Asian Meatballs

Well, it seems like that new blog I started has kind of taken over my life. I have spent a lot of time during the last two months working on cards for the Mutton Hollow Country Barn Boutique. I made over 200 cards. Unfortunately, only about 7 of them actually sold. Needless to say, I don't think I will be doing that craft show again. So now I am back to spending my time cooking and blogging about it. I have actually missed writing about my recipes. I actually made several really good ones while I was on hiatus. I will be posting those over the next several weeks, until I have to take another break to move into our new house.

Anyway, I found these meatballs on For the Love of Cooking. They tasted great. I also really liked the tangy dipping sauce that went with them.

Meatballs:

1 lb ground turkey

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

2 Tbsp green onions, finely chopped

1 Tbsp ginger, minced

1 tsp minced garlic

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

1 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

salt and pepper, to taste

Dipping Sauce:

4 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp lime juice (approximately 1 fresh lime, juiced)

2 Tbsp water

2 tsp sesame oil

1 Tbsp green onion, finely chopped

1/4 tsp honey

Preheat oven to 500° For meatballs, combine all ingredients. Gently mix until combined. Form meatballs using approximately 1/4 cup mixture per meatball. Place on a baking sheet and bake until they are cooked completely, about 15 minutes. 

While meatballs are cooking, combine ingredients for dipping sauce and whisk until they are combined. 

Serve meatballs and dipping sauce immediately. The meatballs and dipping sauce also taste great when served over rice.

Coconut Rice

This rice has just the right amount of coconut flavor. Enough that you can taste it, but not so much that it is overpowering. It was the perfect complement to the Mandarin Orange Chicken that I posted a few days ago.

1 cup white rice

1 14 oz can light coconut milk

3 Tbsp water

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 cup coconut

Combine rice, coconut milk, water, and salt in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. When it comes to a full boil, reduce to medium-low and cook for approximately 20 minutes or until the liquid has completely absorbed and the rice is soft. Stir in the coconut and serve hot.

Teriyaki Meatball Lettuce Wraps

I don't often use or buy pre-prepared foods. They usually don't taste as good as things that are homemade, but there are some days when I just don't have time to cook. And days that I just don't want to. So I usually have a few easy meals in my freezer that I can pull out and have on the table in just a few minutes. These Aidells Chicken Teriyaki Meatballs are one of those things. I tasted them for the first time at Costco about a month ago and I was instantly converted. Costco has some of the best pre-prepared food available and these meatballs were so amazing that I couldn't help but share this "recipe." Here is a link the original recipe.

Here is a picture of the meatball package:

Prep time: 15 minutes

Serves: 2-3 people

1/2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil

1/2 lb Aidells teriyaki meatballs

2 carrots, cut into small pieces

2 green onions, thinly sliced

hoisin sauce, to taste

2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

Romaine or green leaf lettuce, rinsed

Preheat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Cut meatballs in half and saute until brown and heated completely. Add carrots and green onions and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes. 

To serve, place meatball mixture into center of lettuce leaves. Sprinkle with cilantro and drizzle desired amount of hoisin sauce over top. Enjoy!

Mandarin Orange Chicken

Another successful Asian recipe! I think I might finally be getting the hang of this Asian stir fry thing! This recipe came from motherthyme.com, a site that I plan to visit frequently now that I have discovered it. Plus, she is really good at photography. The amazing picture definitely helped convince me to make this recipe. The only thing I added to the recipe was more vegetables. I love cooking with fresh veggies! Part of what made it taste so good was that I served it over Coconut Rice, which I will be posting later this week.

Prep time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4 people

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces

2 Tbsp prepared orange juice

1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp corn starch

2 Tbsp canola oil

1 red pepper, sliced

1 yellow pepper, sliced

1 medium sweet onion, sliced

1/2 cup sugar snap peas

1/2 cup broccoli

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce

2 Tbsp hoisin sauce

1 can mandarin oranges with juice

3 Tbsp vinegar

3 Tbsp brown sugar

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Place chicken pieces in a medium bowl. Add orange juice, 1/4 cup corn starch, salt and pepper and mix until the chicken is evenly coated.

In a medium skillet, preheat oil over medium heat. When oil begins to glisten, add chicken and stir fry until it is golden brown on all sides. Then add vegetables to skillet and cook until they are tender. Mix soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and remaining corn starch. Add sauce mixture, mandarin oranges with juice, vinegar, and sugar to skillet. Continue to cook, stirring constantly for another 3 minutes. Season again with salt and pepper to taste.

Spicy Basil Chicken

This is an Asian-inspired dish that I will definitely make again. When I saw the recipe on For the Love of Cooking, I knew that it had to be good (does she even make something that isn't good? I love that blog!) I still wouldn't say that it tastes like something out of a Chinese restaurant, but my husband and I both liked it a lot.

Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time 15 minutes

2 tsp canola oil

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 cup chicken, cut into bite sized pieces

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 Tbsp oyster sauce

1 Tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp hot chili sauce

1 tsp water

1/2 tsp cornstarch

1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, sliced

Preheat canola oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add green onions and cook, stirring, approximately one minute. Add chicken and cook, stirring often, until completely cooked. Then add garlic and cook for another minute.

Combine Oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, chili sauce, water, and cornstarch. Pour mixture over the chicken and cook until the mixture thickens, approximately 1 minute. Then, remove chicken from heat and stir in basil leaves. Serve over rice.

Easy Vegetable Lo Mein

Ever since having this baby I have been on the lookout for fast and easy recipes that I can throw together as my husband is driving home from work. This is a great one that only took about 20 minutes to make. We ate it with  pot stickers that we bought from Costco. This is an easy one to to alter according to the ingredients that you have on hand. Try adding chicken, different oriental sauces (Panda Express has a whole line of sauces that you can buy at the grocery store) or vegetables to make it your own.

Servings: 4

2 packages oriental flavored Top Ramen
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 16 oz package frozen stir fry vegetables
2 tsp soy sauce (or to taste)
2 tsp oyster sauce (optional)

Boil water and cook Ramen for about 3 minutes then drain. In a medium skillet, preheat oil. Cook vegetables, stirring frequently until they are tender, then add noodles, sauces, and the seasoning packet that came with the noodles. Cook until everything is heated thoroughly. Serve immediately.

Fried Rice

This is the best fried rice I have ever tasted. I was watching Man vs. Food Nation with my husband a few weeks ago. Actually, I think it was the Thanksgiving episode. They visited a restaurant in Hawaii who claimed to have great fried rice. Although they didn't give away their secret recipe to the entire viewing audience, they did mention a few key ingredients, which we quickly wrote down and vowed to incorporate the next time we made fried rice. I am including rough estimates of the amounts that we used, although we didn't actually measure things out this precisely.

1/4 lb. bacon, cut into 1" pieces

1/4 lb. chorizo, cut into small pieces

2-3 Tbsp canola oil 

4 cups cold prepared white rice

1/2-3/4 cup peas and carrots

3-4 Tbsp oyster sauce (according to preference)

2 eggs

1/4 cup green onions, chopped

Salt and Pepper, to taste

In a wok or large skillet, cook bacon and chorizo over medium-high heat. When it is fully cooked add oil and rice. Stir fry for a few minutes. Add oyster sauce. Stir in peas, carrots and green onions. Push rice to the side and scramble eggs, stirring them into rice when they are finished cooking. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

General Tso Chicken

One of my friends recently published this recipe on facebook. She just raved about how great it was, so I definitely had to try it. It was a yummy dinner that didn't take too long to make. I also appreciated the fact that I didn't have to go out and buy any expensive specialized ingredients. The only thing is that I have yet to find a recipe for a single Chinese dish that actually tastes like the things I get when I go to a Chinese restaurant. Still, I wouldn't be nervous about making this one for other people. I liked it and so did my husband (who is ultra-discriminating about food, even though he claims that he isn't).

1 lb chicken breast, cut into small pieces

Flour

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/4 c. unsweetened pineapple juice

1/4 cup white distilled vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp cornstarch, mixed with 3 Tbsp water

4 green onions, sliced

Preheat a wok or skillet with vegetable oil over medium heat. Cover chicken in flour and fry until golden brown. Drain excess oil. Sprinkle cayenne pepper over chicken and turn heat to low. 

In a saucepan, combine sugar, soy sauce, pineapple juice, vinegar, garlic, and ginger, and heat gently. When sugar has dissolved and sauce is at the point of boiling, slowly add cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly until the sauce has reached your desired thickness. Pour sauce in the wok and stir to coat chicken. Stir in green onions. Remove from heat and serve with rice.

Asian Chicken Sandwich

We have been grilling a lot more food lately because it is summer. What a fun way to cook! (Plus, my husband is the self-proclaimed King of the Barbecue, so when I plan a barbecue dinner he does all the cooking.) I have also been looking for more ways that I can marinate meat in order to create a distinct flavor. This one was really good. Maybe a little spicy because of the ginger and red pepper flakes, but still very enjoyable to eat.

Marinade:

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

1 Tbsp sesame seeds

1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 chicken breasts, sliced in half to make them thinner (4 pieces total)

Shredded Napa Cabbage

hamburger buns or large rolls

tomato, sliced

Create marinade by pouring all ingredients into a gallon sized ziplock bag. Make sure it has combined completely before putting chicken into the bag and marinating for 8-12 hours in the refrigerator. While chicken is in the refrigerator, turn occasionally to ensure that the chicken has been evenly marinated. 

Prepare barbecue grill at medium-high heat. Cook chicken, brushing with some of the remaining marinade until it is no longer pink inside, approximately 12-15 minutes. Serve on buns with cabbage (or lettuce) and tomato. 

Asian Style Cashew Chicken

This is a variation of a Rachael Ray recipe from the cookbook 365:No Repeats. It tasted pretty good, and I am proud that I was able to make a somewhat Asian-style recipe without completely screwing it up, but I don't really know if I would make it again. I just haven't really mastered the art of making good Asian food. Anyway, here is the recipe - and I am happy to report that I now know what duck sauce is and it turns out that I have eaten it before.

3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp butter
1 large onion, 1/4 finely chopped, 3/4 thinly sliced
1 1/2 cup brown rice
3 cups chicken stock or broth
1 1/2 lb chicken, cut into pieces
Montreal Steak Seasoning, to taste
3 tsp minced garlic
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 pkg asian style stir fry vegetables
1/3 cup tamari (dark, aged soy sauce)
1/2 cup duck sauce
1 cup cashews

In a medium pot over medium heat, combine 1 Tbsp of the vegetable oil and butter. When the butter melts into the oil,add the chopped onions and cook for 2 minutes, then add the rice and cook for 3 minutes more. Add the stock and cover the pot. Raise the heat to bring the stock to a rapid boil. Once the stock boils, reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender, 17-18 minutes

While the rice cooks, make the chicken. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the remaining 2 Tbsp vegetable oil, then the chicken. Season the chicken with steak seasoning. Lightly brown the chicken on both sides, then move off to one side of the pan. Add the remaining onions, the garlic, bell peppers, and other vegetables. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, then mix the vegetables and meat together. Season the stir fry with tamari and duck sauce. Add the cashews and cilantro and serve over the brown rice.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

This recipe is one that my husband loves from his childhood. Of course every time we make it we have to do something a little differently. This time we added onions, which apparently aren't in the original recipe, but the sauce base is really delicious. You could actually add a number of different ingredients and it would be great. The original recipe says that the recipe is also really good with pureed peaches or apricots, although I have never tried either of those things.

 1 can pineapple (with juice)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 green sweet pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped (a can of diced tomatoes would also work)
1/4 cup corn starch
1 lb chicken, pork, or meatballs
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients except corn starch in a medium pan. Cook until peppers are tender. Mix corn starch with a tiny bit of cold water and add to sauce. Stir until it has thickened.

Kung Pao Chicken

I have attempted a few times to make chinese food and have even posted my recipes. I thought they all tasted pretty good except for the fact that they were VERY salty (which I may or may not have mentioned in my notes about the dinner). So I did a little more research and found out that there are different kinds of soy sauce. The normal soy sauce that you buy in the store is a very salty one. I was actually using a store brand rather than name brand so I'm not sure if that was part of the problem. So I went to 1st Oriental Market, the Asian food store we have here in Orem, and bought dark soy sauce, like the recipes were actually calling for (and I didn't know the difference). Mine actually is called Mushroom Flavored Dark Soy Sauce, and according to my research I believe that all "dark" soy sauces are mushroom flavored. I think you could also try using a reduced sodium soy sauce and it would also be less salty, but I'm not sure because I haven't tried it. So let me know if you have any experience with that. I got this recipe from www.chinesefood-recipes.com and it was really good. A few people who tried it thought it was too spicy, so what I would do to fix that is just to use a few less dried chilies; maybe 6 or 5 rather than 8. So I would consider this recipe to be my first successful experience with Chinese food but I will keep working on it until I feel like I have really mastered it.


3/4 lb. chicken, boned and skinned
2 tbsps. oyster sauce
2 1/2 tbsps. cooking oil
8 small dried red chilies
4 tsps. minced garlic
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into 1−inch squares
1 can (8 oz.) bamboo shoots, sliced and drained
2 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
1/3 cup roasted peanuts (I used cashews)

Sauce:
3 tbsps. Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1/4 cup Chinese black vinegar or balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp. dark soy sauce
2 tbsps. hoisin sauce
2 tsp. sesame oil
2 tsps. chili garlic sauce
2 tsps. sugar

1. Cut chicken into 1−inch pieces. Marinade chicken with oyster sauce in a bowl and let stand for 10 minutes.
2. Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl.
3. Place a wok over high heat until hot. Add 2 tablespoons oil, swirling to coat sides. Add chilies and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 10 seconds.
4. Add chicken and stir fry for 2 minutes. Remove chicken and chilies from wok.
5. Add remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil to wok, swirling to coat sides. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add celery, bell pepper, and bamboo shoots; stir fry for 1 1/2 minutes.
6. Return chicken and chilies to wok; stir fry for 1 minute. Add sauce and bring to a boil. Add cornstarch solution and cook, stirring, until sauce boils and thickens. Add peanuts (or cashews) and stir to coat.

Kung Pao Chicken

I hope that other people have been able to use my blog as a reference for good recipes just like I use other blogs. Today I decided I wanted "something over rice" so I went to the For the Love of Cooking blog and searched "rice." I found one of the recipes that looked good and tried it out. There are a few things that I feel should be altered to make the dish a little better. Here is my version of the recipe.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced into bite sized chunks
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
3 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup water
2 tsp sugar
4 green onions, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1/2-1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (depending on how spicy you like it)
1/2 cup roasted peanuts
*1/2 cup shredded carrots
*1 1/2 cup pea pods, steamed until tender

*I didn't add these ingredients because I didn't have any on hand, but I will plan better next time so I have them.

Prepare rice. Combine chicken and cornstarch in a bowl and toss until evenly coated. Combine the vinegar, soy sauce and sugar in another bowl and set aside for later. Heat a large skillet or wok with sesame oil over medium high heat. Once the pan is smoking hot add the chicken and stir fry for 5-6 minutes or until no longer pink inside. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

Add the garlic, ginger, red pepper and green onions (leaving a few for garnishing) to the pan and stir fry for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the soy sauce, vinegar and sugar mixture to the pan along with the water,  cooked chicken, cashews, and vegetables. Cook until sauce thickens and carrots are tender. Serve over rice and top with remaining green onions. Enjoy.

Szechuan Chicken

After making those pot stickers I decided to widen my repertoire of Chinese dishes. Not really knowing anyone who could teach me, my first recourse was the internet. This recipe is a combination of a few that I found online. This one doesn't include green or red peppers (we didn't have any on the day that I made it) but next time, it will definitely have them. I always prefer to incorporate fresh vegetables into any main dish, especially because it often seems too much hassle to serve a lot of side dishes when I am only cooking for two.

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed or cut into strips
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp sesame oil

Sauce:
3 cloves minced garlic
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp barbecue sauce
1-2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp ginger, minced
1/2 c. water

3 green onions, chopped
1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 green pepper, sliced
1/2 red pepper, sliced

Coat chicken in cornstarch. Fry in sesame oil with garlic until chicken is lightly browned. Stir in "sauce" ingredients. Cover and cook 3-5 minutes or until boiling. Stir in vegetables and cayenne pepper and cook, uncovered 2-4 minutes. Serve over rice.

Garlic Chicken Stir Fry

This recipe is based on one that I found in my new Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I wanted something quick and easy to make for dinner a few days ago so I made this one but I was in such a big hurry that I forgot to take the picture so I couldn't post the recipe until I ate the leftovers today! It was even better the second time.

Approx 1 lb chicken (maybe a little less)
1 cup water
3 Tbsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp dry white wine
1 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp olive oil
10 green onions, chopped
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 green pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 can water chestnuts

Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and marinate for 30 minutes in water, soy sauce and white wine. After marinating remove chicken and stir cornstarch into the reserved marinade; set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet and add garlic, onion, mushrooms, green pepper, and green onions and cook about 2 minutes or until tender. Remove vegetables from pan and use it to cook chicken until it is no longer pink. Add marinade to pan and cook with chicken until it is thickened and bubbly.

 Return cooked vegetables to pan and add water chestnuts. Cook and stir about 1 minute more or until heated through. Serve over cooked rice.

5 Alarm Chicken

This is actually a Rachel Rae recipe (except I didn't like the name she gave it so I made up a new one). It was VERY spicy but had a great flavor. I will definitely make it again.

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
1 large onion, 1/4 finely chopped, 3/4 thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups rice
3 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 lb chicken cut into small pieces
2 Tbsp steak seasoning
4 tsp minced garlic
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
3 Tbsp chipotle in adobo (available in cans on the international foods aisle) - or less.
1 Tbsp ground cumin
2 Tbsp honey
1/4 cup real maple syrup
2-3 Tbps chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup cashews

In a medium pot over medium heat, combine 1/2 Tbsp olive oil and the butter. When the butter melts into the oil, add the chopped onions and cook for 2 minutes, then add the rice and cook for 3 minutes more. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender (approx. 17-18 min).

While the rice cooks, make the chicken. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil, then the chicken. Season the chicken with steak seasoning. Lightly brown the chicken on both sides, then move off to one side of the pan. Add the remaining onions, the garlic and bell peppers. Cook for 2-3 minutes then mix the vegetables and meat together and add the chipotles and cumin. Toss to coat. Glaze the mixture with honey and maple syrup and turn off the heat. Add the chopped cilantro or parsley and the nuts.