Peanut Chicken with Vegetables

So the recipe I had hoped to use was a Chinese five-spice chicken stir-fry, but alas, our ever friendly Shaw's Market is going through major renovations and none was to be found. So instead we picked up some peanut sauce.

I know, I know, peanut sauce is easy enough to make, but hey, we were feeling lazy AND we're going to Europe this week, so the last thing we wanted to do was buy more ingredients. After sifting through several mixes and jars, we settled on Thai Kitchen Peanut Satay Sauce. We chose this because it seemed to have mostly natural ingredients and very few (if any) preservatives. We've also had some success with their products in the past (I buy their rice noodles to make Pad Thai.)

However, it seemed to lack a little something when used as a sauce over all of the ingredients in this dish. I'm not sure what it was, maybe it needed a little more spice, a little more zing. It wasn't bad, it was just kinda plain.

But when we used this to make wraps for lunch (peanut sauce, cucumber, shredded chicken, rice, and fresh red pepper) I thought it tasted great. Mr. Heart was still not a huge fan. So I would say it might be worth a try. Or you can always just make your own.

Feel free to substitute any vegetables in that you like! This is what we had on hand. I actually served it over orzo, which was tasty. I am sure it would be equally delicious over rice.

Peanut Noodles with Vegetables
Serves 2

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1" chunks
1 TBS plus 1 tsp canola or peanut oil
1/2 cup cornstarch
salt and pepper
pinch of ground red pepper
1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into florets (~1 cup)
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 red pepper, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup fresh green beans, trimmed
1-3 TBS water
1/4 cup peanut sauce mixed with 2 TBS water or chicken broth
1 TBS peanuts, chopped fine (for garnish)

1) In a ziplock bag, combine cornstarch and salt/pepper/red pepper to taste. Add chicken and toss to coat.
2) In a large non-stick skillet, heat 1 TBS of oil over medium heat until hot, but not smoking. Remove chicken from ziplock bag, shaking off any excess cornstarch. Add chicken to pan. Cook until a golden crust has formed, turning frequently, about 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a paper-towel lined plate and set aside.
3) Warm the remaining teaspoon of oil in the skillet until hot, but not smoking. Add the vegetables a cook, stirring, for 1 minutes. Add 1 TBS of the water to the pan and cover. Cook for 2 more minutes, or until vegetables are tender (add more water as needed, if the pan gets too dry).
4) Add the chicken and peanut sauce mixture to the pan, tossing to coat. Cook an additional minute until heated through.
5) Serve over rice or orzo and garnish with chopped peanuts.

Thai Noodle Salad with Chicken

Another recipe out of Cooking Light! This salad looks so beautiful, fresh and delicious. The original recipe calls for tofu rather than chicken, but we have yet to acquire a taste for tofu. The chicken came out wonderful with the marinade nevertheless. Unfortunately, the noodles came out undercooked. I might actually boil the noodles for a couple of minutes rather than just letting them soak in boiling water. Soaking them is great for stir-frying (see this fantastic Pad Thai recipe) but they were almost unpleasantly crunchy here. Mr. Heart was not a huge fan of the dressing, which he found too strong (which is odd because I'm usually the one to complain about dressings), so for once we had a split vote. I enjoyed this, though it had potential to be better. I'm thinking for next time making a peanut-sauce type dressing.

Thai Noodle Salad with Chicken
from Cooking Light with mods.
Serves 2

1 large chicken breast, cut into strips
2 TBS lime juice
1 TBS low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 TBS canola or peanut oil

1/2 lb uncooked rice vermicelli

1 cup romaine lettuce torn into small pieces
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup cucumber, sliced thinly
salt to taste

1/4 cup lime juice
2 TBS low-sodium soy sauce
2 TBS canola or peanut oil
1 TBS fish sauce
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp grated ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp minced garlic

1) Combine first eight ingredients in a ziplock bag. Seal and marinate at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
2) Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add a tablespoon of oil to the pan and swirl to coat. Heat for thirty seconds. Add chicken and sauté for 5 -7 minutes until crispy, golden brown, and cooked through.
3) Prepare rice noodles according to package directions (something like cook in boiling water for 2 -3 minutes or until just tender). Do not over cook! Drain and rinse in cold water. Set aside.
4) Combine last nine ingredients in a measuring cup and whisk to combine to create the dressing.
5) Toss together lettuce, carrots, cucumber, and rice noodles in a large bowl. Add dressing, to taste. Toss to combine. Top with chicken and serve!

Coming soon!
Step-by-step photos of Asparagus Risotto
Banana Bread
Chocolate Walnut-Date Balls
"Unceremonious" Balsamic Steak

Fried Rice

The first time I made fried rice for myself, I must have been in early highschool. Home on a half day, I was hungry for something different than canned soup, mac and cheese, or the deli meat in the fridge with questionable expiration dates (it seemed to be policy in my house to ignore food after it was put in the fridge and if it wasn’t eaten in due course, hope it would just go away on it’s own). We had some leftover chinese food, some frozen peas, a log of kosher salami (expiration date: safe!), soy sauce, eggs and seasonings. From whence sprang an un-traditional fried rice concoction, but a tasty one nonetheless.

If you are looking to make something more authentic (or as authentic as Chinese restaurant style cuisine can be), you can certainly go for more Asian flavorings and vegetables: bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, bok choy, snow peas, five spice, teriyaki. But you are not limited by those flavors to say the least. The best thing about fried rice is that it’s a great vehicle for revitalizing leftovers.

For the first time ever on this blog, we have step-by-step photo instructions! I usually do not have the patience or dexterity for this, so no guaruntee that this will be a constant feature (and my apologies if some of the photos are blurry). But this is one of those dishes that when friends tell me they can’t cook, I say “Anyone can make fried rice.” The other thing anyone can make is quesadillas, but even I never had a homemade one until college, so I give people a break on that one. Once I figure out how, I will put this behemoth of a post behind a quick cut.

Here you can see the ingredients that I used all laid out. These should all be approximated based on your own leftover situation:


Fried Rice
Serves 2
8/10

1 1/2 cups leftover white rice
1 cup mixed frozen veggies, chopped (not chopped in photo)
1/4 cup red pepper, chopped
2 TBS soy sauce
1 egg
1/3 lb cooked chicken, chopped (not chopped in photo)
1/2 tsp garlic salt and other seasonings, to taste
cooking spray

In with the soy sauce I mixed other ingredients that are often used in Asian-flavored dishes, such as seasame oil, rice wine vinegar, dry white sherry or rice wine, and ginger. This is entirely arbitrary. While I would recommend using soy sauce, you could easily replace it with teriyaki, stock, even barbecue sauce (though that would be quite adventurous). I would recommend some sort of liquid to prevent the rice from totally drying out and to give the rice a more concentrated flavor.

Have all of these ingredients ready to go mise-en-place style. It’ll make the process go a lot faster.

1) Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray.


2) Add chopped veggies to the skillet and cook until tender (about 5 minutes if your veggies are totally frozen).

3) Add leftover rice to skillet and toss to combine. Sauté rice for about 5 minutes, until slightly brown at the edges.


4) Add cooked chicken to the skillet. Toss to combine.


5) Add soy sauce mixture, garlic salt, and other seasings to skillet. Toss until rice is thoroughly coated. Cook for 5 minutes, allowing flavors to mingle and some of the liquid to absorb.

6) Beat the egg in a separate dish.

7) Add beaten egg to skillet. Stir immediately and constantly until egg is scrambled and cooked, about 1-2 minutes. Toss to combine.

8) Remove from heat and serve!

And this can be used with any meat, veggies, and flavors. My one rule is: have fun with it and don’t make too much work for yourself. With entirely leftovers, this can be made in 20 minutes.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Not much to say here, except you can never go wrong with this one. If the chicken breasts are very thick, cut them in half length-wise or pound them to 1/2 - 1/4 inch thickness to speed up the cooking process. You can also use chicken tenderloins. I really recommend the cornflake crumbs here, but bread crumbs will work in a pinch. This takes, oh, about 20 minutes to make. Nothin' fancy, but boy it's good, quick, and easy.

Sweet and Sour Chicken
Serves 2
10/10

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 cup cornflake crumbs
1 egg
1/3 - 1/2 jar sweet and sour sauce (we use La Choy)
2 TBS olive oil

1) Beat the egg in a shallow dish. Spread out cornflake crumbs on a separate plate.
2) Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat until shimmery hot. Dip the chicken breasts first in the the egg, then coat with cornflake crumbs. Add chicken to pan. Cook for about 5 - 7 minutes per side until cooked through (the thinner the chicken, the faster this will cook, so keep your eye on it) and the breading is a crisp golden brown . Remove from pan and set aside.
3) Pour out any excess oil. Add sweet and sour sauce and maybe a TBS of water. Heat over low until bubbling. Add chicken back in and toss to coat. Serve with rice!

Pad Thai

One of my favorite cookbooks that I own (though I don't use it nearly as much as I'd like) is The New Best Recipe by America's Test Kitchen. Not only does it run the gamut from salsa to pizza dough to soft-shell crab and cover basics, like fresh pasta, chicken stock, and chocolate chip cookies, it has a detailed explanation about the choice of ingredients, cooking times, substitutions, best brands to buy, etc. Each recipe is taken through a rigorous testing process, and it shows.

After making our Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup, we had left over rice noodles, so I decided to try Pad Thai. Oh. Wow. This Pad Thai recipe is seriously amazing. I made a full batch thinking I would take some for lunch, but we ate it all. Even the husband ate it and he didn't think he liked Pad Thai or most Thai food in general. Little did he know. It's got the right balance of sweet and tang, a little heat, the noodles tender, but not too mushy, and of course, the delicious nuttiness from the ground peanuts.

I used chicken instead of shrimp. I also used oyster sauce instead of fish sauce (so sue me, it's what we had!) and it tasted just fine. The store was out of bean sprouts, so alas, none of that, and I used the books recommended substitute for "tamarind paste" which, er, I didn't even know where to begin to look for in my not-always-well-stocked-but-painfully-convenient Shaws market. And I forgot to get scallions. So actually, I made a lot of changes. But it was still delicious!

Please make this and savor it. You'll thank me.

Pad Thai
adapted from The New Best Recipe
Serves 4 (or 2 very hungry people!)
10/10!

1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup water
3 TBS fish (or oyster) sauce
1 TBS rice vinegar
3 TBS brown sugar
3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
4 TBS vegetable or peanut oil
8 oz dried rice stick noodles
2 large eggs
salt
1 large chicken breast, halved lengthwise and cut into thin strips
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 small onion, diced (or 1 med. shallot)
6 TBS chopped unsalted, roasted peanuts
3 cups bean sprouts
5 medium scallions, green parts only, sliced thin on diagonal
lime wedges for serving

1) Cover rice sticks with hot tap water in a large bowl. Soak until softened and pliable, but not fully tender, about 20 minutes. Drain noodles and set aside.
2) Whisk together lime juice, water, oyster sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, red pepper, and 2 TBS of oil. Set aside.
3) Beat eggs and 1/8 tsp of salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
4) Heat 1 TBS of the oil in a large non-stick skillet over high heat. Add the chicken with 1/8 tsp of salt. Sauté until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
5) Lower heat to medium and add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add garlic and onion. Cook, stirring constantly, until lightly browned, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add beaten egg to the pan and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon and scramble until barely moist. Add the rice noodles. Toss with tongs (or two wooden spoons) to combine.
6) Pour oyster sauce mixture over noodles and increase heat to high. Cook, tossing constantly, until noodles are evenly coated. Add 1/4 cup peanuts, bean sprouts, chicken, and all but 1/4 cup scallions. Continue to cook, tossing constantly, until noodles are tender (about 2 1/2 minutes). If not yet tender, at 2 TBS water to the pan and continue to cook until tender (I found I had to do this).
7) Transfer noodles to serving plates. Top with scallions, peanuts, and lime wedges to garnish.

Wonton Soup and Asian-Inspired Risotto

With the leftover wontons from our Artichoke and Feta wontons, I decided to make wonton soup, and to go with it, an asian flavors inspired risotto. I went light on the soy sauce and ginger, but I wouldn’t be afraid to add more—the flavors were somewhat subtle. To fry up your own fried wonton garnish, I actually just sliced up some wonton wrappers, brushed them with olive oil and a little salt, and baked them in the toaster oven at around 350ºF for a couple of minutes. Keep and eye on them; they burn easy.


Wonton Soup
Serves 2 (plus extra for freezing)
8/10

wonton wrappers
1/3 – 1/2 lb ground chicken
1 TBS soy sauce
1/2 TBS dry sherry
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1 tsp sesame oil
2 TBS scallions, chopped and divided
2 – 3 cups chicken broth or stock
water

1) Combine chicken, soy sauce, sherry, ginger, sesame oil, and 1 TBS scallions in a medium bowl.
2) Lay out one wonton wrapper. Wet edges with a little bit of water (I usually just use my finger). Place a teaspoon of chicken mixture in center of wrapper. Bring two opposite corners together and press the edges together to seal. Place on a non-stick baking sheet. Repeat until all the mixture has been used.
3) Heat chicken broth in a medium sauce pan until just boiling. Lower heat and add scallions and six wontons. Cook for 4–5 minutes. Remove from heat and serve.
4) Cover remaining wontons with plastic wrap and place in freezer until frozen, then remove and store in freezer in a large freezer bag or plastic container.



Asian-Inspired Risotto
Serves 2
8/10

1 cup Arborio rice
2-3 cups chicken stock or broth
1 – 2 TBS soy sauce
1 tsp ginger
1 TBS sesame oil
1/2 cup of scallions, chopped
1/4 cup white wine or dry sherry
1/2 cup sweet bell pepper, chopped
1 link cooked chicken or turkey sausage, chopped
1/4 cup parmesan, grated
1 TBS butter
salt and pepper to taste
fried wontons for garnish

1) Heat stock in a small sauce pan until hot, but not boiling. Add soy sauce and ginger. Keep warm.
2) Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan until shimmering. Add scallions and sauté until translucent. Lower the heat to med-low. Add the arborio rice and stir until it is coated with oil.
3) Add the wine or sherry to deglaze the pan. Stir until the liquid has been mostly absorbed and the rice begins to stick to the pot.
4) Add warm stock to the rice 1/2 – 1 cup at a time and continue to stir the risotto until the liquid is mostly absorbed and the rice begins to stick before adding the next cup. The rice will begin to absorb the liquid much slower.
5) After about 15 minutes, the rice will have puffed up and taken on a creamy texture and will almost hardly be absorbing any liquid at all, but still be a bit al dente. Add sausage and bell pepper and cook about 5 more minutes or until the rice is tender but slightly chewy. Remove from heat.
6) Add the butter and parmesan, blending until creamy. Season to taste. Top with fried wontons and serve.

Artichoke & Feta Wontons and Salad with Soy Sauce Dressing

For my birthday, the boy got me two Alton Brown cookbooks! They are absolutely wonderful. Tonight I tried his "Artichoke and Feta Wontons" from the sauté section of the book. Though they take a little while to assemble, they are utterly delish. The feta and artichokes give it a certain bite, a sort of sour, creamy taste, while the bacon adds salt and the scallions add zing. They came out a little bit oily, but otherwise they were very good. We also had some leftover salad fixings (and half of a raw egg leftover from the wontons) so I made a salad with a soy sauce dressing. They could be a great party starter.

Artichoke and Feta Wontons
from Alton Brown's I'm Just Here for the Food with mods.
Serves 2
9/10

olive oil
12 - 14 wonton wrappers
1/3 of a can of artichoke hearts (about two hearts), drained and chopped (I used my mini-food processor which worked great)
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
2 slices of bacon, cooked til crisp and chopped
1 TBS scallions, finely chopped
1/2 an egg (save the other half for the salad!)
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup of water or chicken broth
water

1) Preheat the oven to 200ºF. Heat broth in a small sauce pan.
2) Combine artichokes, feta, bacon, scallions, egg, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl.
3) Lay out a wonton wrapper on a dry surface. Brush the edges of the wrapper with a little bit of water (I just use my finger). Place a heaping teaspoon of filling into the center of the wonton and fold up, pinching the edges together to seal. Place on a half baking sheet and cover with a damp cloth. Continue until filling is used up.
4) Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Once hot, brush about a tablespoon (maybe a little less) of olive oil on the pan until the oil begins to smoke. Add wontons, about 8 - 10 in the pan. Sauté 2 minutes per side. Gently add 1/4 cup broth to the pan and cover, cooking an additional 2 minutes or until liquid has evaporated. Move wontons to an oven-proof dish and place in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining wontons.


Salad with Soy Sauce Dressing
Serves 2

spinach or whatever lettuce you so desire
8 - 10 grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup carrots cut into matchsticks
1 large scallion, chopped
1/2 an egg, fried and sliced thin (fry up the rest of the one from the wontons)

1 TBS soy sauce
1/2 TBS dry sherry
2 TBS light olive oil
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1/2 tsp garlic
pinch of black pepper

1) Toss together vegetables. Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Top with egg.
*This would also be tasty with sesame seeds, orange slices, fried wontons, snow peas, red pepper, etc.

Kung Pao Chicken

Sorry for the delay my friends, we were out of town for a wedding for a while and what with the boy traveling a couple days every week and me starting a new job I haven't been cooking as much as I would like. But here is a new favorite which I made week or so ago that I've just been dying to share with you.

As you know, I have been experimenting in the world of Asian cuisine and have had fairly good success. I made dumplings again, and they were just as good the second time, if just as labor intensive. My latest attempt was Kung Pao Chicken, which I must say, came out very well. I cut the chicken into very small pieces, with the idea that you should try to keep all your ingredients the same size when cooking, and I really liked how that made the dish. I halved the recipe except when it came to the sauce, which was good because there was just enough... could have even done with a little more. I also added vegetables to this--red bell peppers, onion, and carrots. Serve with rice!

As usual, it called for using a wok, which I don't own, so I used a fry pan which seemed to work fine though I might slowly be killing it, alas. This recipe didn't sound like it would come out tasting like it does in chinese restaurants, but it did! Kind of. It was really good, I must say. Definitely a keeper.

Kung Pao Chicken
copied from http://www.chinesefooddiy.com/kung_pao_chicken.htm with mods.
Serves 2
9/10

Marinade:
1/2 lb. boned, skinned chicken breasts - cubed very small
1 Tbls. soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbls. cornstarch mixed with 1 1/2 Tbls. cold water

Sauce:
2 Tbls. soy sauce
1 Tbls. dry sherry
1 Tbls. granulated sugar
1 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sesame oil

2 Tbls. vegetable oil - divided
1/4 cup unsalted roasted peanuts
2-4 dried red chili peppers - chopped (I used one smallish New Mexican dried chili pepper... all I could find)
1 slice peeled, fresh ginger - chopped
1 clove garlic - sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 carrot, sliced or a handful of baby carrots, halved

1) Combine chicken, 1 Tbls. soy sauce, and cornstarch/water mixture; allow to marinate for 30 minutes.

2) Combine 2 Tbls. soy sauce, sherry, sugar, cornstarch, salt, and sesame oil; set aside.

3) In a hot wok, stir-fry the peanuts in 1 Tbls. vegetable oil until golden brown, remove peanuts from wok, and set aside. BE CAREFUL they brown up really fast and burnt peanuts are really gross.

4) Fill wok with vegetable oil for frying and heat to 350 degrees. Carefully slide the chicken into the wok, piece by piece, and fry for 1 minute.

5) Remove chicken from oil and drain on a brown paper bag (I found a sturdy paper towel doubled up works too). Remove oil from wok.

6) In hot wok, stir-fry the red peppers in 1 Tbls. vegetable oil until they turn dark. Add bell peppers and onions and cook until they begin to get tender. Add carrots, ginger, garlic, and chicken to the wok and fry, stirring constantly. Stir the prepared sauce and add to the wok. Stir and cook wok contents until the sauce is thickened. Stir in peanuts and serve.

Pork and Vegetable Stir-fry

My first attempts at food photo art!

This is a pretty easy and yummy recipe. My only real comments are to double the amount of "marinade" and use that as a sauce at the end if you're a big sauce person (which I will change in the recipe). I was fine, but the boy wanted a bit more. Also, the original recipe called for pork tenderloin rather than a pork chop, and then white mushrooms, carrots, snow peas, and scallions. I obviously took a few creative liberties with the vegetables, so you should too!

Pork and Vegetable Stir-fry
from Wok & Stir-Fry (with modifications)
Serves 2 (with rice)
8/10

1-2 boneless pork-chops, ~1" thick
1 TBS soy sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp chinese rice wine or dry sherry
2 tsp cornstarch paste (equal parts water and cornstarch, blended to a paste)
2 oz. snow peas
1/2 red bell pepper
1/4 cup broccoli florets
1/4 cup onions, chopped fine
2 oz. baby carrots, halved
1/4 cup vegetable oil
salt


1) Cut the pork into thin slices, each about the size of a postage stamp. Blend soy sauce, brown sugar, wine/sherry, and cornstarch paste. Pour half of this misture over the pork to marinate for at least 15 minutes.
2) Trim the snow peas, chop up the onion and red pepper, halve the carrots, etc. with any other vegetables you choose to add. With the exception of the onion, try to keep the vegetable pieces about the same size as the meat pieces.
3) Heat the oil in a preheated wok/skillet. Add pork and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes until color changes. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside.
4) Add heartier vegetables first, such as broccoli, and sauté until it turns a bright green. Add remaining veggies and stir-fry for about 2 minutes. Add salt (to taste) and pork (if the pan looks a little dry, add some chicken broth). Continue cooking and stirring for about one minute, then add remaining marinade sauce and blend well.
5) Serve over white rice.

Asian Dinner Part I: Dumplings

I usually shy away from Asian recipes because they usually require ingredients that are hard to find or that I would use infrequently. But I was having a hankering for steamed dumplings and I found a pretty easy looking beef broccoli recipe. So I decided it would be my big experimental dinner for the week.

Got off to a sour start when shopping for the dumpling ingredients: I could find neither sesame oil nor ground pork in the grocery store. I'm new to the area so I wasn't really sure where else to go and it was getting late in the day. I finally found a large bottle of sesame oil for the ridiculous price of $11. I picked up ground chicken to replace the pork. But I wasted a good twenty minutes checking and re-checking their tiny Asian section, their organic section, AND their oils section. Needless to say, I was a bit frustrated when I got home and actually got down to the prep work.

A neat short cut I discovered was when it came to the cabbage. I'm only cooking for two so I certainly didn't want to make the full amount of dumplings that the recipe purported it could make (80-90!?!?). So I certainly didn't need a full head of cabbage or bok choy. Instead, in the bagged salad section I discovered a coleslaw blend of white cabbage, red cabbage, and carrots. The perfect easy combo to go in my dumplings. In the recipe it called for "blanching" the cabbage, which I thought might be a step I could pass up, using the pre-chopped variety. Not true. Once I took the coleslaw out of the bag, I could tell it would be too stiff and raw to deal with. Dropping it in a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds softened it right up.

A couple notes going into this: Give yourself plenty of time to make the dumplings (actually forming them is the time consuming part... they cook up really fast). Also, use as much flour as you need to make the dumpling dough the right consistency. In attempting to halve the recipe, I found myself using the full amount of flour and only half the water and it was still kind of stick to deal with and I wound up with extra filling. I was afraid the flour might affect the flavor or consistency of the dumpling dough but they came out perfect (if a little funny looking). I also just used a regular pot (I don't own a wok) and for poaching the dumplings, it worked just fine. I was actually able to do all the dumplings at once without a problem.

Dumplings
from Wok and Stir Fry ed. Linda Doeser (with modifications)
Makes about 25
9.5/10

2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup water
salt

1/2 bag of raw coleslaw blend
1/2 lb ground pork or chicken
1/2 TBS chopped scallions
1/2 tsp fresh ginger
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 1/2 TBS soy sauce
1 TBS dry sherry (or rice wine)
1 tsp sesame oil

Dipping Sauce
1 TBS of red chili oil or 1 tsp red pepper
1 TBS soy sauce
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 TBS chopped scallions


1) Mix flour and water until it forms a firm dough. Knead until smooth on a floured surface, then cover with a damp towel and set aside for 25-30 minutes.
2) Blanch the coleslaw blend until soft. Drain and mix with chicken, scallions, ginger, salt, sugar, soy sauce, sherry, and sesame oil.
3) Flour a work surface. Kneed and roll dough into a long sausage about 1 inch in diameter. Cut into 20-30 slices, and flatten each slice with the palm of your hand.
4) Using a rolling pin, roll out each piece into a thin pancake about 2 1/2 inches in diameter.
5) Place about 1 1/2 teaspoons of filling in the center of each pancake and fold into a half-moon pouch. Pinch the edges firmly until tightly sealed.
6) Bring about 2 quarts of water to boil. Add dumplings and poach for two minutes. Remove from heat and leave the dumplings in the water for another 15 minutes.
7) Whisk together ingredients for dipping sauce. Serve in a small dish along side the dumplings.

Asian Dinner Part II: Beef and Broccoli

I recently bought The New Best Recipes cookbook and have eagerly been perusing it for the past few weeks. I tried their recipes for Macaroni and Cheese as well as their Red Salsa with great success. So when I discovered their fairly basic recipe for beef and broccoli, I was inspired to try it. I was worried about the dominance of "oyster sauce," not being a huge seafood fan, but I think it was what made the dish taste so good. The boy commented that it was "not as sweet" as the typical Chinese restaurant dish, but it was still quite delicious.

The key here is to make sure you have everything prepped and ready to go when it comes time to start the actual cooking process. It makes life so much easier. If you are making this in conjuction with dumplings as I did, put the dumplings in to poach right around the time you start to make the beef broccoli. That way they should be done around the same time, or you could serve up the steaming dumplings to hungry guests while you put the finishing touches on the main course.

Beef and Broccoli
from The New Best Recipe
Serves 2
9/10

1/2 lb flank steak, sliced across the grain into thin 1 inch pieces
2 TBS soy sauce

1/2 TBS dry sherry
1 TBS chicken broth
3 TBS oyster sauce
1/2 TBS brown sugar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp cornstarch
3 medium cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 TBS minced ginger
1 1/2 TBS vegetable or peanut oil
1/2 lb broccoli florets
2 TBS water
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 med scallion, chopped

1) Combine beef and soy sauce in bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refridgerate for at least 10 minutes or up to an hour, stirring once.
2) Whisk together sherry, chicken broth, oyster sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and cornstarch in a measuring cup. Set aside.
3) Combine garlic, ginger, and 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a small bowl. Set aside.
4) Drain beef and discard liquid. Heat 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a non-stick skillet over high heat until smoking. Add beef to skillet and break up clumps. Cook without stirring for one minute, then stir and cook until beef is browned. (If doubling the meat, cook in batches). Transfer beef to a bowl and set aside.
5) Add 1/2 TBS oil until just smoking. Add broccoli and cook for 30 seconds. Add water and cover, lowering heat to medium. Steam until tender, about 2 minutes. Transfer to paper towel lined plate.
6) Add remaining oil (~1 teaspoon) to skillet. Increase heat to high and heat until just smoking. Add bell pepper and cook, stirring frequently until browning, about 2 minutes.
7) Clear the center of the skillet, add the garlic and ginger mixture to the clearing and cook, mashing the misture with a spoon, until fragrant, abotu 15 - 20 seconds, then stir the mixture into the peppers. Return the beef and broccoli to the skillet and toss to combine. Whisk the sauce to recombine, then add to skillet. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thickened and evenly distributed, about 1 minute. Transfer to serving platter, sprinkle with scallions, and serve.