Broccoli and Beef

I was watching a morning news channel and they made Broccoli and Beef and oh boy did it look good and so easy to make. I wont lie I also liked that she was Asian because often white cooks make Asian dishes and they are too bland. So I thought what the heck lets give it a try and I've now made it twice and we all just love it. I've add other veggies because I love all sorts of veggies in a stir fry type meal. 

Try it and let me know what you think. 

Ingredients

1/2 pound flank steak

2 Tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce divided plus more as needed

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger 

1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine or dry marsala wine (optional)

2 medium cloves garlic crushed

1 Tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoon cornstrarch

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil 

2 heaping cups broccoli florets, blanched for about 2 minutes and drained

2-3 tablespoons of water

1 teaspoon hoison sauce.

1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

Recipe

Trim the flank steak and cut into smaller pieces to help with slicing. You will need to slice against the grain into thin pieces, about 1/8 inch. Place in a bowl and add 1 tablespoon soy sauce, the ginger, wine, and garlic and mix well. Add cornstarch and mix well again. 

Preheat wok or pan over high heat until wisps of smoke rise to surface. Add vegetable oil heat until it starts to shimmer. Gently add the beef and using a spatula, spread it into a single layer in the bowl of the wok. Sear it for about 30 seconds and the stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the meat has browned. Add the broccoli, water, remaining 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce and the hoisin and stir fry 1-2 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Add a dash more soy sauce, if desired. Drizzle with sesame oil and serve with steamed rice. 

Chinese BBQ Pork

Every time we went out for Chinese food we had to start with Barbecue Pork. I'm not sure when my step mom Sue decided to find a recipe and how long ago she started making it but it has become a tradition to have it at all our holiday functions and vacation in Sun Lakes. We all look forward to it. The only bad part is that it is so good that I no longer like ordering it at restaurants. I recently made it myself and needed to share it on my blog because it is so good and easy that all of you should be able to enjoy it. 

Ingredients

1 pound pork tenderloin

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon 5 spice seasoning

1/4 pepper

1 teaspoon cooking sherry or rice wine

2 Tablespoon soy sauce

3 tablespoon hoisen sauce

1/2 teaspoon red food coloring

Directions 

Mix all ingredients and add to the large plastic zip lock bag. After trimming the pork tenderloin add it to bag and marinate for 2 hours or over night. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for approximately 25 minutes. I believe I baked mine for 30 minutes because I like mine a bit over done. The temperature should read at least 145 degrees but I like it a little dry because I dip it into ketchup, hot mustard and sesame seeds. I think my temp read 160 degrees. 

My step mom made it with cooking sherry I tried rice wine because I had it and it seemed to be exactly the same. It is up to you. The red food coloring is just for the coloring but doesn't change the taste so it is up to you. 

Try it and let me know what you think. 

Panang Curry with Chicken

When I go out for Thai food my favorite item to order is Panang Curry with Chicken. I finally have found a recipe that is just like it. It has taken me a long time to figure it out and have tried many but this one is finally loved by me and my husband. 

I found a recipe on pinterest that was mouth watering so I decided to try it. I changed it a bit but it was a great guide to finding just what I wanted. Try it and let me know what you think. 

Ingredients

2 Chicken Breast cut up in cubes or strips

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons red curry paste 

1 clove garlic minced

1/2 onion diced

1 can of Trader Joe's coconut cream

1 cup slivered carrots

1/2 cup green beans or green pepper

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In large skillet add olive oil. Once it is pipping hot add chicken and salt and pepper and cook for about 10 minutes or until cooked through. Add diced onion, carrots and green beans and cook about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add red curry paste to get aroma and flavor mixed in with every thing. Then add coconut cream and stir. Let simmer another 10 minutes until carrots are cooked. 

I like to serve over rice 

Thai Cucumber Sauce

I love Thai food and one of my favorites is the cucumber salad. I bought a cook book many years ago because I wanted to learn how to make red curry sauce. This book also had a great recipe for cucumber salad. It is called Keo's Thai cuisine. The recipe is slightly different because I don't always have red chili's in the fridge and I use less shallots. Try it and let me know what you think. 

Ingredients

1 cucumber 

5 tablespoons sugar

1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup white vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1 small pinch of red pepper flakes

half of a shallot sliced thin.

Directions

Peel cucumber but don't remove all of the peel. Slice in half. I liked to take the seeds out with spoon. Then I slice them. In a bowl add sugar and pour in boiling water. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Add salt and white vinegar. Stir and then pour over cucumber, shallots, and red pepper flakes. Chill and enjoy later. 

Sesame Noodles

My step dad Jerry is the first person to make these for me. His neighbor made them for him and he fell in love and I believe he added the Hot Chili oil because he liked everything but his dessert spicy. My mom and I loved his version even more and the both of us make these oriental noodles a few times every year. 

They are great to bring to a picnic, pot luck or to just make as a side dish. If you don't like your food spicy you can just add more sesame oil. I will be honest they really are not that spicy. It just adds perfect amount of kick. My extended family loves these noodles and asks me to make them every year. This recipe is very easy and to make it even easier you can make the sauce the day before and add it to your noodles at least an hour before serving. You want the sauce to sit in the noodles to let them soak in all the flavors. You can add chicken to this but I personally don't like it because the chicken soaks up to much of the sauce and then makes the noodles to dry. 

Try them and let me know what you think. They are super easy and your friends will devour them. 

Ingredients

1/4  cup sesame oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons of sugar

2 tablespoons of chili oil

2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup sesame seeds

8 scallions chopped

1 lb vermicelli

Directions

In a large stock pot bring water to a boil and cook pasta according to package. You don't want to over cook them. In a bowl mix together first 5 ingredients and whisk until combined. Let it rest.

Once noodles are cooked cool them immediately. I usually put ice cubes on top of them to get them nice and cold. Once they are cold enough I let all the water drain off completely and then add them and sauce to a large bowl. Add chopped scallions and sesame seeds. Let sit in refrigerator for about an hour. 

Sesame Chicken

In Seattle I grew up eating Almond fried chicken and when I moved to New York City I learned quickly that it is not on the menu at an Chinese restaurant. I soon then fell in love with General Tso Chicken. However, my kids don't like it anything spicy so we often order Sesame Chicken. If you have been following my blog you know how and why I barely order out. I have learned to make my own Chinese food favorites through many trial and errors. I found this recipe after googling Sesame Chicken. I liked what I watched on the video and decided to give it a try. My husband LOVED it and so did my kids. He made me promise to put it on my blog. He likes just about everything I make but when he couldn't stop talking about it I knew this was a winner.

Tips to for this recipe is to cut chicken in bite size pieces and egg and let sit in fridge. Also make sauce earlier and keep in fridge. These two tips make it much easier when cooking so you are not bogged down with so much at one time. 

Ingredients

1/4 Cup chicken stock

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons vinegar

1 tablespoon hoison sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon corn starch

1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoon chili sauce

1/4 cup chopped scallion

1 lb chicken breast cut into bite size pieces

3 cloves garlic minced

1 teaspoon ginger minced

1 egg

1 cup of flour

1 1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cup peanut oil

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Directions

In a medium bowl mix together first 7 ingredients and set aside.

In a medium pot heat oil until 375 degrees. In a medium bowl blend egg with fork and add cut up chicken to it. make sure chicken is covered in egg and then add each piece to another bowl with flour. dredge in flour and then add to oil that is ready for frying. Make sure it gets browned on all sides and then remove from oil and drain on paper towel. You will work in batches. 

Once all the chicken is fried add a little oil from the pot to a large skillet and heat on high. add onion and cook 1 minute. Add garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute. Add the sauce you set aside and let it thicken a bit and bubble to a quick boil. Then add fried chicken and makes sure completely coated and warmed through about 1 minute add a sprinkle of sesame seeds.  Serve over rice and enjoy. Let me know what you think. 

Edit: I found that frying the chicken was a lot of work and not as healthy. I wanted to go on her because I now chop chicken into chhunks and strips and grill in olive oil. It is so much easier and taste better. 

Chicken Chow Mein

I love Chinese take out but it is very rare that what I order is consistently delish. Sometimes it is too greasy. You get very little of the vegetable you like and and over abundance of the vegetable you don't like. The meat often is very fatty and sometimes it taste like it has been sitting under a warmer for hours. So I decided to make my own and I can't remember the last time we order take out. I took this recipe from a show on the Cooking Channel. One of my favorites is Chinese made easy. This looked so good that I made it. I changed a few things to fit what we like best. The first time I made it, it was too spicy for my kids and a little dry for me. Here is how I make it. I hope you try it and let me know what you think.

Ingredients

2 chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
1/4 tsp five spice
salt and pepper
1tbs cornstarch
1tsp chili sauce
couple of splashes of dark soy sauce
2 carrots sliced thinly
1 c. broccoli
1/2 chopped onion
1/2 c. bean sprouts
1/2 red or green bell pepper sliced thinly
2 tbs peanut oil
2 tbs. light soy sauce
Chinese egg noodles

Recipe

Boil water in medium pot for noodles. The noodles are thin and cook very fast. I always get all my vegetable cut and ready before I heat pan because once the cooking starts it all goes very fast. I like to blanch broccoli for about 1 minute. If find it helps get the perfect texture for when I add it to the other chicken. Salt and pepper chicken. Then marinate chicken in cornstarch, chili sauce and dark soy. Heat wok or large saute pan with Peanut oil. Wait until pan is very HOT and then add chicken. Saute it until brown. Add all the vegetable except bean sprouts. I add them at the very end. Add noodles to the water and cook for only 3 minutes. I like to add a little water from the noodles to loosen all the bits stuck on the bottom of the pan. It give you a nice sauce and makes it less dry. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add bean sprouts mix all together then add noodle. toss and serve. I love to cook this because it is a one pot meal.