KITCHEN KREATION: General Tso's Chicken

Family, I'm back! Tonight I decided to try my hand at making Chinese at home again. Hubby's favorite dish whenever we go out to eat at a Chinese restaurant is General Tso's Chicken. As a matter of fact, the decision as to whether we will be back or not is primarily based on if the restaurant has a good General Tso's. It has to combine the exact right amount of sweet and spicy in order to score my hubby's affection. If the General Tso's is not up to par, there is a good chance that we will never be back.

The problem with the General Tso's that is sold in the restaurant is that it is battered and deep fried then smothered with a sweet sauce. There might be 2 or 3 broccoli sprigs thrown on just to say that there are vegetables on the plate. The caloric intake of a plate of General Tso's tends to average around 1300 calories with a staggering 3200 mg of sodium! Since hubby is being dragged along in my attempts to make us both healthier, I decided to make his favorite dish at home with my own little spin on it.

To start off, there was no batter anywhere near my chicken. It was also pan fried with about a tablespoon of oil versus being deep fried in oil. I also did not use any MSG and used low sodium sauces as much as possible. Hopefully my version is at least a little healthier. We'll find out when I calculate everything on SparkPeople. Hope you enjoy my healthier version!

INGREDIENTS
2-3 pounds of boneless skinless chicken
12 ounce bag of frozen broccoli
½ onion – sliced thinly
1 clove garlic – minced
½ tsp ground ginger
2 Tbsp corn starch
¼ cup low sodium soy sauce

1 cup low sodium chicken stock
1/3 cup sugar
¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp sesame oil (stir fry oil)
2 Tbsp cooking sherry
1.5 tsp hot chili garlic sauce
1 Tbsp hoisin sauce
2 Tbsp cornstarch
water


DIRECTIONS

1. Make sauce by adding chicken stock, sugar, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, cooking sherry, hot chili garlic sauce, and hoisin sauce to bowl. Stir well until rice has dissolved.
2. Rinse chicken well. Cut into bite sized 1 inch pieces.
3. Pour in ¼ cup soy sauce & 2 Tbsp corn starch. Mix well and marinate for 5 minutes.
4. While meat is marinating, prepare vegetables. Thinly slice ½ yellow onion.
5. Heat 1 Tbsp vegetable oil in hot wok. Add chicken and sauté until browned. Remove from wok and let drain on plate with paper towels.
6. Add another Tbsp of vegetable oil to wok. Add onions, garlic, and ginger. Saute until tender and fragrant.
7. Add chicken to wok and stir well to incorporate flavors.
8. Make thickener slurry by mixing 2 Tbsp cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Should just have enough water to dissolve the cornstarch. Stir well until dissolved and add to sauce.
9. Stir sauce well and add to hot wok.
10. Bring chicken and sauce mixture to a boil. Lower heat and let simmer for 10 minutes or until sauce begins to thicken.
11. Serve with rice and enjoy!

This just in, according to SparkPeople, for six servings, my version only has 301 calories and 1404 mg sodium. That's a big improvement from the numbers in the restaurant, but I will have to tweak this a little more to get the sodium levels down lower. May omit the dark soy sauce next time and the soy sauce used to marinate the chicken. I think next time I will just coat the chicken in the corn starch and saute it up that way. Will keep you posted.

I checked again and if the soy sauce used to marinate the chicken and the dark soy sauce is omitted, the sodium levels drop down to 799 mg. I think I can live with that...


Hubby gave this one two thumbs up and said that if I keep this up, I'm gonna give the local restaurants a run for their money. LOL!!!

KITCHEN KREATIONS: Chinese Beef & Broccoli

So apparently, my doctor feels that I need to increase my red meat intake. (Sigh...) I truly am not a big beef eater, but I told the hubby that I would try to start making more beef for dinner. He responded with a loud and profound "YESSS"! LOL. My hubby is definitely a steak and potatoes kind of guy...


Well, you guys know me, anything that I can fix in my new wok is gonna be high on the recipe finder list. So, back to Youtube I went to look for a good-looking and delicious-sounding recipe. Of course I checked out my girl Lila's site. I've never been disappointed by anything that I've made from her page. I also checked out my current obsession with Kai. He had a good-looking Mongolian Beef video, but there were too many ingredients that I didn't have in the house and I really didn't feel like going to the grocery store. So, I combined aspects of his recipe with parts of Lila's and made my own tasty homemade Chinese.

It came out really great and tasted delicious. Hope you enjoy the recipe.

INGREDIENTS
1 lb flank steak or stir-fry beef - cut into 1-2 inch pieces
1 bag frozen broccoli cuts
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
3 Tbsp cooking oil

Meat Marinade (Marinate for approx. 10 mins while preparing other ingredients):
1 Tbsp cooking wine
1/2 tsp garlic salt

Stir-Fry Sauce (can halve the sauce for less if you like):
1 cup beef broth
4 tsp sugar
4 tsp rice vinegar
4 Tbsp oyster sauce
2 Tbsp soy sauce

Sauce Thickener:
2 Tbsp cornstarch
Water (just enough to dissolve cornstarch when stirred)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat 2 Tbsp cooking oil in wok on high heat.
2. Cook onions and garlic in oil until tender.
3. Add beef to wok until browned (should still be pink in the center to avoid overcooking).
4. Remove beef from wok and add 1 Tbsp cooking oil to wok to heat.
5. Add broccoli cuts and stir fry until tender.
6. Add beef back to wok.
7. Add stir fry sauce to wok and heat until boiling.
8. Pour sauce thickener into mixture, stir well and return to boil.
9. Simmer on low heat until sauce has thickened.
10. Serve with rice and enjoy!

KITCHEN KREATIONS: Chicken Stir-Fry w. Brown Rice (new & improved recipe)

MIDWEEK FEAST: Chicken Stir-Fry w. Brown Rice (new recipe)

So, tonight I wanted to try my hand at making Chinese again. We had some left over chicken thighs from our Chicken Alfredo pizza that I made yesterday. It was so yummy and I had 3 chicken thighs left, so I thought well, what can I make that will be quick and easy and semi-healthy for us. I thought about trying out a Food Network recipe that I found for Chicken Parmigiana, but changed my mind. It didn't seem as easy or as quick as making the stir-fry, so that's what I chose. I thought I would try some of my new Chinese 5-Spice seasoning that I got from the wonderful Soulard Spice Shop located at the Soulard Market in St. Louis, MO. [The link to order online is included, just click on the name. You can get every spice imaginable from them! I will be doing a blog about the Spice Shop another day after going to visit them again to try to get some pictures.]

I also changed the recipe by adding a little ginger to it. It definitely gave the stir-fry a different taste, not better or worst, just different. We both approve. So, I hope that someone out there tries my Stir-Fry recipe and lets me know what you think. Thanks again and have a blessed day!

Ingredients
2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
1-2 bags frozen stir-fry vegetables (of your choice. We use 2 bags b/c I like a lot of veggies.)
½ medium onion
½ tsp garlic salt
2 tsp cornstarch
4 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp cooking oil (or stir fry oil)

Sauce Ingredients

1 cup chicken broth
4 Tbsp soy sauce
4 Tbsp oyster sauce
2 Tbsp sugar
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp Chinese 5 spices seasoning
2 tsp cornstarch with water (thickener)

Directions:

1. Remove all of the fat from the chicken and then cut each breast into 1 inch pieces.
2. Sprinkle these pieces with the garlic salt and cornstarch and mix it in thoroughly. Then set the pieces aside while preparing the other ingredients.
3. In a large cup, mix together all of the ingredients for the sauce and set this mixture aside.
4. In a small cup, make the thickener by mixing the cornstarch with a little water just until it dissolves and set it aside.
5. Heat a non stick wok on high. Once the wok is hot add the cooking oil and let it get hot.
6. When the oil is hot, add the onions and garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes to soften.
7. Add the chicken and stir fry it until it browns, about 6 to 8 minutes. To help the chicken brown quickly, let it sit for about 2 minutes on one side, then stir it, flipping it over. Let it sit again for another 2 minutes before stirring once more.
8. Once the chicken browns, add in the vegetables and saute until tender.
9. Add the sauce mixture. Add first 6 sauce ingredients together and let the sauce come to a boil.
10. Once the sauce boils, add in the cornstarch mixture and stir until it becomes thick.
11. Then remove from the heat and serve. This is great with fried rice and white or brown steamed rice.
12. Eat and enjoy!

KITCHEN KREATIONS: Chicken Stir-Fry with Rice

MIDWEEK FEAST: Chicken & Vegetable Stir-Fry with Rice

So today, I was in the mood to try my hand at making my own Chinese food again. So, off to Youtube I went to search for the perfect recipe. I found one with my girl Lila from AsianCookingMadeEasy. I actually combined her Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry recipe with her Chicken in Garlic Sauce recipe. Let me tell you, it came out really good. You should try it. Here’s my recipe.

Ingredients
2-3 chicken breasts
Frozen stir-fry vegetables
½ medium onion
½ tsp garlic salt
2 tsp cornstarch
4 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp cooking oil

Sauce Ingredients
1 cup chicken broth
4 Tbsp soy sauce
4 Tbsp oyster sauce
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp cornstarch with water (thickener)

Directions:

1. Remove all of the fat from the chicken and then cut each breast into 1 inch pieces.
2. Sprinkle these pieces with the garlic salt and cornstarch and mix it in thoroughly. Then set the pieces aside while preparing the other ingredients.
3. In a large cup, mix together all of the ingredients for the sauce and set this mixture aside.
4. In a small cup, make the thickener by mixing the cornstarch with a little water just until it dissolves and set it aside.
5. Heat a non stick wok on high. Once the wok is hot add the cooking oil and let it get hot.
6. When the oil is hot, add the onions and garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes to soften.
7. Add the chicken and stir fry it until it browns, about 6 to 8 minutes. To help the chicken brown quickly, let it sit for about 2 minutes on one side, then stir it, flipping it over. Let it sit again for another 2 minutes before stirring once more.
8. Once the chicken browns, add in the vegetables and saute until tender.
9. Add the sauce mixture. Mix everything up together and let the sauce come to a boil.
10. Once the sauce boils, add in the cornstarch mixture and stir until it becomes thick.
11. Then remove it from the heat and serve. This is great with both fried rice and white steamed rice.
12. Eat and enjoy!

Midweek Feast: Taste of Asia night

So today I was sitting at work wondering what we were going to have for dinner. Since I've been on this Asian kick lately, I thought I would try to make some Chinese at home.
On tonight's menu: Pork lo mein with vegetables and egg rolls.
Both recipes came out absolutely delicious. The only problem is that since I am still recovering health wise from this summer, by the time I got done actually cooking, I was too tired to eat. The hubby assures me that everything came out great. He's actually (literally) in the kitchen getting seconds as I am typing this. LOL!!!
For the egg rolls, I combined a couple of recipes obtained on YouTube from different people that I subscribe to. So, here you go. I hope that you enjoy.

Pork Egg Rolls
Package of egg roll wrappers (found at your local grocery store in the produce section)
Package of coleslaw mix (I used 1/2 of the package since it was just the two of us)
Half pound of ground pork
1/2 cup thinly sliced onion
1 1/2 Tbs. stir fry oil
3/4 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 Tbs. soy sauce
1/4 cup Hoisin sauce
couple of dashes of cayenne pepper
couple of dashes of paprika
1 tsp cornstarch
2 Tbs. water

1. Mix together the coleslaw mix with stir fry oil, garlic salt, ground ginger, cayenne pepper, paprika and onions. Stir well.
2. Microwave mixture on high for 4-5 minutes. Stir again.
3. Add raw pork, Hoisin sauce and soy sauce to cabbage mixture. Stir well until everything is well integrated.
4. Mix the cornstarch and water in a small bowl until it forms a slurry with no lumps present. This acts as the "glue" to hold your egg roll together.
5. Wrap the egg roll.
- Place egg roll wrapper at diagonal with corner facing you.
- Place approximately 2 Tbs of pork/cabbage mixture on wrapper.
- Fold the bottom corner over mixture and roll tightly.
- Fold over the left, then the right corners.
- Wet your finger with the cornstarch "glue" and apply it to the top corner of the wrapper.
- Continue rolling the egg roll until complete.
- Set it aside with the egg roll sitting on the seam of the wrapper, sealed side down.
6. Place carefully in cooking oil and cook until golden brown. Oil should be 375-390 degrees.
7. After done, egg rolls will float to the top of the oil. Remove from the grease and set on a plate covered with paper towels to dry.
8. Enjoy!

For the pork lo mein, it came out really good, but it wasn't quite the taste that I was looking for. So, I will continue on my search for a fabulous lo mein recipe.

KITCHEN KREATIONS: Chinese Bourbon Chicken with Rice

Sunday Dinner:

Last Sunday, the hubby and I made Bourbon Chicken with white rice.
I am a big Food Network and YouTube food cooking channel fan, so when I came across this recipe via divascancook and on YouTube at Ateyaaa, I had to try it. Let me say that it turned out so good. The sauce was delicious (savory & sweet), the chicken was tender, and the smells coming from my kitchen were amazing!
Definitely check it out, you won't be disappointed!

[Disclaimer: If you follow the recipe exactly as they make it, it doesn't have Bourbon in it, but it is my understanding that you can substitute the water for actual Bourbon.]

Ingredients

3 large chicken breasts

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 teaspoon ginger

3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup of apple juice

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoon ketchup

1 Tablespoon cider vinegar

1/4 -1/2 cup water

1/3 cup soy sauce

1. Cut up 3 large chicken breast into cubes
2. Heat 2 T. of olive oil in a large sauce pan.
3. Add chicken into the pan and cook until almost done (white on the outside). Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

Let's make the yummy sauce!

4. Now in a large saucepan add:

1 clove of minced garlic

¼ tsp. ginger

¾ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

¼ c. apple juice

¹/₃ c. brown sugar

2 Tbs. ketchup

1 Tbs. cider vinegar

¹/₃ c. soy sauce

¼ or ½ c. of water.

(If you want the sauce to be thin like in the Chinese restaurants use 1/2 c. If you want a glaze-like texture use 1/4 c.)

5. Heat over medium heat until sugar has dissolved and everything has combined.
6. Now add the chicken in and bring it to a hard boil.
7. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Serve chicken & sauce over hot rice!