General Tso's Chicken

 

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts, cubed
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 3-4 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 6-8 spring green onions, chopped
• 3 tablespoons fresh ginger, finely chopped or grated (optional)
• hot pepper flakes (optional)

Mix together the brown sugar, hoisin, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, and water and set aside. This is the sauce.

Dredge the chicken cubes in the cornstarch, shaking off any excess. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and saute the chicken until browned. Remove the chicken to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm.

Wipe pan clean with paper towel and add sesame oil with onions and chopped ginger. Fry about 1 minute, until fragrant. Add sauce mixture. Bring to a boil and simmer about 2 minutes, until the sauce thickens a bit. Add the chicken back to the skillet, toss to coat with sauce and continue cooking until the chicken is cooked through. Serve garnished with green onion tops and red pepper flakes, if desired.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Yum! This was great! Like, seriously amazing! I got the recipe from here.  The only thing I might do differently next time is perhaps use a touch less sugar. Although, I'm not sure I want to mess with this sauce too much because it really was great.

*Note: if you like extra sauce, double the sauce ingredients – pour half over the chicken and follow the baking directions in the recipe and pour the other half in a small saucepan. Cook the sauce on the stovetop at a simmer for 8-10 minutes until it reduces and thickens. Serve it on the side of the chicken.
*Serves 4-6

Chicken:

• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup canola oil

Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and pour over chicken.

Sauce:

• ¾ cup sugar (try using a bit less next time) 
• 4 tablespoons ketchup
• ½ cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt

Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes so it is evenly coated with the sauce. Serve over rice.

Mongolian Beef

This was a pretty good asian dish.  I'm notoriously terrible at asian cooking, but this one was good enough to make again.  Next time I will use the veggies I listed below:

Ingredients:

• 500 g beef, thin sliced (I used sirloin, 4 steaks should be good)
• 2 tbsp sherry cooking wine
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 4 tbsp plus 2 tsp hoisin sauce
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red capsicum, sliced into strips
• 1 broccoli head
• 1 zucchini, in sticks
• 6 green onions, cut into 2" pieces

Place beef in a bowl and add sherry cooking wine and cornstarch. Mix together and marinate for 15 minutes. If you are making rice, start it now so that it's ready when your stir fry is finished. Meanwhile, mix together the 4 tablespoons of hoisin sauce and the soy sauce and set aside.

When beef is ready, add remaining 1 teaspoon of hoisin sauce and mix into beef. Heat a tablespoon of cooking oil in a wok on high heat. Add beef and stir fry for 2-3 minutes, or until no longer pink. Don't cook too long or it will get tough! If it's still a little pink it's ok. Remove the beef to a bowl and return wok to the stove. Add a little more oil to the wok and stir fry the garlic,veggies, and green onion for 2-3 minutes. 

Move the vegetables to one side of the wok, add beef to the other side. Pour the soy sauce mixture into the centre and stir a little then combine beef, vegetables and sauce. Stir just a minute or so to combine and serve immediately over rice. 

Enjoy!

Slow cooker asian chicken

 This recipe is from my sister.  It was AWESOME! It seems like it's not enough sauce, but trust me, it's plenty of sauce!

Ingredients:

• 1 3-4lb whole chicken
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup firmly packed lite brown sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup sherry or apple juice
• 1 tbsp ketchup
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 green onions, halved + trimmed
• 1 clove garlic, pressed

1. Wash/dry chicken, remove giblets, neck, + excess fat. Put chicken in slow cooker breast side up
2. In bowl combine: everything I said above. Pour over chicken, cover and cook on high for 3.5-4.5 hrs.
3. Remove chicken.
4. Remove and discard onions. Add 2 tbsp cornstarch abd 1 tbsp water to sauce. Stir over heat. Toast 2 tbsp of sesame seeds and serve on top of chicken and white rice with a side of broccoli

Orange Chicken

I made this yummy orange chicken dish and it was surprisingly really good!  Next time I will use less cayenne pepper because it was a bit too spicy for my taste.  I didn't have a thermometer for the oil, so I heated it for 5 minutes on high heat before adding the chicken and that was perfect.  I used 2 large chicken breasts and it was plenty for two people.  I will definitely be making again!  OR, I will be making the chicken the same way, but with sweet and sour sauce from here or here.

For the marinade and sauce:
¾ cup low-sodium chicken broth
¾ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1½ tsp. finely grated orange zest
6 tbsp. white vinegar
¼ cup soy sauce
½ cup brown sugar (dark or light)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
1½ lbs. boneless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. cornstarch
2 tbsp. cold water
8 thin strips orange peel (optional)

For the coating and frying:
3 large egg whites
1 cup cornstarch
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
1 ½ cups each peanut and canola oil

To make the marinade and sauce, combine the chicken broth, orange juice, orange zest, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and cayenne pepper in a large saucepan; whisk to blend well.

Measure out ¾ cup of the mixture and transfer it to a large zipper lock plastic bag.  Add the chicken pieces to the bag, pressing out the excess air and sealing well.  Refrigerate and let marinate 30-60 minutes, but no longer.  Place the saucepan with the remaining mixture on the stove and heat over medium-high heat.  Bring to a simmer.  In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water until smooth.  Add the mixture to the saucepan with the sauce.  Continue simmering until the sauce is thick and translucent, about 1 minute.  Remove from the heat and stir in the strips of orange peel, if using.

To prepare the coating, place the egg whites in a pie plate and whisk until frothy.  In a second pie plate combine the cornstarch, baking soda and cayenne pepper; whisk to blend.  Drain the chicken of the marinade in a colander or large strainer; pat dry with paper towels.  Place half of the chicken pieces in the egg whites and turn to coat.  Transfer the pieces to the cornstarch mixture and coat thoroughly, shaking off the excess.  Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.

To fry the chicken, heat the oil in a 11- or 12-inch round Dutch oven or straight-sided sauté pan until the oil reaches 350˚ F.  Carefully place half of the chicken pieces in the oil and fry until golden brown, about 5 minutes, turning the pieces halfway through cooking.  Remove from the oil with a skimmer or slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.  Return the oil to 350˚ F and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.

Reheat the sauce if necessary and toss with the cooked chicken pieces.  Serve over rice, if desired.

Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry

 

Here is my latest creation!  It's quick and easy, and of course tasty!
Ingredients:

• 2 cubed large chicken breast pieces
• salt & pepper
• ~ 1 tsp crushed garlic
• Oyster sauce (recipe below, if you don't have store-bought) 
• butter
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 2 eggs 
  
• chopped up veggies: 1 small broccoli head, 2 small zucchinis, 1/2 medium onion, sugar snap peas, 2 carrots
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce  
• 2 cups cooked brown rice

What you do:

1.   Cube 2 uncooked chicken breast into little pieces and seasoned it with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and a tablespoon of oyster sauce. Heat up butter with sesame oil, then add minced garlic with the chicken. In a wok or cast-iron skillet, cook the meat until it is no longer pink (about 5-8 minutes).
2. Add scrambled eggs to the meat. Cook for 3-4 minutes
3. Add veggies and some soy sauce and sauté until cooked through
   
4. I mix in 2 cups brown rice.  Add the rest of the oyster sauce and stir fry until light golden brown.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. 
5. Enjoy! 
   

Homemade "Oyster" Sauce (w/o oysters)
adapted from various sources

2 overflowing Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp water
a few shakes of ground ginger

Add all the ingredients together, and stir them well. Microwave the mixture for 30 seconds.