Create dishes using several recipes in one

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

Like many chefs who have worked in hotel kitchens, with lots of hands to make work light, Amy Ferguson-Ota is often creating dishes that involve several recipes in one. Home cooks must pick and choose which techniques and sub-recipes will work when there's little time to track down hard-to-find ingredients.

For the Kea Lani Food & Wine Masters March 22, Ferguson-Ota demonstrated four recipes to make one luncheon plate: Crisp Five-Spice Chili Duck with a Chinese-style turnip cake and two dressings (a plum dressing that contains a spicy fish dressing as an ingredient). This is a bit much for the busy home cook but Ferguson-Ota cheerfully pointed out options: Marinate a chicken breast instead of duck breast, skip the dressings if you don't have time, serve with jasmine rice instead of turnip cake.

Ferguson-Ota begins with a marinade that she said is almost a sugar/salt cure. She first cooks the marinade until it's slightly thickened, then brushes or rubs the ingredients on the meat and marinates it for several hours or overnight, allowing the flavors to penetrate. Then, wipe off the marinade so it won't burn during cooking.

Five-Spice Chili Chicken Breast

• 4 skin-on boneless chicken breasts
• 1 tablespoon Chinese Five-Spice
• 1 teaspoon crushed Hawaiian chili
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• Peanut oil
• Spicy Plum Dressing (below)

At least six hours in advance, or the night before: Combine all ingredients except chicken breast in small saucepan; cook until thickened and reduced. Brush meat with this marinade and place in zippered plastic bag; refrigerate.

Wipe away marinade. In a saute-pan with a little peanut oil, sear chicken, skin-side down; turn and cook until cooked through.

Serve drizzled with Spicy Plum Dressing.

If you want to use duck breast, here's the technique: Prick the duck skin with a fork and allow it to air-dry overnight. Blanch the duck breast briefly to melt off some of the fat. Then marinate overnight, wipe off marinade and sear duck, skin side down, until fat is rendered and finish cooking in oven if the breast meat is thick and still not cooked through.

Spicy Plum Dressing

• 4 ounces plum sauce
• 3 ounces lime juice
• 3 ounces rice wine vinegar
• 3 ounces Spicy Fish Sauce (see below)
• 2 ounces sugar
• 1 ounce sesame oil

Whisk ingredients together.

Spicy Fish Sauce

• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup Tiparos fish sauce
• 2 or more Hawaiian chili peppers minced

Whist together; adjust seasonings to your taste. This sauce can be used for a dipping sauce for summer rolls or for an Asian fish or chicken or as a dressing over greens.