Caramelized Black Pepper Chicken

I have been wanting to try this for a while, and now that we are finally in our new apartment (which means I have a kitchen again!) I got to try it tonight.

The flavors are wonderful- definitely Thai influenced. I served it over brown jasmine rice with some bok choy on the side.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup fish sauce
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 T vegetable oil
2 teaspoons freshly grated garlic and 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 or 2 fresh Thai chiles (I used serrano chiles)
2 shallots, thinly sliced (I sliced up some white onion)
2 lb. organic boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
2 T coarsely chopped cilantro

1.) In a small bowl, combine the sugar, fish sauce, vinegar, water, garlic, ginger, pepper, and chiles, and reserve.

2.) In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high; cook the shallots until soft and a bit brown, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken and stir fry, browning the pieces all over. Add the sugar mixture and simmer over high heat until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the cilantro and serve.

Asian Tofu with Asparagus and Edamame

Tofu is often looked upon as a bland and tasteless food, but if using the right ingredients and cooking properly, tofu becomes a delicious and healthy meal.

This recipe uses a flavorful Asian sauce to coat the crispy pieces of tofu, and tastes wonderful atop brown rice with some asparagus and edamame.

Peanut Chicken with Cabbage Slaw

One of my favorite magazines is Everyday Food. I have a bunch of them as I inherited my grandma's copies, and had my own subscription for a year while I was in college. It's a fun foodie magazine- lots of colorful pictures, meal plans, shopping lists, and basic information, such as how to cook a basic meatloaf.

In many of these magazines, there is a section called Cooking for One. Now, while I cook for two, if I want to eat meat, it is cooking for one. Hence, today's recipe. It's a fresh take on Chinese/Asian, and I loved the cabbage slaw- the perfect accompaniment to the chicken.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast half (about 6 ounces)
coarse salt and ground pepper
4 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 cup shredded cabbage
2 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 small carrot, shredded
1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon reduced-sodium soy sauce

1.) In a small skillet, heat vegetable oil over medium. Season chicken with salt and pepper; cook until browned and opaque throughout, about 6 minutes per side.

2.) Meanwhile, make slaw: In a medium bowl, whisk 3 teaspoons vinegar, sugar, and sesame oil. Add cabbage, scallions, carrot, and ginger; toss to combine. Set aside.

3.) Make sauce: In a small bowl, stir together peanut butter, soy sauce, and remaining teaspoon vinegar; if necessary, thin with water.

4.) Mound slaw on a serving plate. Thinly slice chicken crosswise on the diagonal. Place alongside slaw; spoon a little sauce on the plate, and serve remaining sauce on the side.

*I add some cut up peanuts to my sauce for an extra crunch.

Hoisin Tofu and Almonds

Another tofu recipe! This one is similar to ones I've made before, but uses lots of hoisin (as the title indicates) and has the crunchy addition of almonds. I found this recipe on a vegetarian blog, which I will now be frequenting quite often, veggienumnum.com

This was a good dish, but I would bake the tofu first. Normally that is what I do, but I thought I'd try it again in a pan, and it just proves to be too soft and mushy, often breaking apart and not staying in chunks. It also didn't get as crispy as I had hoped. So from now on- bake that tofu!

Ingredients:

10 1/2 oz. firm tofu
1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 red and 1 green bell pepper, sliced
5 shallots, sliced
5 1/4 oz. button mushrooms, sliced
1 garlic clove, diced
2 1/2 oz. almonds

Sauce-

1 T cornstarch
1 T soy sauce
1 T hoisin sauce

Batter-

1 egg white
1 teaspoon salt
1 T cornstarch
1 T hoisin sauce


1.) Cut the tofu into chunks and soak in the stock for 30 minutes. Strain, reserving the stock, and drain the tofu well on paper towels.

2.) To make the sauce, blend the cornstarch with the reserved stock, hoisin sauce, and soy sauce in a medium pot. Bring the sauce to a boil, stir, until it turns dark in color and has thickened; 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

3.) To make the batter, lightly whisk the egg white, then mix in the cornstarch, salt and hoisin sauce to form a light batter. Toss the drained tofu in the batter to coat well.

4.) In a large frying pan, add oil and fry tofu til crisp and golden. Drain the tofu. Add the veggies and fry. Add the tofu and toss til heated through. Add the sauce and combine well. Finally, add almonds.

*You can serve this as is, or over rice or noodles.

Lighter Sesame Chicken

Yet another version of sesame chicken! This one comes from Martha Stewart, and as the title states, is a healthier version as it coats the chicken in egg whites. This was a much different sesame chicken then the one I previously made from Joy of Cooking. While Joy of Cooking's recipe was a thick sauce with peanut butter, this recipe turned out a strong soy flavored chicken that was very crispy. Both were good- though I may prefer Joy of Cooking's better just because I liked the peanut butter flavor. However, the crispiness of this dish made it more like a traditional sesame chicken. So... try both and decide for yourselves!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup brown rice
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 large egg whites
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 2 inch chunks
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 1/2 pounds broccoli, cut in large florets, stems peeled, and thinly sliced

1.) Place a steamer basket in a large sauce, fill with 1 inch of water, and set aside for broccoli. Cook rice.

2.) Make sauce: In a small bowl, combine honey, sesame seeds, soy sauce, and garlic; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg whites and cornstarch. Add the chicken; season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat.

3.) In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add half the chicken, cook, turning occasionally, until golden and opaque throughout, 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken. Return all the chicken to the skillet; add the reserved sauce and scallions, and toss to coat.

4.) Place the saucepan with the steamer basket over high heat; bring water to a boil. Add broccoli, and cook til crisp tender, 4-6 minutes. Serve the chicken with the broccoli and rice.


*A few changes I made: I used frozen chopped broccoli that I just heated in the microwave, and instant brown rice. I also omitted the scallions.

Sesame Orange Shrimp

More often then not, my food photos never end up looking as pretty as I wish they would- instead, you just have to trust me when I saw they taste good!

Tonight's dinner was Sesame Orange Shrimp, which I picked out of a copy of Everyday Food. This little food magazine is awesome- I inherited a lot of my grandma's copies, and had a subscription myself for a year. It is from Martha Stewart, and is full of recipes- with pictures for each one!

The Sesame Orange Shrimp not only looked good in the magazine, but more importantly, it tasted good. The only part I did not like about this recipe was peeling the raw shrimp- made me really think about how my dinner was once living...

Other then that, it was fairly easy, and pretty quick. I had another dinner going at the same time (a personal-size veggie pizza for my vegetarian husband), and had no problem cooking two meals at once.

I served this over brown rice. Next time, I'll add a vegetable side dish like spicy broccoli or bok choy.

Ingredients:

2 large egg whites
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup sesame seeds
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup vegetable oil, plus more if needed
1 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced

1.) In a large bowl, whisk together egg whites, cornstarch, sesame seeds, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper until frothy. Add shrimp, and toss to coat.

2.) Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Working in two or three batches, cook shrimp until golden and crisp, 2 to 3 minuets per side; transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Add more oil to skillet if necessary for remaining batches.

3.) Wipe skillet with a paper towel. Add orange juice, soy sauce, and sugar; boil over high heat until syrupy and reduced to about 1/3 cup, 4 to 5 minutes. Return shrimp to skillet; add scallions, and cook until heated through and coated with sauce, about 1 minute.

Chicken Chop Suey

Another Chinese recipe! After the success of the sesame chicken, I decided to try another favorite: chop suey. What I am really liking about cooking Chinese food at home is that I can control the ingredients and what I'm putting in the dish, which means it's healthier then what I get from take-out Chinese, and it still tastes delicious!

This recipe I found from Elli Krieger. She's known for her healthier recipes, and I found that this seemed true with the abundance of veggies, low-sodium, and suggestion of using brown rice. The only issue I had with this recipe is that the wontons DO NOT need to be baked 10 minutes- they will burn! I would say 5 minutes, and be sure to keep an eye on them.

Otherwise, this was another successful homemade Chinese dish! Now I just need to decide what to try next. Any suggestions?

Sesame Chicken with Lo Mein Noodles

I love Chinese food. It is right up there with Italian, and I could easily eat both every day of the week: one for lunch, one for dinner. As much as I love Chinese food, I've never really learned to cook it myself. I've always gone to a hole in the wall Chinese take-out and gotten my food cravings fulfilled there.

While my sister was here, we decided to make sesame chicken, which is one of my all-time favorite Chinese dishes. I went to my trustworthy Joy of Cooking for this recipe. Their recipe was a bit different then what I'm used to eating at Chinese restaurants, so I changed it bit. Instead of using bone-in chicken breast halves, we used chicken tenders that we diced. They cooked up a lot faster. I also did not serve it with cucumbers- I absolutely hate cucumbers. We served this alongside my sister's recipe for lo mein noodles.

This recipe for sesame chicken was good- a very strong peanut flavor. What I didn't like about it was that the sauce was very thick and filling, and that it didn't call for sesame seeds. I'm still on the look out for the perfect at-home sesame chicken, but I'd make this again.


Ingredients:

16 cups water
3 bone-in chicken breast halves (with skin)

For Sauce:

1/4 cup toasted sesame paste or smooth peanut butter
2 to 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil (enough to liquefy the sesame paste or peanut butter)
2 1/2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 to 1 tablespoon hot chili pepper oil, or to taste
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh garlic
1 scallion, finely chopped

~In a large pot, bring the water to a boil. Add the chicken and cook til no longer pink, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove to a plate and let cool. Thoroughly combine the sauce ingredients in a medium bowl. Remove the bones from the cooled chicken breasts. By hand, tear the chicken meat along the grain to make rough shreds 2 1/2 inches long by1/2 inch thick. Place in a serving bowl. Pour the sesame paste sauce over the chicken shreds and mix thoroughly to coat.

*** As I said, I didn't exactly follow Joy of Cooking's recipe. We bought a package of chicken tenders, cut them in bite-size pieces, and cooked them in some canola oil until no longer pink. We then transferred them to a bowl, covered it to keep the chicken warm, and made the sauce. We then pour the chicken into the sauce and mixed it well. ***

Jop Chai

I've had this recipe for quite some time, and when looking through my recipe boxes for some new things to cook this week, I decided it was time to try it. I was a bit hesitant as it's an Asian dish with a soy product (both of these things my husband doesn't like- though he'll tolerate the former.) I also was eager to just try something completely different, and thought it'd be good to expand our taste buds.

I'm happy to report that it was excellent- be sure you get the bean thread noodles, or the dish will have an entirely different taste and texture. I also added green onions to this, as I had some I was trying to use up. This is accompanied nicely with green tea.

Jop Chai (recipe taken from Moosewood Simple Suppers)

Ingredients:

4 oz. bean thread noodles
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced onions
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups thinly sliced red bell peppers
8 oz. veggie crumbles

Sauce:

1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil

1.) Soak bean thread noodles in hot tap water to cover until soft, about 15-20 minutes. When soft, drain and cut the noodles into 4-5 inch lengths, then toss them with dark sesame oil or vegetable oil.

2.) When the noodles soak, heat the vegetable oil in a large pan and add the onions and garlic, saute 2 minutes.

3.) Add the cabbage and saute a couple of minutes.

4.) Stir in the red bell peppers and continue to saute until veggies are crisp-tender.

5.) Add the veggie crumbles and cook about 2 minutes.

6.) Combine the sauce ingredients and add to the vegetables.

7.) Add the drained noodles and cook 2-3 minutes, until the noodles have absorbed most of the sauce. Serve hot.

Salmon Egg Foo Yung

This recipe was my grandma's- I never had it before, but had copied from her recipe box a long time ago, and finally got around to making it tonight. I love Chinese food, and am constantly looking for new Chinese recipes that I can make at home. This one was fairly easy and tasted (in my opinion) better then take-out. I'm sure much healthier too!

Ingredients:

1 can (7 3/4 oz) salmon (drain and flake)
4 eggs1 cup bean sprouts
3 tablespoons minced green onions
1 can sliced mushrooms
canola oil

1.) Beat the eggs. Fold in the sprouts, green onions, mushrooms, and salmon.

2.) Heat canola oil in the bottom of a skillet over medium high heat.

3.) Measure out about three tablespoons of the egg mixture and place it in the skillet. The eggs will bubble, and then you can flip it over to brown the other side. The egg mixture will become like a small "egg pancake." Once both sides are brown, set on a plate. (Since you are making a batch of these, I suggest covering the cooked ones with foil to keep them hot until serving.)

4.) To make the accompanying sauce, combine 2 teaspoons of cornstarch with 3/4 cup of water and cook it in a small sauce pan until it dissolves. Add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Once the sauce is bubbling and thick, remove from the heat.

5.) Serve the salmon egg foo yung patties over rice, and top with the sauce.