Asian

PF Chang’s Spicy Chicken

September 2, 2011 – 9:26 am

I LOVE PF Chang’s! My three favorite things to order are their lettuce wraps, crispy green beans and spicy chicken. As I’ve mentioned before, with our family size and the ages of our young kiddos, eating out has become impractical. So I’m trying to recreate our restaurant favorites right at home. This one was spot on! I did have to laugh at myself as my husband and I were sweating a bit while enjoying dinner last night. You see, I read the recipe wrong and when it said 2 teaspoons of Srirachi hot chili sauce, I thought it said 2 tablespoons. I like things on the spicy side so I did two heaping Tablespoons. Oooppps! It was still amazing but definitely not for the faint of heart :)

If you’re a fan of PF Chang’s Spicy Chicken you are going to LOVE this!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds Chicken Breast
2 cups Vegetable Oil, for frying
1 cup Flour
½ teaspoons Salt
¾ teaspoons Baking Soda
1 whole Egg
½ cups Milk
½ cups Water

Spicy Sauce:

2 teaspoons Vegetable Oil
2 Tablespoons Garlic, Chopped Finely
3 Tablespoons Green Onion (chopped)
1 cup Pineapple Juice
2 teaspoons (or more) Hot Chili Sauce (Sriracha – found with the Asian foods in the supermarket)
2 Tablespoons White Vinegar
4 teaspoons Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon Soy Sauce
¾ teaspoons Salt
2 Tablespoons Water
3 teaspoons Cornstarch

Directions:

Prepare the spicy sauce: heat oil, garlic and green onions over medium heat until soft. Add pineapple juice, chili sauce, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and salt. Combine the water and cornstarch in a separate container. Mix the cornstarch/water mixture into the sauce and stir over medium-low heat until thickened. You can add more chili sauce if you want spicier spicy chicken sauce. Be sure to taste it as you go so you don’t overdo it. Reduce heat to low.

Prepare the chicken: cut the chicken breast into 1-inch cubes and season with salt. Begin heating the 2 cups vegetable oil over medium-high heat.

Prepare the batter: combine remaining ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk together. Batter should be fairly thin. Place chicken cubes in the batter to coat. Batter should be very thin on the chicken.

Once the oil is heated, reduce heat to medium and add chicken cubes a few at a time, letting the batter drip off before placing in the oil. Let them cook for 3-4 minutes and turn halfway through cooking. Cook until golden brown. Remove and drain on a paper-towel-covered plate. Repeat until all chicken is cooked.

Serve chicken over white or brown rice and cover with plenty of spicy sauce. Garnish with additional chopped green onions in desired.

Serves: 4

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Sweet and Sour Chicken

August 23, 2011 – 8:34 pm

We love Chinese food around here! For some reason it’s one of the cuisines I’ve ventured into the least in my cooking. When the mood strikes we just order take out from our favorite local Chinese restaurant. One of our standard orders is sweet and sour chicken. We love the crispy chicken and tangy sauce. It’s a unanimous favorite at our house. As our family has grown to 6 eating out has become both inconvenient and really spendy. So there are certain things we love to order when we eat out that I’m attempting to replicate at home. This Chinese restaurant favorite was a HUGE hit with our whole family. The chicken was perfectly crispy and the sauce was spot on. My husband and I both agreed that it was better than any we’ve had. I just love when I find that I can often make our restaurant favorites even better right from home! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 large can pineapple chunks, drained (juice reserved)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 3/4 cups water, divided
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
2 drops orange food coloring
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cut into 1 inch cubes
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 egg
1 1/2 cups water
1 quart vegetable oil for frying
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 small onion, cut into 1 inch pieces
Hot Cooked Rice

Directions:

In a saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups water, sugar, vinegar, reserved pineapple juice, and orange food coloring. Heat to boiling. Turn off heat. Combine 1/4 cup cornstarch and 1/4 cup water; slowly stir into saucepan. Continue stirring until mixture thickens.
Combine flour, baking soda, 2 tablespoons oil, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, salt, white pepper, and egg. Add 1 1/2 cups water gradually to make a thick batter. Stir to blend thoroughly. Add chicken pieces, and stir until chicken is well coated.
Heat oil in skillet or wok to 360 degrees F (180 degrees C). Fry chicken pieces in hot oil 10 minutes, or until golden. Remove chicken, and drain on paper towels.
When ready to serve layer bell peppers, onion, pineapple chunks, and cooked chicken pieces on a platter. Pour hot sweet and sour sauce over top and serve over rice.

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Asian Chicken and Orzo Salad

October 18, 2010 – 11:12 am

I am back! Well, sorta kinda. At least for today. Life has been busy, busy so I haven’t had much time to devote to food blogging. My dear friend had me over for lunch this last week and she had made this incredible Asian Chicken and Orzo Salad from Paula Deen. Oh my! It’s fabulous. It makes a boatload. It’s wonderful hot or cold and it’s SO simple to make. I just ate some for breakfast in fact. Enjoy! And thank you Jillian… and Paula – two of my closest friends :)

Asian Chicken and Orzo Salad

Ingredients:

1 (9-ounce) package frozen sugar snap peas (I used cooked frozen regular peas)
1 (16-ounce) package orzo, cooked and drained
1 cup water chestnuts, drained and chopped (I omitted)
3 cups diced cooked chicken (rotisserie works well)
3 green onions, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons hoisin sauce
1 (2-ounce) package slivered almonds, toasted (1/2 cup)

Directions:

Cook sugar snap peas according to package directions; drain well.

In a large bowl, combine sugar snap peas, orzo, water chestnuts, chicken, green onion, and red bell pepper. In a small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, soy sauce, and hoisin sauce. Pour over orzo mixture, tossing gently to coat. Stir in toasted almonds. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

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Cashew Beef Stir Fry

July 15, 2010 – 9:16 am

I have been seriously searching forever for a really good stir fry recipe. Most I have tried are just okay. This stir fry is IT for me. I love the addition of the cashews and all the delicious veggies. Something you can feel good about eating and not sacrifice a bit of taste!

Ingredients

1 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cups cold water
4 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
1 bunch broccoli, chopped
3 medium carrots, julienned
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 pound beef top sirloin steak, cut into thin strips
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon ginger
kosher salt, to taste
2 medium yellow or orange bell peppers, cut into strips
2 medium sweet red peppers, cut into strips
2 medium onions, halved and sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
1-1/2 cups salted cashews
Hot cooked rice

Directions

In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, water and 2 tablespoons soy sauce until smooth; set aside. In a very large skillet or a wok, stir-fry broccoli and carrots in 1 tablespoon oil until vegetables are crisp-tender. Add the beef, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, ginger, salt, pepper and remaining soy sauce; stir-fry until meat is no longer pink. Remove and keep warm.
In the same pan, stir-fry bell peppers, onions and zucchini in remaining oil until crisp-tender. Return beef to the pan.
Stir cornstarch mixture and gradually add to the pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in cashews. Serve with rice.

* Adjust seasonings to personal taste. The original recipe left out all but the salt and pepper. I wanted a bit more kick to mine.

Source: Taste of Home

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Asian Lettuce Cups with Ground Turkey & Green Apple

July 6, 2010 – 8:09 am

What a delicious and refreshing take on lettuce wraps. You might think that apple is a strange addition, but it’s perfect in these wraps.
And to quote another blog…..”if you’ve never fried mung bean noodles, go out and buy some and fry them NOW. it is a life changing experience. Seriously. Just make way less than you think you’ll need as a little noodle becomes a lot of noodle after it’s been fried.” These are very fun and even more delicious!

The Sauce:
1-1/2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce

Filling:
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
2 stalks, scallions
1 pound ground turkey or chicken
2 cups mixed vegetables (frozen pea/carrots, finely diced bell peppers, etc.)
1/2 green apple, finely diced

Toppings/Wrap:
1 head boston bibb lettuce, leaves washed and separated
2 skeins, Mung Bean Noodles (also called cellophane noodles and found in the asian foods isle)
2 medium carrots, Use vegetable peeler to peel cut carrot into paper thin strips

To fry the mung bean noodles, heat a wok or small sauce pan (something not too wide at its base. the smaller the base width, the less oil you will need to use) with about 2 inches of cooking oil. While oil is heating to 375F, use your hands to separate the strands of the mung bean noodle into small clumps. When oil hot, fry one batch at a time. It should only take 10 seconds to fry. Remove, drain on paper towels.
Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
To make the filling, heat wok on high heat with cooking oil. When oil is hot, add scallions, ginger and garlic and fry a few seconds until fragrant. Add turkey or chicken and fry until almost cooked through. Add the vegetables and cook 1 minute. Add sauce ingredients. Let simmer for 1 minute to thicken slightly.
Add the apples. Toss to coat. Immediately remove from heat. You don’t want to “cook” the apples – keep them nice and crunchy. Serve with lettuce cups, carrot shavings and fried mung bean noodles.

Source: http://steamykitchen.com/

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Cashew Chicken Stir Fry

June 24, 2010 – 8:37 am

Serves: 1-2 (note the small serving size and double or triple as needed)
Ingredients
2 oz of Sesame oil
4 oz of Asian vegetables (I like to use red bell peppers, broccoli, snap peas and mushrooms – really whatever you have on hand)
5 oz of Diced chicken breast
2 to 3 oz of Ginger soy sauce
2oz of Cashew Nuts
4 oz of Jasmine Rice

Ginger Soy Sauce
2 oz of Sesame oil
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
½ teaspoon of minced ginger
½ cup of soy sauce
¼ cup of sugar
1 cup of water
¼ cup of rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon of Sambal chili paste
Corn starch slurry- ¼ cup of cornstarch + ¼ cup of water

Ginger Soy Sauce
Combine all ingredients except slurry and bring to a boil, thicken with slurry then cool and set aside.

Heat sesame oil in wok then add chicken and cook till ¾ done. Add vegetables and sauté for 3 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
Add cashews and sauce and continue sautéing until sauce is hot and everything is coated. Immediately plate over jasmine rice and garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

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