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It appears that my son has forgotten the vast resource for Chinese recipes that resides in his mother's and sister's hands: Snookie's cookbooks! Next time you are at either house, you should peruse what is out there! In the meantime, here is one of the recipe's out of her "little black book".
1 pound raw chicken breast, cut into 1 " pieces
1 1/2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs cornstarch
1 tbs water
4 garlic cloves
2 green onions, cut 1" pieces
1 green pepper, cut in 1" pieces
10 pieces dried red pepper, seeded and cut into 1" pieces
Sauce:
1 tsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 tbs soyu sauce
1 1/2 tbs vinegar
2 tbs chicken broth
1 tbs sherry
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 tbs sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
4 tbs peanut oil
Make the sauce by mixing all the ingredients & set aside.
Mix the chicken with soy, cornstarch and water. Marinate for 30 minutes or longer. Heat oil in wok. Add chicken, saute 1 minute. Set aside. Drain oil & save.
Add back 1 tbs oil to wok. Saute vegetables 1 minute on high heat. Set aside w/ chicken.
Add 3 tbs oil back to wok and saute red pepper until dark. Add sauce, stir quickly. Fold in chicken and vegetables. Cook 30 seconds or until heated through.
Serve with white rice.
Note: you can use any combination of vegies with this. Also, I've used precooked chicken, marinating it in the soy/cornstarch/water mix and adding it at the end with the vegetables.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Chicken Stock
Whenever I roast a chicken, or Turkey, the next day I make a stock. This way, when I make soup or curry or risotto out of the left overs, I have a wonderful home made broth to use instead of the store bought stuff. Plus, it has the added benefit of allowing me to use the entire bird. Nothing goes to waste. What's not to love about that.
There are many different methods to make stock. My personal favorite is to take a carcass to my sister's house and...voila...two days later I pick up stock. But if you don't have a sister who is as willing/able to make you stock as mine is, you can easily make it yourself.
Inspiration: Monday's Roasted Chicken
Time: 10 minutes prep and 3-8 hours to cook
Difficulty: Easy
Special equipment: 12 quart pot, cheese cloth
Servings: 8 cups or so of stock
Ingredients
1 carcass (chicken or turkey) including all the bones from the drumsticks, wings and thighs
5-8 carrots, cut in half
4-8 stalks of celery, cut in half
2 onions, quartered, skins left on (they darken the broth)
3 cloves of garlic - smashed by the side of a chef knife, skins are okay
3-4 sprigs of thyme
3-4 sprigs of rosemary
8-12 pepper corns
1-2 bay leaves
Cold water to fill the pot
1. Trim any meat from the carcass that you still want to eat. But leave meat on the carcass as it helps flavor the stock
2. Dump all ingredients into the pot. Fill with water.
3. Over high heat, bring pot to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to maintain a low, gentle simmer. If you see scum floating to the top, skim it off with a spoon or a fine mesh strainer. Let simmer uncovered for 3-8 hours (the longer the better). Add hot water to the pot to keep the carcass and bones covered.
4. After done simmering, let cool, and then pour through a strainer lined with cheese cloth into a large container with a lid or pot. Discard the carcass and veggies. Cover and refrigerate stock over night. In the morning skim off the solidified fat from the top.
5. Store in refrigerator for 2-3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
There are many different methods to make stock. My personal favorite is to take a carcass to my sister's house and...voila...two days later I pick up stock. But if you don't have a sister who is as willing/able to make you stock as mine is, you can easily make it yourself.
Inspiration: Monday's Roasted Chicken
Time: 10 minutes prep and 3-8 hours to cook
Difficulty: Easy
Special equipment: 12 quart pot, cheese cloth
Servings: 8 cups or so of stock
Ingredients
1 carcass (chicken or turkey) including all the bones from the drumsticks, wings and thighs
5-8 carrots, cut in half
4-8 stalks of celery, cut in half
2 onions, quartered, skins left on (they darken the broth)
3 cloves of garlic - smashed by the side of a chef knife, skins are okay
3-4 sprigs of thyme
3-4 sprigs of rosemary
8-12 pepper corns
1-2 bay leaves
Cold water to fill the pot
1. Trim any meat from the carcass that you still want to eat. But leave meat on the carcass as it helps flavor the stock
2. Dump all ingredients into the pot. Fill with water.
3. Over high heat, bring pot to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to maintain a low, gentle simmer. If you see scum floating to the top, skim it off with a spoon or a fine mesh strainer. Let simmer uncovered for 3-8 hours (the longer the better). Add hot water to the pot to keep the carcass and bones covered.
4. After done simmering, let cool, and then pour through a strainer lined with cheese cloth into a large container with a lid or pot. Discard the carcass and veggies. Cover and refrigerate stock over night. In the morning skim off the solidified fat from the top.
5. Store in refrigerator for 2-3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Five Spice Rubbed Roast Chicken with Orange Sesame Glaze
Jenny and I have been in a food rut lately. I don't know if the busy holiday season, the increasingly shorter and colder nights or what exactly caused the rut. But there it was, all rutty with the same types of food over and over. Thankfully Jenny recognized it for what it was (in all of its ruttiness) and mandated that we branch out. We came up with the idea of trying new cuisines every month culminating in a small dinner party to show off what we learned.
This month is Chinese. I don't know why. I don't really even know that much about traditional Chinese food. But I had a chicken to roast and I figured that was something that could be done in Beijing as well as Portland, so I had at it. I looked up a couple recipes online, but didn't really find what I wanted. Orange Sesame Glazed Roast Chicken. I had to make it up. Turned out all right. But like I said, it's probably not that Chinese. I guess we'll have to settle for Pan American for January and work our way to Chinese by April.
Inspiration: Chicken in the freezer
Time: 20 minutes prep and 2 hours to cook
Difficulty: Easy
Special equipment: Roasting Pan
Servings: Depends on the size of the chicken
Ingredients:
2 cups fresh Orange Juice (or OJ not from concentrate
1 whole star anise
2 cloves garlic
1" cube of fresh ginger
1 teaspoon garlic chili paste
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
1 Whole Fryer Chicken
2 Tablespoons Chinese Five Spice
1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
1 Tablespoon Ground Black Pepper
1. Bring OJ to a boil with star anise over medium-high heat and reduce to 1/2 a cup. Discard anise.
2. Mash to past the garlic and ginger with a pinch of salt. Mix in the rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and reduced OJ. Baste chicken when you reduce your oven temperature to 375 degrees, and every 20 minutes there after. If the skin darkens too much, cover with a sheet of foil.
3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry chicken. Drizzle a little olive oil over the bottom of the roasting pan.
4. Mix together Five Spice, Cayenne Pepper, Salt and Pepper. Sprinkle over all sides of the chicken. Truss the chicken so that the legs and wings are firmly pressed to the body of the chicken. (If you don't know how, check this video out.) Place the trussed chicken in the roasting pan, breast side up. Place in the center of the oven for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 and cook until a thermometer reaches 155 degrees.
This month is Chinese. I don't know why. I don't really even know that much about traditional Chinese food. But I had a chicken to roast and I figured that was something that could be done in Beijing as well as Portland, so I had at it. I looked up a couple recipes online, but didn't really find what I wanted. Orange Sesame Glazed Roast Chicken. I had to make it up. Turned out all right. But like I said, it's probably not that Chinese. I guess we'll have to settle for Pan American for January and work our way to Chinese by April.
Inspiration: Chicken in the freezer
Time: 20 minutes prep and 2 hours to cook
Difficulty: Easy
Special equipment: Roasting Pan
Servings: Depends on the size of the chicken
Ingredients:
2 cups fresh Orange Juice (or OJ not from concentrate
1 whole star anise
2 cloves garlic
1" cube of fresh ginger
1 teaspoon garlic chili paste
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
1 Whole Fryer Chicken
2 Tablespoons Chinese Five Spice
1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
1 Tablespoon Ground Black Pepper
1. Bring OJ to a boil with star anise over medium-high heat and reduce to 1/2 a cup. Discard anise.
2. Mash to past the garlic and ginger with a pinch of salt. Mix in the rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and reduced OJ. Baste chicken when you reduce your oven temperature to 375 degrees, and every 20 minutes there after. If the skin darkens too much, cover with a sheet of foil.
3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry chicken. Drizzle a little olive oil over the bottom of the roasting pan.
4. Mix together Five Spice, Cayenne Pepper, Salt and Pepper. Sprinkle over all sides of the chicken. Truss the chicken so that the legs and wings are firmly pressed to the body of the chicken. (If you don't know how, check this video out.) Place the trussed chicken in the roasting pan, breast side up. Place in the center of the oven for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 and cook until a thermometer reaches 155 degrees.
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