similar in their nutrient content. For example:

• A half cup of each contains around 20-22 grams of complex carbs, about 7 grams of protein, and similar fiber levels.

• While they differ slightly in specific vitamin and mineral content, they both excel in antioxidant levels.

The reality is that any kind of bean is generally pretty nutritious on its own.

Where did this myth come from?

Black beans have trended on menus as a healthier alternative to pinto beans prepared with lard or pork belly. In restaurants serving Latin American cuisines, pinto beans are often seen used in refried or charro preparations, which use extra fat. Black beans became an easy way for establishments to offer a clear alternative to consumers, often prepared and served in a lighter broth.

• The reality is that black beans are just as commonly used in refried recipes, and they aren’t inherently healthier than pinto beans.

So when it comes to the battle of the beans, we don’t discriminate. If you want to incorporate more legumes into your diet this year, check out Ethan’s pinto bean dip or black bean smashburger for two great options.

READER Q&A 🧠

Steak resting rules

Answer: Depends if you are prioritizing a juicier steak or a better crust. ****

If a steak rests its own juices, it will reabsorb some moisture as the meat cools and relaxes. However, that will moisten the crust a bit on the bottom side. So if you want the juiciest possible steak, keep it on the plate. If you prize that exterior crust texture, you can rest it on a wire rack.

• Additionally, if you are worried about a steak overcooking due to carryover heat, a wire rack is a great way to get it off the heat and cool it down from all sides.

But how big is the difference? Probably negligible compared to more significant variables in the steak cooking process, as discussed in the video recap above. What matters most for a juicy steak is 1) the final internal temperature, 2) the cut of meat, and 3) salting/dry brining ahead of time. Focus on those first, and you'll be in good shape!

In other words, you can’t have a juicy steak that is overcooked, unsalted, and from a tough cut of the animal, no matter how you rest it.

Have a culinary question? Reply to send it in for a chance to be featured and get your question answered.

READER PHOTO SUBMISSION OF THE WEEK 🏆

Superb soup

This week's dinner winner goes to Sarp and Liz K for making pureed vegetable soup via the newsletter framework. Looks delicious!

Reply with your best home-cooked food photos for a chance to win & be featured!

EXTRA HELPINGS 🍽️

A read: Will cassava pie ever go mainstream?

In a minute or less: Can baked ziti be high protein?

What we’re watching: Pairing champagne & oysters

Food science: The mac & cheese golden ratio

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