Perception is a funny thing. In this case, a very rainy summer has left our CSA farmers feeling inadequate. They feel badly that all they’ve provided us are greens. Butter lettuce, spinach, bitter greens and beet greens. Which we’re not even remotely complaining about. Greens are awesome. But because they feel guilty – they gave all 22 members of the CSA a pint of Grade a maple syrup.
That’s a pricey way to assuage your guilt.
Especially because it’s a very small family operation, so a lot of sweat and tears went into that syrup. (It takes 86 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup. Mind boggling.) In honor of their hard work, I wanted to do something really fun with it.
Coincidentally my husband was in Boston last week, and he hit a Korean grocery store. He brought me home all sorts of treats, including wasabi paste – which I never think to buy for myself.
The two items keep colliding in my brain. “Maple and wasabi. Maple and wasabi. Maple and wasabi?”
Hell yes, maple and wasabi. The sweet and the spice play off of each other perfectly. I can’t think of any meat this wouldn’t be good with. Ham? Yup. Pork? Yup. Steak? Yup.
And this, my friends, is the shortest ingredient list I’ve ever written for Recipe Sunday. If you’re still in the mood for grilling after this long weekend, give it a shot.
Maple Wasabi Chicken Skewers
Serves 2 as an appetizer.
Ingredients:
- 1 chicken breast, sliced into 1-inch pieces
- ¼ cup maple syrup (“Grade a” if possible)
- 1 ½ teaspoons wasabi paste
Instructions:
Preheat grill to medium-high.
Place maple syrup and wasabi paste in a small bowl and stir to combine. In a separate container, pour most of the maple/wasabi syrup with the chicken and mix until chicken is well coated. Reserve some of the sauce to finish the chicken with.
When the meat is well coated, thread it onto a skewer. Grill the chicken for 8-10 minutes, flipping once halfway through.
Drizzle chicken with remaining syrup before serving.
(Photo by Launie K.)
