Every week, Executive Food Editor Keith Dresser pairs each main dish with a side to give you a complete, satisfying dinner without the guesswork. Look for the game plan section to learn tips on how to streamline your kitchen work so that dinner comes together quicker.
Weeknight Cooking
Dinner This Week: BBQ Pork Kebabs
This week’s menus include Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Grilled Pork Kebabs with Barbecue Glaze, and Sautéed White Fish Fillets for dinner in about an hour.
By Published June 28, 2023.
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Dinner 1: Grilled Pork Kebabs with Carrot and Radish Slaw
Game Plan: Start by salting the pork for the kebabs (step 1) and the vegetables for the slaw (step 1). Next, heat the grill and prep the remaining ingredients for both dishes. Grill the pork and then toss the slaw right before serving.
Grilled Pork Kebabs with Barbecue Glaze calls for pork tenderloin, but other boneless cuts of pork such as chops or country-style ribs can also be used. Bottled barbecue sauce can be substituted for the barbecue glaze; you will need about ¼ cup. Carrot, Radish, and Asian Pear Slaw is a fresh, crunchy accompaniment to the kebabs. A sweet-tart apple such as Fuji or Gala makes a good stand-in for the Asian pear. We like the oniony bite of scallion greens, but cilantro or parsley will also work.
Printable Shopping Lists: Grilled Pork Kebabs with Barbecue Glaze with Carrot, Radish, and Asian Pear Slaw
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Dinner 2: Chicken Lettuce Wraps and Steamed Rice
Game Plan: Freeze the chicken for 20 minutes (step 1). During this time, prep the remaining ingredients for the lettuce wraps. Start marinating the chicken (step 2) and then start the rice. Stir-fry the chicken while the rice cooks.
We like to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs for Chicken Lettuce Wraps (Sung Choy Bao), but boneless, skinless breasts can also be used. Water chestnuts add crispness, but they can be omitted. If you leave them out, we suggest adding another stalk of celery. Other varieties of mushrooms can be used in place of the shiitakes. Steamed White Rice starts with rinsing the grains to remove some of their surface starch. Briefly boiling the rice in water before lowering the heat provides enough agitation to release the remaining starch, resulting in just the right amount of stickiness.
Printable Shopping Lists: Chicken Lettuce Wraps and Steamed White Rice
Equipment Review
Fish Spatulas
These flexible, thin spatulas are adept at flipping more than just fish.Read Our Review
Dinner 3: Sautéed White Fish Fillets and Spinach Salad
Game Plan: Prep all of the components for the salad (steps 1 and 2) before sautéing the fish. Once the second batch of fish has been cooked, rewhisk the dressing to combine, and toss the salad.
Sautéed White Fish Fillets will work with virtually any type of white fish, as long as the fillets measure ¼ to 1 inch thick. Don’t skip the salt and 5-minute rest; it will create a sticky surface for a light flour coating to adhere to. For our Spinach Salad with Carrot, Orange, and Sesame, we shave carrots thin with a vegetable peeler so that they don't collect at the bottom of the bowl and then add fresh orange segments for bright, clean flavor and textural appeal. If you don't have spinach on hand, any type of tender lettuce can be swapped in.
Printable Shopping Lists: Sautéed White Fish Fillets and Spinach Salad with Carrot, Orange, and Sesame
To view more quick weeknight dinner ideas, check out the rest of the Dinner This Week series.
- Dinner This Week: Grilled Tuscan-Style Steak
- Dinner This Week: Chicken Souvlaki
- Dinner This Week: Grilled Chicken Thighs
- Dinner This Week: Grilled Salmon
- Dinner This Week: Grilled Chicken Breasts
