The only thing better than fresh and healthy is fresh and healthy in a pretty package. Click here to learn the secrets to making good-looking, good-for-you spring rolls in this week’s Cook Wise.

Whenever I’m in doubt on where to find a classic recipe, be it pancakes, biscuits or mac and cheese, I turn to one of Martha Stewart’s cookbooks (or her huge recipe database online). Her new book, Martha’s American Food: A Celebration of Our Nation’s Most Treasured Dishes, From Coast to Coast, is a collection of her greatest American hits, if you will. All that means to me is that they’ve been tested to death, making them reliable sources to turn to time and time again.

The book provides dishes that are from different parts of the country ranging from the Northeast to the Southwest. Most recipes include a backstory about the dish, the history of the dish, as well tips and tricks on making it right. With each passing day, the evenings are getting cooler and cooler and the only reason I’m OK with this change is because of the warming, rich dishes of fall.

So, I chose to make Martha’s macaroni and cheese, which is easily the best mac and cheese I’ve ever had. No joke. I first heard of this recipe when I was reading Deb Perelman’s blog, SmittenKitchen.com, about how much she loved it. When I saw the same recipe in this book, I just had to make it.

It takes a lot of cheese to make this dish – almost two pounds a lot. But I think that’s what makes it so good. It also calls for bold cheeses. Unlike the mellow-yellow cheddar you normally see in mac and cheese recipes, Stewart uses sharp white cheddar and a pungent Gruyere and then folds them both into a velvety béchamel sauce.

Creamy sauces are almost never good when you reheat them because the sauce always separates but not here. This reheats so well the next day and the day after that; the sauce simply reverts back to its original state: creamy, gooey heaven. This recipe is solid without hiccups. It may quickly become your favorite mac and cheese recipe, too.

Macaroni and Cheese
10 to 12 Servings

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, separated, plus more, softened, for baking dish
6 slices good-quality white bread, trimmed of crusts and torn into ¼- to ½-inch pieces
5½ cups milk (Note: I used whole milk.)
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. coarse salt
¼ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper
¼ tsp. cayenne, or to taste
4½ cups grated sharp white cheddar (about 1¼ pounds), separated
2 cups grated Gruyere (about 8 ounces), separated
1 lb. elbow macaroni

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish.
• Place the bread in a medium bowl. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; pour into the bowl with the bread and toss to coat.
• Heat the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
• Melt the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. Add flour to make a roux, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute (do not let get brown). While whisking, gradually pour in the hot milk. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and thickens. Remove the pan from heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, pepper, cayenne, 3 cups of cheddar and 1½ cups Gruyere.
• Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes less than the manufacturer’s directions. (Note: I cooked it for just 3 minutes.) Drain the macaroni, rinse under cold running water, and drain again. Stir the macaroni into the cheese sauce.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle evenly with remaining 1½ cups of cheddar and ½ cup of Gruyere, then top with the bread pieces. Bake until heated through and the topping is browned, about 30 minutes.
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Reprinted from Martha’s American Food: A Celebration of Our Nation’s Most Treasured Dishes, From Coast to Coast, by Martha Stewart. Copyright (c) 2012. Photos copyright. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, a division of Random House, Inc.

What are your fondest mac and cheese memories? Tell us in the comments section below for a chance to win a copy of Martha’s American Food by Martha Stewart. We’ll announce the winner in next week’s By the Book column.

And now, we’d like to congratulate Courtney, whose comment on last week’s By the Book has won her a copy of The Meat Free Monday Cookbook. Courtney, keep an eye out for an email from the Sauce crew.

Class is in session, and today we’re learning how to supreme an orange. It’s a clever skill to have and will impress your friends and family. Or maybe they won’t really notice, but it’s still a technique to have in your arsenal, so let’s do this. With a small paring knife, cut the top and bottom off of the orange, just to the orange’s flesh. Starting at the top of the orange, cut down the side, following the curve of the fruit. Do this around the orange until all of the peel and pith (white membrane) is removed. Holding the peeled orange over a bowl (to catch the juice), slice out each segment of orange by cutting towards the center of the fruit between the membranes. Remove each supremed section.

Why do we do this? Because the membrane “walls” in citrus fruit are rather hard to chew, and sometimes all you want is the delicate flesh of the fruit. I use these supremed segments in salads and desserts or as a garnish in a cocktail. In this trout recipe, the peppery red onion is tempered by the sweet citrus and white wine vinegar. The acid from these ingredients will discolor the mint so put that on last. In my head I kept thinking: Mint and orange? No! Bad! I mean, have you ever made the mistake of drinking a glass of OJ after brushing you teeth? But fresh mint and fresh orange are not the same as Crest and orange juice concentrate; trust me on this. Class dismissed.

Baked Trout with Supreme Relish
Adapted by Dee Ryan from a recipe originally published on Bon Appétit
2 Servings

2 trout fillets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 Tbsp. vegetable or olive oil
1 medium orange, supremed (juices reserved)
½ cup diced red onion
2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
¼ cup freshly chopped mint leaves

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Season the fillets on both sides with salt and pepper and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, or until opaque in the center.
• Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the orange segments, reserved orange juice, red onion and white wine vinegar.
• When the fish is done, carefully remove it from the baking sheet. Place half of the relish on each piece of trout. Top with the mint and serve immediately.

The more I cook, the more respect I have for the ingredients I’m working with. These days, I want my produce fresh, my dairy organic and my meat, well, I want less and less of it. Don’t get me wrong; I enjoy a juicy rib-eye as much as the next carnivorous culinarian, but it’s more of a twice-a-year thing for me than twice a week. I want to know what the cow ate, that he was treated well and that he was killed in the most painless way possible. Same goes for my poultry and pigs. This feeling of accountability has shined a new light on all that vegetables can be. My boyfriend and I have even come to challenge ourselves to eat meat-free Monday through Friday. And much to our surprise, it’s been an extremely easy adjustment.

So I was ecstatic to see that former Beatle Paul McCartney and his family had teamed up with the Meat Free Monday campaign to release The Meat Free Monday Cookbook. Meatless Mondays is a movement that’s taken flight across the nation to alert people to the health and environmental benefits of focusing on vegetables a little more and meat a little less. (Sauce has even taken part in the movement, showing St. Louisans how easy it is to go sans meat one day a week.) For this book, I knew I wanted to make something hearty, the kind of dish that would show readers that sacrificing meat (no pun intended) doesn’t have to mean sacrificing flavor or, most importantly, that sense of satisfaction we all seek in a great meal.

Thai vegetable curry seemed like the perfect choice. The sweet lemongrass. The fiery chiles. The flurry of fresh vegetables. The things that make Thai food great are exactly what going meatless is all about.

And most of that held true as I worked my way through the recipe. Most Thai dishes start with some sort of curry paste. It’s a base for all those strong, wonderful flavors. This recipe called for making your own paste – a step I hadn’t seen before and was excited to try my hand at. The technique was simple: rinse, peel, chop, mince and pulse. There was no liquid, so the “paste” was more of a finely minced mixture, but the aroma was pungent and sharp.

The rest of the recipe was mostly a matter of mise en place – ie. much more mincing and chopping than actual cooking. Fine by me. Once I got to the cooking, however, I realized that the timing was a little off. Sauteeing thick chunks of eggplant, mushrooms and red peppers for 1 minute isn’t enough time to allow them to begin to become tender. They needed more like 5 minutes. The same should be said for the rest of the vegetables, added after the coconut milk is brought to a boil. Raw okra needs more than 5 minutes to simmer away in a bubbling broth to truly be its best. I gave it more like 7 or 8 minutes.

Once the sauteeing was over and the vegetables were indeed tender, the recipe finally called for seasoning – as the final step. It instructed to taste and add a dash of soy sauce or a teaspoon of brown sugar to taste. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to cut it. The broth was crying for more salt and more sweetness. Seven or eight dashes and three pinches of brown sugar later, and the broth was sweet and flavorful, with a touch of fire from the chiles. It was a wonderful way to enjoy vegetables. And as the new season brings with it cooler breezes and chillier nights, it’s sure to hit my dinner table again this fall somewhere between Monday and Friday.

Thai Vegetable Curry

For the Curry Paste:
2 shallots, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. freshly grated ginger
1 stick lemongrass, finely chopped
2 green chiles, seeded and chopped
Zest of 1 lime
Small fresh bunch cilantro

1 Tbsp. sunflower oil
1 small eggplant, cut into chunks
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
8 baby bella mushrooms, halved (or quartered if large)
14-oz. can coconut milk
6 okra, cut on the diagonal into 3 pieces
8 baby corn, cut on the diagonal into 3 pieces
5- to 6-oz. can bamboo shoots, drained
Handful sugar snap peas, cut in half on the diagonal
2 handfuls bean sprouts
Soy sauce
Soft light brown sugar to taste

TO SERVE
Fresh cilantro leaves
Jasmine rice
Lime wedges

• Prepare the curry paste first. Place the shallots, garlic and ginger in a food processor. Add the lemongrass, chiles, lime zest and cilantro stalks (reserving the leaves) and pulse the mixture until finely chopped. You can also make this paste using a mortar and pestle if you prefer.
• Heat the sunflower oil in a large saute pan. Add the curry paste and cook over medium heat for 1 minute until the mixture smells fragrant.
• Add the eggplant, red pepper and mushrooms and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently until starting to become tender.
• Add the coconut milk to the pan with ½ cup of water and bring to a boil.
• Add the okra, baby corn and bamboo shoots and continue to cook for 5 minutes or so until the veggies are tender.
• Finally add the sugar snap peas and bean sprouts and cook for another 30 seconds.
• Taste and add a dash of soy sauce or teaspoon of sugar if needed.
• Serve the curry in bowls garnished with cilantro leaves with jasmine rice and lime wedges.

Reprinted with permission from Kyle Books.

What’s your favorite meatless meal to put on the dinner table? Tell us in the comments section below for a chance to win a copy of The Meat Free Monday Cookbook. We’ll announce the winner in next week’s By the Book column.

And now we’d like to congratulate Frances whose comment on last week’s By the Book has won her a copy of Whatever Happened to Sunday Dinner by Lisa Caponigri. We’d also like to congratulate Earen, whose comment on an earlier By the Book column has won him/her a copy of Cooking Without Borders by Anita Lo. Frances and Earen, keep an eye out for an email from the Sauce crew.

Whatever happened to Sunday dinner? That’s the question that Lisa Caponigri poses in her new cookbook by the same name. The book offers 52 multi-course menus – a total of 250 recipes – for the home cook who can eke out a few hours in the kitchen on any given Sunday to prepare an Italian meal for the family.

Among antipasti recipes, Caponigri’s Panini di Bietola, Swiss chard stem sandwiches, grabbed my eye as a creative starter, with a vegetable subbing for bread in a sandwich.

The basic idea is to take steamed Swiss chard stems, sandwich them between a savory breadcrumb filling and pan-fry them. Two aspects, however, make this recipe a bit of a trick.

The first factor is the state of the Swiss chard with which you work. The stems need to be thick enough to hold a filling, which means you’ll need mature chard (something that Caponigri does not state, but which becomes evident when you attempt to stuff the stems). Also, you’ll want to start off with stems that are crisp and dry, since they will undergo steaming, which adds more water content to the vegetable. I would recommend that you avoid purchasing Swiss chard from grocery stores that spray the greens constantly with an automatic water jet; the stems turn limp from being waterlogged. If you don’t grow Swiss chard, try purchasing it from your neighborhood farmers market.

The filling is the other hurdle. It’s quite flavorful thanks to Italian breadcrumbs, garlic and capers, but the only binding is 2 tablespoons of olive oil. While I tried following Caponigri’s directions to stuff the sandwiches and then dredge the stems in flour, there was not enough binding to hold the sandwiches together. I added a beaten egg to the filling, which somewhat fixed the issue. Should I repeat this dish, I think I would opt for extra binding by dipping the stuffed sandwiches in a milk-and-egg batter before dredging them in flour. Also, there was only enough filling to make a dozen sandwiches. Double the recipe if you want to use all 24 Swiss chard stems called for in the ingredient list.

The finished dish tasted great fresh from the skillet, but the sandwiches became limp after a while. So this appetizer is one to bring to the table as soon as it’s ready.

Many avid home cooks yearn to spend hours in the kitchen on the weekend. Alas, laundry, grocery shopping, house cleaning, schlepping kids to soccer games or ballet class and a handful of other to-dos make that four-hour repast over the stove a near impossibility. Caponigri’s premise for her cookbook is that the family that eats together stays together. I’ll accede that. However, a family can eat together without making a five-dish, multi-course meal. But when you do want to go all out, Whatever Happened to Sunday Dinner? offers some ideas for an Italian way to go about it.

Panini di Bietola
12 Sandwiches

24 Swiss chard stems (leaf part removed), cut into 2-inch pieces [Note: The filling only provided enough for me to fill 12 Swiss chard stems.]

½ cup Italian breadcrumbs
2 cloves garlic, chopped [Note: I minced them.]
2 Tbsp. capers
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 beaten egg [Note: Caponigri’s recipe does not call for an egg but the recipe needs a binder.]
1 cup all-purpose flour
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

• Steam the Swiss chard stems for 4 to 5 minutes (stems will become slightly translucent). Remove from the steamer and let cool.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, garlic, capers, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and 1 beaten egg.
• Season the flour with the sea salt and pepper and pour into a shallow bowl.
• Make a little sandwich with 2 pieces of the Swiss chard stems by stuffing them with some of the filling. Dredge the stems in the flour, tapping off any excess and set them on a tray. Repeat with the remaining stems and filling.
• In a large skillet, heat the remaining 1 cup olive oil over medium-high heat. Fry the little sandwiches in the hot oil, in batches, turning once until golden on each side, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer them with a slotted spoon, as cooked, to paper towels to drain. Serve immediately.

Reprinted with permission from Sterling Epicure

What is your favorite dish to serve for a Sunday Supper with the family? Tell us in the comments section below for a chance to win Whatever Happened to Sunday Dinner? by Lisa Caponigri. We’ll announce the winner in next week’s By the Book column.

And now, unfortunately, we don’t have a winner to announce for last week’s By the Book. Guess our question of how you like to cook with eel was a bit too tricky. And so, another way to win last week’s book, Cooking Without Borders by Anita Lo: Tell us about your favorite sea creature to cook with and why in the comments section here. We’ll announce the winner in next week’s By the Book column.

Anita Lo is a big proponent of fusion cooking. In her cookbook, Cooking Without Borders, Lo shares her ideas for finding harmony among ingredients and techniques of different cuisines. Her recipe for Unagi with Celery Root and Wasabi explores a marriage between Japanese and French cookery. The dish intrigued me because unagi, known among Anglophiles as eel, is not among the sea creatures that I work with often. I also was excited to taste the results of pairing this Japanese staple with celery root, aka celeriac in rémoulade form – a classically French treatment of the root vegetable.

The preparation of the dish is divided into three parts. The unagi sauce is a simple combination of mirin (sweetened sake), soy sauce, sugar, corn syrup, ginger, black pepper and dashi. The latter is optional, but lends the sauce umami; if you don’t regularly make dashi, substituting fish stock can save you the trouble since the recipe calls for just three tablespoons. After reducing, the sauce is silky smooth with a deep, sweet and salty flavor. Lo’s recipe for the sauce alone is worth adding to the Asian section of your recipe box.

The celery root “rémoulade” can best be described as a creamy, flavored mayonnaise slaw. Once you peel and julienne the celery root, the vegetable gets tossed in a mix of mayo and mustard zipped with lemon juice. This veggie side is a nice change from same-old coleslaw; it’d team well with barbecued ribs.

Since already barbecued, frozen unagi is the easiest form in which to find eel (Bob’s Seafood sells it like this in a 12-ounce package.). Preparing the freshwater snakelike fish is a cinch. Simply brush it with unagi sauce and warm it in the oven. The crisp texture and mild, celery flavor of the celery root was a fantastic contrast to the rich, sweet, oily unagi.

The presentation, however, is what puts this delectable dish into dinner party territory. The rémoulade serves as a nest for the unagi, which is then garnished with pan-crisped celery root and scallions. A ring of that divine sauce and little droplets of wasabi complete the plating for an exemplary entree that bridges nations and is a fantastic transition from summertime to fall.

Unagi with Celery Root and Wasabi
4 servings

For the unagi sauce:
3 Tbsp. dashi* (optional)
1 Tbsp. mirin** (Find it in the same aisle as soy sauce.)
¼ cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp. sugar
¼ cup light corn syrup
2 slices fresh ginger
Black pepper to taste

For the celery root “rémoulade”:
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. dry mustard powder mixed with 1 Tbsp. water
1 tsp. brown mustard seeds
1 tsp. lemon juice
Pinch grated lemon zest
1 small celery root, peeled and julienned (about 2 packed cups)
2 Tbsp. thinly sliced (on a bias) scallion greens
¾ tsp. salt (I found ½ teaspoon to be just enough)
Black pepper

To serve:
1 12-oz. package frozen unagi*** (contains 1 eel)
1 tsp. prepared wasabi (If you can only find the powdered kind, mix it with a little water according to the package directions.)
4 pinches finely julienned celery root, shallow-fried until crisp (optional)
Salt
4 pinches julienned scallion greens

• Make the unagi sauce: Place all of the ingredients in a saucepan and simmer over medium heat until syrupy and reduced to about ½ cup. Remove and discard the ginger and let cool.
• Make the celery root “rémoulade”: Combine the mayonnaise, mustard powder mixture, mustard seeds, lemon juice and lemon zest in a bowl. Add the celery root and scallion, season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine.
• To serve: Preheat the oven or a toaster oven to 350 degrees. Cut the unagi into 4 equal pieces, put them on a baking sheet, brush with a little of the unagi sauce, and place in the oven to just heat through.
• Divide the “rémoulade” among 4 serving plates and top with the unagi.
• Ring with a little of the sauce and dot with a few small bits of wasabi. Season the fried celery root (if using) with salt, then top the unagi with it and the scallion and serve immediately.

* To make 2 quarts of dashi, rinse 1 4-inch square kombu in cold water to remove dust. Put the kombu in a pot with 2½ quarts cold water. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and add 1½ cups of bonito flakes. Let steep for 15 minutes, then pour through a fine mesh sieve lined with a clean kitchen towel or cheesecloth.

** Mirin is sold at most grocery stores. Find it in the same aisle as soy sauce.

*** Eel is sold at Bob’s Seafood.

Reprinted with permission from Stewart, Tabori & Chang.

What is your favorite way to work with eel in the kitchen? Tell us about it in the comments section below for a chance to win a copy of Cooking Without Borders by Anita Lo. We’ll announce the winner in next week’s By the Book column.

UPDATE 9/4/12: Unfortunately, we don’t have a winner to announce for this By the Book. Guess our question of how you like to cook with eel was a bit too tricky. And so, another way to win Anita Lo’s Cooking Without Borders: Tell us about your favorite sea creature to cook with and why in the comments section below. We’ll announce the winner in next week’s By the Book column.

And now we’d like to congratulate Jill, whose comment on last week’s By the Book has won her a copy of Seasonal Spanish Food. Jill, keep an eye out for an email from the Sauce crew.

Each year, my friends and I put together a fabulous meal before spending Thanksgiving with our respective families. Since we’re all so busy and spread across the map, it’s wonderful to have Friendsgiving, as we call it, to look forward to. On one such occasion, these apple cider muffins were devoured so quickly, I barely had a chance to try one. With Friendsgiving safely months away, this week I decided to try them again.

I rarely cook with apples because I prefer them fresh, but when I got my hands on some boiled cider from King Arthur Flour, I was intrigued and wanted to see what delicious apple-y things could be made without the inclusion of actual apples.

The original recipe, which inspired me to make these muffins, called them “doughnut holes.” But since they’re baked, one could argue that they don’t qualify as a classic doughnut. Also, I used a mini muffin pan instead of a doughnut pan.

When I used regular butter, the muffin’s texture was wonderfully chewy with a strong donut consistency. Oddly, when I used apple butter, the texture became more muffin-like. The choice of butter is yours, but I assure you that both will make a delicious muffin. And rolling it in cinnamon, cardamom and sugar adds the perfect finishing touch.

Apple Cider Muffins or “doughnut holes”
Approximately 36 Mini Muffins
Adapted by Amrita Rawat from a recipe originally published on feastie.com

2 cups flour
1½ tsp. baking powder
1½ tsp. baking soda
Pinch salt
½ cup butter, soft (or apple butter)
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup boiled apple cider*
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup full-fat yogurt
1 Tbsp. dark rum
1 Tbsp. oil
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cardamom

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
• In a separate bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar together until fluffy and combined. Add in the egg, and beat well. Add in the cider, syrup, yogurt, rum and oil.
• Use a spatula to stir the flour mixture into the wet mixture.
• Spray a mini muffin pan with non-stick spray and scoop the batter into each muffin mold, about a tablespoon for each mold so that it is no more than ¾ full. Bake for about 12 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached.
• In a bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon and cardamom.
• Roll each warm muffin into the sugar mixture. (I used a toothpick to remove the muffin from the pan). If you don’t roll them in the sugar mixture immediately, and they cool, you can dip them first in melted butter and then roll them in the sugar.

* If you don’t want to order the boiled cider, try making it yourself like Brooklyn Farmhouse.

What’s better than pie? Pie you can eat with your hands. Click here to learn how to make this super-yummy, highly portable dessert.

My Vietnam is such a beautiful book, it could serve as a cookbook and a coffee table book and make all your foodie friends a little jealous. In the gorgeous tome, author Luke Nguyen and his partner, Suzanna Boyd, travel all over Vietnam from the quiet villages in the northern hills of Sapa to the bustling streets of Saigon. It’s a culinary adventure documented with painterly photographs of dishes and scene-setting glimpses into the regions from which they came. The recipes seem wonderfully exotic and each tells a story.

I was looking forward to cooking out of this book, but the dish I made, Stir-Fried Ginger Chicken, didn’t turn out quite like I thought it would. I had hoped for chicken that had a burst of spicy fresh ginger and a smoky, sweet sticky glaze from the brown sugar. Instead, what I got was a salty and unbalanced dish.

The recipe called for ¼ cup of fish sauce – a hefty helping that overwhelmed the other rather bold flavors of the dish: ginger, garlic, cilantro and brown sugar. If I ever tried to make it again I would reduce the fish sauce amount by half.

Stir-Fried Ginger Chicken (Ga Xao Gung)
Serves 4 to 6 as part of a shared meal

The chicken thigh fillet is commonly used in Vietnamese coking, as it is inexpensive and perfect for grilling or frying – it absorbs flavors and remains tender and succulent throughout the cooking process.

¼ tsp. dark soy sauce
2 tsp. oyster sauce
4 Tbsp. fish sauce, divided
2 Tbsp. soft brown sugar, divided
500 g. (1 lb. plus 2 oz) boneless, skinless chicken thighs or chicken drumsticks, cut into 2-by-3-cm. (¾-by-1¼-inch) pieces
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
10 cm. (4-inch) piece ginger, peeled and julienned
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 small handful cilantro leaves
1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

• In a large bowl, combine the soy sauce, oyster sauce, 2 tablespoons of the fish sauce and 1 tablespoon of the brown sugar. Mix well, then add the chicken. Cover and place in the fridge to marinate for 20 minutes.
• In a small bowl, combine 4 tablespoons of water with the remaining fish sauce and brown sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar, and set aside.
• Place a wok on the stove to heat up, then add the oil and ginger and stir-fry over medium heat until fragrant. Turn the heat up high, then add the chicken to the wok, tossing the chicken to seal all sides. Add the water and sugar mixture, stir for 2 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic, cover the wok, and cook for a further 3 minutes.
• Remove the lid and increase the heat to high to reduce the sauce by half, then stir in the sesame oil. Transfer to a serving plate and garnish with cilantro and sesame seeds, and serve with jasmine rice.

Reprinted with permission from Lyons Press

What’s your favorite Asian dish to make at home? Tell us about it in the comments section below for a chance to win a copy of My Vietnam: Stories and Recipes by Luke Nguyen. We’ll announce the winner in next week’s By the Book column.

And now, we’d like to congratulate Earen, whose comment on last week’s By the Book has won him/her a copy of The Tuscan Sun Cookbook. Earen, keep an eye out for an email from the Sauce crew.

Who knew you could make crazy-good chewy granola bars from scratch and that you already have the ingredients in your pantry? Me – and now you. Click here to learn how to make this delicious, nutritious treat in this week’s Cook Wise.