CHINESE-STYLE ORANGE CHICKEN GOES LIGHT

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

We all know how tasty the classic Chinese-American concoction can be, but we also know that it is a true “caloric-bomb”. The chicken pieces are usually breaded, fried, and coated with a super sweet sticky sauce. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, but I normally refrain from ordering it when I go out for Chinese food. Not too long ago I saw this version on Averie Cooks, and made it for us.

CHINESE-STYLE ORANGE CHICKEN
(slightly modified from Averie Cooks)

1.25 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, diced into bite-sized pieces
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large oranges, juiced; plus more orange juice if necessary
1/3 cup tamari sauce (or light soy sauce)
1/4 cup honey
fresh cilantro to taste
additional salt to taste (optional)

To a large bowl or ziptop plastic bag, add the chicken, cornstarch, and toss or shake the bag to coat the chicken evenly; set aside. You may not need all the cornstarch. Try to go for a very light coating.

In a large skillet, add the oils, orange juice, soy sauce, honey, and the chicken pieces. Turn the heat to medium, and cook until chicken is done and cooked through; flip chicken and stir constantly. If the sauce is tightening or thickening up too much before the chicken has cooked through, add additional orange juice to thin it and keep stirring. Garnish with cilantro and serve immediately. Adjust seasoning with salt if needed.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: The original recipe called for double amount of cornstarch and the sauce became way too thick and almost unpleasant to our taste. I suggest you go for the minimum amount that will still coat the pieces of chicken very very lightly. The sauce will still thicken upon refrigeration, so leftovers will have to be gently warmed with some water or orange juice to bring it to a saucy consistency. The interesting bit of this recipe is that you don’t need to sautee the chicken pieces first, so essentially zero mess on the stove, and pretty nice texture on the meat, I was pleasantly surprised. Give it a try, and you might love it too!

The chicken tasted light and fresh, but it was still quite substantial as a main dish. We had it with white rice and pan-steamed broccoli, a recipe I cook probably once a week ever since I first blogged about it (check it out here). This is a simpler version, I just add olive oil and lemon juice after cooking.

ONE YEAR AGO: Roasted Cauliflower with Chickpeas and Quinoa

TWO YEARS AGO: A Savory Phyllo Pie

THREE YEARS AGO: Nut-Free Lady Grey Macarons

FOUR YEARS AGO: Mini-Heart Cakes for your Valentine

FIVE YEARS AGO: Blue Moon Milk

SIX YEARS AGO: Slow-Cooked Chicken Meatballs

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Zesty Flourless Chocolate Cake

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Maple Pumpkin Pecan Snacking Cake

NINE YEARS AGO: Silky Gingered Zucchini Soup

TEN YEARS AGO: Sweet Fifteen!

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Sesame and Flaxseed Sourdough

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Green Beans with Miso and Almonds

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Saturday Morning Scones

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: White Bread

25Oct2021

SHRIMP STIR-FRY, KUNG PAO-INSPIRED

Posted in Seafood by sallybr

This is not authentic Chinese cooking. It is my version of a stir-fry, inspired by a classic. By definition, Kung Pao is a stir-fry served with spicy sauce, and sprinkled with peanuts. So I guess I am reasonably safe with my concoction. The inclusion of sugar snap peas adds extra veggies that make the whole thing more satisfying to me. Tune the spices to your comfort level, but please make sure to include Szechuan peppercorns. You cannot get the same type of heat from any other pepper.

KUNG PAO-INSPIRED SHRIMP
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 tsp Szechuan peppercorns, lightly crushed
1/3 cup roasted cashews
1 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 yellow bell pepper, cut in large slices
sugar snap peas, amount to taste, around 6 oz
salt to taste
1/4 cup oyster sauce
1 tablespoons sambal oelek
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup cold water
drizzle of sesame oil

Heat a large saute pan over high heat for about 1 minute. When you see the first wisps of white smoke, swirl in one tablespoon of the vegetable oil, then add the peppercorns and sautee for a few seconds. Add the cashews, bell pepper and sugar snap peas. Season lightly with salt. Stir fry for a few minutes, remove from the pan, reserve.

Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan, when very hot add the shrimp and stir fry until it starts to get cooked through. Return the vegetables and cashews to the pan, add the oyster sauce and sambal. Stir for a minute or so, pour in the cornstarch/water. Let everything come to a boil, cook until fragrant and luscious. Adjust seasoning. Serve over white rice if you like.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This was a great simple dish to prepare after an intense day of work. After more than a decade without facing a classroom, I am teaching college students and let’s say the stress level goes up a bit. It is nice to have a meal that does not require too much time and too much effort. Stir-fry to the rescue!

Adjust the spice level to your liking, if you are feeling brave get some habaneros to the party… I always flirt with the habanero idea, but never go for it. I guess my Dad would be disappointed.

ONE YEAR AGO: Cauliflower Steaks with Olives and Caper Salsa

TWO YEARS AGO: Twice-Cooked Eggplant

THREE YEARS AGO: Turkey Burger, Japanese-Style

FOUR YEARS AGO: Pumpkin Macarons

FIVE YEARS AGO: Slow-Cooked Whole Chicken

SIX YEARS AGO: Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Chocolate Frosting

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Pecan-Crusted Chicken with Honey-Mustard Dressing

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Bewitching Kitchen on Fire!

NINE YEARS AGO: Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps

TEN YEARS AGO: Chiarello’s Chicken Cacciatore

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Donna Hay’s Thai-Inspired Dinner

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Panettone

21Jun2011

ROASTED TOMATO SOUP

Posted in Soups, Vegetarian-friendly by sallybr

This post is a bit nostalgic, as this was the last recipe I made in the nano-kitchen, but we left L.A. before I had a chance to write it up. A very simple recipe designed with the idea of using ingredients hanging around before our departure from California. It turned out so delicious! Plus, it was a nice match for the weather we were having then. Now that the thermometers are wonderfully stuck in the high 90’s, the thought of soup is not particularly appealing, but this one would work equally well chilled.

ROASTED TOMATO SOUP
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

8-12 ounces of grape and/or cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 shallots, cut in half
1 garlic clove, unpeeled
kalamata olive oil (or another olive oil of your choice)
splash of balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
vegetable stock (or water)
2 Tbs orange juice
1 tsp orange zest
chives for garnish

Place the tomatoes, shallot pieces and garlic in a bowl and add enough olive oil to just coat them lightly. Transfer them to a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil or parchment paper, set the tomatoes with the cut size down. Sprinkle some salt and pepper all over, and a splash with balsamic vinegar.

Roast in a 425F oven for 20-25 minutes, until the tomato skins and the edges of the shallots start to get brown. Remove from the oven, let it all cool slightly, and using gloves peel off the skin of the tomatoes (you can leave them on if you don’t mind their texture in the soup). Squeeze the garlic out of its peel, and transfer it together with the tomatoes, shallots and any liquid accumulated in the pan to a food processor. Process it until smooth, pour into a sauce pan over medium heat, and add enough vegetable stock to give a consistency you like. Let it come to a gentle boil, add the orange juice, orange zest, taste for seasoning, and serve with chives sprinkled for garnish.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I had a mixture of grape and cherry tomatoes that needed to be used, and a couple of yellow grape tomatoes went into the mix too. Feel free to improvise, nothing can go wrong with this soup: add different types of herbs, or go for a cumin or cayenne blast. I had planned to make some parmiggiano crisps to serve with the soup, but the electric burners in the nano-kitchen failed, and I was left with a big lump of cheesy mess. Once the weather cools, I’ll revisit this soup – cheese crisps included – and add some mushrooms to the roasting pan. I bet a roasted tomato & mushroom soup will be very flavorful.

ONE YEAR AGO: Turkey Meatballs

TWO YEARS AGO: Focaccia

27Feb2010

SEARED TUNA is MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO

Posted in Seafood by sallybr

…. Get out of the steak you’re in! 😉

We don’t often dine out, simply because we prefer to cook at home: it’s less expensive, less caloric and more satisfying. The only real exception is sushi, which I don’t attempt to make. But, if a restaurant menu offers “seared tuna,” then that’s usually my selection! I like it served cold (our local sushi restaurant makes a killer seared tuna salad with creme fraiche and wasabi dressing), I like it served warm (over pasta, rice, or soba noodles), and I feel great after eating it. Seared tuna is a fantastic, weeknight-friendly dish: ten minutes tops from the refrigerator to plating.

I slightly adapted this recipe from “The Improvisational Cook“, by Sally Schneider, and served it with a crispy potato / spinach / escarole salad based on this recipe. It’s a healthy, tasty dinner, that reinforced my infatuation with seared tuna.

TUNA WITH SESAME SEEDS, CRACKED CORIANDER and CRISPY GINGER
(adapted from Sally Schneider)

2 ahi-tuna steaks (sushi-quality)
3-inch piece of ginger, sliced very thin
3 Tbs peanut oil
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup cracked coriander seeds
1/16 cup nigella seeds
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil over medium heat in a small saucepan. Add the ginger slices and cook over low heat for 7-8 minutes until the ginger is crisp. Transfer to paper towels with a slotted spoon, season lightly with salt, and reserve the ginger slices and the oil.

Place the sesame seeds, cracked coriander, and nigella seeds in a plate. Season the tuna steaks with salt and pepper, then press both sides of the steaks on the seeds mixture.

Heat the ginger oil in a non-stick skillet until hot, but not smoking. Place the steaks in the oil, and cook for 90 seconds on each side for medium-rare. Transfer to a cutting board, slice with a sharp knife, scatter the crispy ginger, and serve.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: If you can’t find top-quality tuna steaks, then don’t attempt this recipe. The fish will be nearly raw in the middle, so only the best quality tuna will rise to the challenge. If you prefer it a little more cooked, then give it an additional 30 seconds on each side, but avoid over-cooking.

To crack the coriander seeds I placed them in a small ziplock bag and used a meat mallet. Be gentle because they crack easily; you don’t want to turn them into powder. Other mixtures also work well, like cracked black pepper or mustard seeds. Nuts easily burn, but the searing takes less than 2 minutes, so it’s not a problem as long as the oil isn’t smoking hot.

I’d never tried crispy ginger, and my husband thought it was a bit strong, but I liked it a lot. Cut the slices as thin as possible. The mandoline didn’t work as well as I’d hoped, so I ultimately used my chef’s knife. Amazingly enough, I still have all ten fingers. 😉 Even if you don’t like the fried ginger, it is worth making it for the infused oil.

And now for something completely different…. savor this!

5Jan2010

TURKISH CHICKEN KEBABS

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

It’s hard to find a simpler recipe that ranks as high in the taste department as this one. Either place the meat in the yogurt mixture an hour before cooking, or do as I did, and prepare it in the morning for a stress-free dinner later. A yogurt-based marinade with the right spices does wonders for chicken and pork, as this dish deliciously confirms.

A friend pointed me to this recipe, one of her favorites of 2009. It’s from Steven Raichlen, in Bon Appetit. You can read about it here.

YOGURT-MARINATED CHICKEN KEBABS WITH ALEPPO PEPPER

(adapted from Bon Appetit, July 2009)

1 1/2 Tbs Aleppo pepper
1 cup yogurt
3 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs red wine vinegar
2 Tbs tomato paste
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 lemon, unpeeled, thinly sliced
2.5 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut in large cubes
Bamboo skewers, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes before using

Place the Aleppo pepper in a bowl an add 1 Tbs of warm water, letting it stand for a few minutes to form a paste. Add the yogurt, olive oil, vinegar, tomato paste, salt and pepper, whisking to blend. Stir in the garlic and lemon slices, add the chicken and mix enough to coat all the pieces. Leave the chicken in the fridge at least an hour, up to overnight.

Thread the chicken pieces onto pre-soaked bamboo skewers, sprinkle with salt, and grill until golden brown, turning once. For chicken breasts, about 8 to 10 minutes total.

Serve with lemon wedges.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

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