Thai Honey Peanut Chicken

We quite enjoy Thai food so anytime I see a recipe that looks tasty and quick, I flag it for dinner one one of those nights. This recipe did not disappoint. The marinade was easy to put together and put in the fridge while we were out and about and then took about 10 minutes to get on the table when we were ready.

*1 lb. chicken tenders or breast, cut into chunks

*1/4 c. soy sauce

*2 TBSP. honey

*1 TBSP. lime juice

*2 cloves garlic, minced

*1 1/2 TBSP. natural peanut butter (if using regular PB only use 1 TBSP. honey)

*1/2 tsp. curry powder

*2 tsp. Thai sweet chili sauce

*1/2-1 c. fresh or pre-cooked sliced veggies (I used peppers, but snap peas would be yummy)

Mix all ingredients and marinade chicken in fridge for 2-3 hours.

Cook chicken in the sauce over medium-high heat for about 7-8 minutes, until chicken is done. Add veggies and cook another minute or so. Top with sesame seeds, chopped peanuts and chopped cilantro.

Thai Peanut Sauce and Grilled Chicken

My daughter informed me this was the best dinner...EVER. I think she was intrigued with eating chicken like a popsicle, but whatever works, right?

I got this recipe from a newspaper insert and it suggested serving with grilled chicken or pork or as a dip for cucumber slices or tossed with a tangle of noodles.

*4 tsp. peanut oil

*2/3 c. minced shallots

*4 garlic cloves, minced

*1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper (I used over 1 tsp. and the heat was just right)

*6 TBSP. creamy peanut butter

*2 TBSP. hoisin sauce

*2 tsp. dark brown sugar

*3/4 c. water

*1 TBSP. fresh lime juice

Heat oil in a heavy saucepan.

Add shallots, garlic and crushed red pepper; cook over low heat until fragrant and just beginning to color, about 3 minutes.

Whisk in peanut butter, hoisin, brown sugar and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 1 minute. Stir in lime juice. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes about 1.5 cups.

Chicken: Start by soaking some bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes or so. Take chicken tenders (I used 6), and place one in between 2 sheets of plastic (gallon zip top bag works great) and pound to flatten. If the chicken is very wide you could cut into about 1-2" strips. Skewer chicken with bamboo in an accordion fashion.

Season with salt and pepper and grill until done.

Cook up some soba noodles (use spaghetti just as well) and toss the sauce in with the noodles.

I also garnished with some chopped peanuts, a little more red pepper and green onions. Cilantro would have been great with this as well.

Asian Chicken Soup

I pulled this recipe out after a long discussion with a friend about the merits of rotisserie chicken. The original recipe called for regular chicken breast that would cook in the soup, but I pulled out a bag of shredded rotisserie chicken (about 3/4 lb) and added this for even less clean-up. All of us enjoyed this soup and since it was so easy, it will be put on the repeat list for sure.

*3 cans (14.5 oz each) reduced-sodium chicken broth

*1 TBSP. grated ginger (about 1-inch piece)

*1 garlic clove, slivered

*1/2 tsp. red-pepper flakes

*2 c. water

*4 oz. soba noodles (we used whole wheat farfalle, but wheat spaghetti would be fine as well)

*3/4 lb. shredded rotisserie chicken

*1 medium red bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed), cut into bite-size strips

*1 cup snow peas, sliced 1/2 inch on diagonal (I only had about 1/2 c. so I added some frozen peas as well)

*2 TBSP. fresh lime juice

*2 scallions, thinly sliced

In a large saucepan, bring broth, ginger, garlic, red-pepper flakes, and 2 cups water to boil over high head. Add noodles, lower heat and simmer until noodles are tender (6-8 min).

Add chicken, bell pepper and snow peas; cook another couple minutes to heat everything through. Add lime juice, scallions, and salt to taste.

Photo courtesy MarthaStewart

BBQ Pork Stuffed Steam Rolls

Carlee sent a tweet about making steam rolls, and I'm thinking Carlee doesn't do breads, and my curiosity went through the roof. She sent me the recipe and I knew I had to make them. She used this dough recipe to make basic rolls, I made them into more of a main course and stuffed them with a bbq pork. These were fun, pretty easy and so tasty. The man of the house ate 8 of them and the girls enjoyed using their chopsticks to spear the ball and eat it.

I was limited on time so I made up the bbq pork a day in advance and kept it in the fridge until needed. They took a few hours to make, but most of that time was spent rising, so don't get turned off by the time, do it on a lazy Saturday when the family can help assemble. This recipe makes 24, which would probably serve 5-6 as a main meal.

Pork:

*3/4 lb. pork (roast or other, I used boneless chops)

*1/2 c. BBQ sauce

*3 TBSP. shallots, chopped

*1/2 c. chicken broth

*2 TBSP. soy sauce

*1 TBSP. vegetable oil

*1 TBSP. sugar

*1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)

Mix all ingredients together and let marinade for a bit. Cook the pork. I used my pressure cooker and these were done in 4 minutes. I think grilling or skillet time would work fine as well. Shred up the pork and store until ready to stuff the rolls.

Rolls:

*1 TBSP. dry yeast

*1 tsp. sugar

*1/4 c. warm water

*1/4 c. flour

*1/2 c. warm water

*1 1/2 c. flour

*1/4 tsp. salt

*2 TBSP. sugar

*1 TBSP. vegetable oil

*1/2 tsp. baking powder

Mix together yeast, 1 tsp. sugar, 1/4 c. warm water and 1/4 c. flour. Allow to stand for 30 minutes. This will ferment a bit and smell...ripe.

In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 c. warm water, 1 1/2 c. flour, salt, 2 TBSP. sugar, vegetable oil and baking powder. Add the yeast mixture and mix well. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic (5-10 minutes). Lightly grease a bowl and place dough inside, roll to coat in oil. Let rise until tripled in size (about 2 1/2-3 hours).

Cut wax or parchment paper into squares (about 3"x3") and set aside.

Punch down dough and spread dough onto floured surface. Divide into 24 equal pieces (I used my scale and made this a lot easier). If you are making non-stuffed rolls, shape into balls, place on wax paper and proceed to steaming instructions.

To make stuffed rolls, take each piece of dough and roll into a circle that is slightly raised in the middle (you want a thicker base for the meat to sit on).

Place about 1 TBSP. meat in the center and pick up to shape the roll.

I held my roll in my left hand and used the thumb and pointer of my right hand to crimp/fold around the top to close it like a pouch.

Set each roll on parchment paper square and continue to fill remaining rolls.

Once filled, the rolls need to rise for about 30 minutes before steaming.

I don't have a bamboo steamer so I used the steamer basket in my multi-pot and the steamer function on a rice cooker.

I was only able to do 5 (rice cooker)-7 (steamer basket) at a time so it took a while to get through the batches, which was ok because we kept getting hot rolls as we refilled our plates. If you have a bamboo steamer place it over boiling water; if you have a steamer basket, bring the water to a boil while the rolls are rising; if you use the rice cooker, just turn it on when starting to steam. Place parchment paper with rolls on top directly into steamer, leaving about a 2-inch space between rolls. Cover and steam for 15-20 minutes; ours took about 18 minutes. Remove rolls and serve immediately. Enjoy as is or dip in soy sauce, pork sauce, hoisin sauce or bbq.

Teriyaki Chicken

I recently reacquainted with a friend on Facebook who shared her recipe for Teriyaki chicken. She'll be starting a cooking blog soon which I'll share with you when up and running.
Anyway, I should have clarified if teriyaki is Chinese or Japanese or Korean because I believe I have seen it on menus at each style restaurant. Oh well, we had it tonight as part of our Chinese New Year celebration.
The original:
6-8 chicken drumsticks
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
handful of peppercorn
2-3 springs star anise

Her healthier version:
6-8 chicken drumsticks
1/3 c. soy sauce
1/3 c. sugar
1 c. water
(star anise and peppercorns may make this too hot for your kids)

Place all ingredients in a pot with a lid and boil over medium, continually adding water as it evaporates. Cook until chicken is done, about 30 minutes. Serve with rice and steamed broccoli or vegetables.
Notes: I am a white meat kind of gal, so I used about a pound of breast meat, cut into large cubes, cook for closer to 20 minutes if you do the same. I did add about 1 1/2 tsp. of an Asian peppercorn mix I have and will add more next time, the heat was really tasty. I didn't have star anise, but had anise extract so used a few drops of that (skeptically) but it did give a nice almost smoky background flavor. As it was cooking and I'd take the lid off to stir, I thought it would taste like soy sauce syrup, but the flavor was very good. Also, I'm sure because I used boneless chicken and didn't have any marrow to help thicken the sauce it was a little thin for my liking, so I made a cornstarch slurry to thicken it to just right. I also sprinkled with some sesame seeds.
I can't end an Asian meal without a fortune cookie (I know they are American), so I always keep a box on hand.

Fried Rice

I’m posting this one without pics since Carlee requested it, but it is not very technical, so I know you’ll be ok. A few years ago I saw a similar recipe on a news station and this is how I make it now. This is one of those recipes that can so easily be adjusted/added to, just make it work for you and your family. These amounts will easily serve 4 if you use it as a main dish.

*½ lb. (ish) meat (I usually do about 6-8 chicken tenders because they cook fast, but you can use breast or ham or turkey also)
*Soy Sauce (use the low sodium and you’ll feel slightly better about the salt content)
*4 c. cooked rice (with the brand I use, this is about 1 ½ c. raw rice)
*1 c. frozen peas & carrot mix
*1/2 c. chopped onions or water chestnuts or bean sprouts
*2 TBSP. real butter
*1 tsp. minced garlic
*1 scrambled egg

If you think about making this dish the night before, mealtime prep is pretty simple, if you don’t think about it until 5:00pm it still only takes about 30 minutes, but you’ll be using every burner on your stove.
Cook rice (preferably the night before and store in fridge overnight).
Marinate meat in soy sauce in the fridge overnight (or 15 minutes if that is all you have).
Saute meat over medium high heat in the largest skillet (or a wok) you have and if you didn’t chop it before marinating, break it into bite size pieces in the pan as you cook it. Once done, add the onions/water chestnuts/bean sprouts, and frozen peas and carrots. Stir to mix and add the cooked rice to the pan.
In a small bowl in the microwave, melt the butter and stir in garlic. Pour over rice mixture and allow it to ‘fry’ for a bit on the bottom in between stirring. Meanwhile, scramble and cook an egg. Add to rice and continue to cook while stirring in ½-1 c. soy sauce to taste. Enjoy as a main or side dish.

Cream Cheese and Chive Wontons

There's a Chinese restaurant in Bountiful called Joy Luck that makes amazing cream cheese won tons. They don't add any crab to them like most places, which I appreciate because I don't care for crab. Anyway, that's where I got my idea for these won tons.

Step 1 - Dice some chives. I just grabbed a handful from my herb garden and diced them into tiny pieces.

Step 2 - Mix diced chives with 4 oz. softened cream cheese.

Here are the won ton wrappers I buy. You can pick them up in the produce section of any grocery store. They're usually between $2 and $3 for a package of 48. I used about half for this batch, so I just saved the rest for when I make them again.

Step 3 - Get a cup of water and place it next to the won ton wrappers. Water is what will make the edges stick together. Then place a dime-sized scoop (don't go any bigger than this or they will be too full) of your cream cheese and chive mixture in the center of a won ton wrapper. Then wet the edges with your finger as shown below.

Step 4 - Fold bottom corner of won ton wrapper directly over to make a triangle and push the edges together.

Step 5 - Wet the two bottom corners of the triangle and fold one side over top of the other.

Here is the finished pile of won tons ready to be fried.

Step 6 - Heat about 1/2" oil in a skillet. When oil reaches 350 degrees, add about 6 won tons at a time and turn when the first side is golden brown and crisp. When both sides are crispy, transfer to a paper towel to cool down.

Here is what they should look like when they are finished and ready to eat.

It's as simple as that. I chose to serve them with some sweet and sour sauce (you can make your own or pick some up at the grocery store) and some fried rice. Perhaps Keri will post her recipe for fried rice, because it's really good, and I'm tired. :)