Snow Day Treat: Chicken Daikon Soup

First snow day of the winter, and I was craving soup. Fortunately I had most of the makings of this  recipe on hand. My variation, below, turned out really well -- rich and chickeny, with just a barely sour tang.

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 heaping tablespoons ginger, julienned
• 1.5 lb. chicken (four bone-in thighs)
• 2 lb. daikon (two big roots), chopped into 1-2 in. chunks
• 2.5 tablespoons soy sauce (plain Kikkoman)
• 2.5 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 heaping teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons Better than Boullion chicken (no shame in my game)
• 5 cups water
• 2-4 scallions, for garnish (one entire one pictured above - I love scallions)

In a pot, heat the vegetable oil, then saute the onion and ginger till soft, 2-5 minutes. 

Remove the aromatics if you like (I left them in, since I was feeling lazy) and lightly brown the chicken on both sides till slightly colored. Return the aromatics (if you took them out) then add the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and sugar to the pot. Stir.

Mix the Better than Boullion into the water and add to the pot along with the daikon. Bring to a boil then simmer till chicken is done and daikon is to your taste (I like it on the crunchy side, which took about 25 minutes). Adjust seasoning if necessary.

Serve garnished with scallions.

Seared Tuna with Greens and Ginger Dressing

John and I had no idea what we wanted for dinner. He got some lovely fish and salad greens at the market. The former was a really nice tuna steak, which he marinated in white whine, Bragg's and brown sugar; the latter we mixed with some onion and shaved carrots. When I got home, I was tasked with making the dressing, and decided on a ginger vinaigrette. Have since lost the bookmark, but I remember the proportions. The tang and sweetness of the dressing complemented the salad and perfectly-seared tuna wonderfully. Unfortunately I used some off corn oil, which tasted a bit plasticky, but more vinegar and ginger corrected it. Next time, veg oil for sure, and perhaps some experimentation with garlic and such.

• 1 tbsp. ginger, finely grated
• 1-1/2 tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix the first three ingredients till blended, then drizzle in the oil, whisking all the while, till emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then serve over greens and/or fish.