Singular Sensation

Cooking for one is a breeze. There’s lots less chopping and cutting involved because you’re working with fewer ingredients. Cooking is fast and you’re not burdened with leftovers that jam up the refrigerator. What you get is a delicious, fresh meal. What you don’t get is a sink full of dirty dishes.

It’s amazing how many recipes can be cut to a single serving. Once, for the heck of it, I cooked an entire Thanksgiving dinner in portions for one, including turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry relish, vegetables and fruit crisp.

It’s a lot easier, though, to put together this simple Asian-inspired dinner. While the chicken bakes, you cut up vegetables for a stir-fry and bring the pasta water to a boil. Timing isn’t crucial. The vegetables can stand a bit, which allows you to get the meal together without a hassle.

I would accompany these dishes with a white wine, either Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. Iced tea with lemon would also be nice, or hot Chinese tea on a cold day. You don’t need a dessert, but if you want one, anything from fruit to fortune cookies will do.

Menu

Chinese Baked Chicken

Stir-Fried Baby Bok Choy with Mushrooms

Pasta with Peanut Sauce

Wine or Tea

Fruit or Cookies

PANTRY:

Honey

Soy sauce

Catsup

Garlic powder

Cornstarch

Sugar

Oil

Dried spaghetti

Creamy peanut butter

Crushed dried hot peppers

Canned or homemade chicken broth

SHOPPING LIST:

1 chicken thigh

1 lemon

1 small piece ginger root

1 (1-ounce) package of dried shiitake mushroom (sold in bulk in some markets)

1 (18-ounce) bottle oyster sauce

1 (6-ounce) bottle sesame oil

1 bunch baby bok choy

1 (6-ounce) package sliced or whole fresh mushrooms

1 bunch green onions

GAME PLAN

45 minutes before: Put chicken in oven; soak dried shiitake mushroom; slice fresh mushrooms and bok choy. Assemble seasonings for bok choy and pasta.

20 minutes before: Heat water for cooking pasta. Slice soaked shiitake. Add 3 tablespoons soaking liquid to sauce for bok choy.

12 minutes before: Cook pasta according to package directions.

9 minutes before: Start cooking bok choy.

Just before serving: Mix seasonings with pasta. Open wine or pour tea.

CHINESE BAKED CHICKEN

Cleanup is easy. You simply fold the drippings from the chicken in the foil that lines the baking pan and discard.

1 chicken thigh

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon catsup

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon minced ginger root

Nonstick cooking spray

Remove any excess fat from chicken thigh; wash and pat dry.

*Mix lemon juice, honey, soy sauce, catsup, garlic powder and ginger root in small bowl.

Spray small baking pan such as foil pie pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line with foil and spray foil. Dip chicken thigh in sauce mixture and turn to coat completely. Place in prepared pan. Pour any remaining sauce mixture on top.

Bake at 375 degrees 45 minutes, or until skin is browned and crisp. Baste twice after first 15 minutes. Remove chicken at once from foil, place on heated dinner plate and keep warm.

Makes 1 serving.

Each serving contains about:

176 calories; 438 mg sodium; 56 mg cholesterol; 10 grams fat; 8 grams carbohydrates; 12 grams protein; 0.02 gram fiber.

STIR-FRIED BABY BOK CHOY WITH MUSHROOMS

If you want to serve this dish with rice instead of pasta, add 1 more tablespoon mushroom soaking liquid to the seasoning mixture. Then you will have more sauce to mix with the rice. Look for baby bok choy in Asian markets, where it’s sold in bunches of 3 heads, and in some supermarkets.

1 dried shiitake mushroom

1/3 cup warm water

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon oyster sauce

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

1/8 teaspoon sugar

1 head baby bok choy, about 5 ounces

2 teaspoons oil

2 fresh mushrooms, sliced

Combine shiitake and water in small bowl and let stand until completely soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Spoon 3 tablespoons soaking liquid into custard cup. Add soy sauce, oyster sauce, cornstarch, sesame oil and sugar. Set aside.

Slice softened shiitake. Cut off root end of bok choy and separate into stalks. Wash well. Cut crosswise into 1-inch slices.

Heat oil in nonstick wok over high heat. Add fresh mushrooms and saute until softened, about 1 minute. Add shiitake and bok choy and stir-fry 3 minutes. Stir cornstarch mixture until evenly blended, add to wok and cook until mixture boils, thickens and coats vegetables, about 2 minutes longer. Turn out onto dinner plate with chicken.

Makes 1 serving.

Each serving contains about:

152 calories; 1,095 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 11 grams fat; 12 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 1.44 grams fiber.

PASTA WITH PEANUT SAUCE

1 1/2 tablespoons chicken broth

1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon crushed dried hot peppers

2 ounces uncooked spaghetti noodles

1 small green onion, including some of top, chopped

Combine chicken broth, peanut butter, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic powder and crushed peppers in custard cup. Microwave, uncovered, on high 20 seconds. Stir to blend. Set aside.

Bring large pot salted water to boil. Add spaghetti and cook according to package directions until firm-tender. Drain and return to pan. Add peanut sauce and stir over low heat until blended with pasta. Turn out onto dinner plate and top with green onion.

Makes 1 serving.

Each serving contains about:

72 calories; 765 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 5 grams fat; 5 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 0.27 gram fiber.

* Plates from Strouds, Pasadena.