Spicy Basil Chicken

In an effort to declutter our very tiny townhouse I've been going through old issues of cooking magazines and ripping out the pages with the recipes I want to make instead of saving the entire magazine. This recipe for Spicy Basil Chicken is one I wanted to make and then I saw it on Nicole's blog and again on Elly's blog and knew I needed to make it soon. We really enjoy stir fries, especially the ease of making them.


Since I knew Elly was planning to make it with sugar snap peas I decided to buy some at the store to serve alongside. Then she said she ended up throwing them into the stir fry and I thought that was a great idea. One less pan and a more interesting stir fry = a win. We enjoyed this dish, but both felt like it needed more than just the chicken and basil. I was glad Elly had mentioned the snap peas or this would have been a pretty boring stir fry. I think more veggies are a must, maybe some peppers or asparagus or even spinach.

Spicy Basil Chicken
Cooking Light, as seen on Elly Says Opa!

2 teaspoon canola oil
2 shallots, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 lbs, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
4 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon chile garlic sauce
2 teaspoons water
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/3 cup basil leaves, sliced
8 oz sugar snap peas, sliced
Optional - additional veggies like carrots, peppers, asparagus, etc.
1 1/2 cups, dry rice, cooked according to package directions

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add shallots and garlic to pan; cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add chicken to pan; cook 13 minutes or until chicken is done.

Whisk fish sauce and the next 6 ingredients (through cornstarch) together in a small bowl. Add sugar snap peas and any additional veggies to the pan. Allow to cook until tender then add fish sauce mixture to pan, and cook for 1 minute or until mixture thickens, stirring to coat chicken. Remove from heat. Stir in basil. Serve with rice.

Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry

My friend Melissa recently raved about a stir fry recipe she had thrown together one weeknight. I'm a sucker for a good stir fry and I'm trying to make more of them because they're so simple. Unfortunately I've made plenty of stir fries that don't have very good flavor, but since Melissa only blogs recipes that are fantastic I knew this Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry would be great.


As expected, this was truly outstanding. Garlicky, gingery, and just slightly spicy (I can't believe I'm saying this but it could have used a tad more kick). The chicken was tender and moist and the broccoli was still crispy. It tasted like the best version of chicken and broccoli I've ever had from a Chinese restaurant. I couldn't believe I made it at home, it was that good. SP felt it needed something, maybe more spice, and I suggested water chestnuts, but he said we need to stop putting so much pressure on the poor water chestnut to solve all our problems. Ha. I still think they'd go well with the dish.

Try this soon. You won't be disappointed.

Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
Alosha's Kitchen

1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
6 scallions, whites only, thinly sliced on an angle (slice and reserve all the tops for garnish)
4 cloves garlic, grated or minced divided*
1 1/2-inch piece peeled fresh ginger, grated or minced, divided*
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tablespoon + 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 tablespoon + 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 tablespoons xiaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
About 1/2 cup water
4 tablespoons neutral oil
5 broccoli crowns, chopped, separated into florets and stems
1-2 teaspoons Sriracha sauce (chile sauce)
2 tablespoons oyster sauce

In a medium bowl, toss the chicken with the scallion whites, half the garlic and ginger, soy sauce, sugar, 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch, 1/2 tablespoon Kosher salt, xiaoxing wine, and sesame oil. Marinate at room temperature for at least 15 minutes. Mix the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch with 1/2 cup water and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet or wok over high heat. Add the broccoli stems, and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the florets and the remaining garlic, ginger, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 teaspoon salt and chile sauce. Stir-fry until the broccoli is bright green and tender-crisp, about 4 minutes. You may need to add a tablespoon more water (or two or three) to make sure it stir fries without sticking or searing too much. Transfer to a plate.

Pour another 2 tablespoons oil in the pan and add the chicken mixture. Stir-fry (stir, stir, stir at this point!) until the chicken is brown and cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the oyster sauce, stir, then return the broccoli to the pan and toss to heat through. Stir in the reserved cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil to thicken (add a couple, few more tablespoons of water to make a bit more sauce, if desired - I did).

Serve over rice, with the reserved scallion greens and extra chile sauce on the side.

Spicy Asian Lettuce Wraps

My friend Melissa raved about these Spicy Asian Lettuce Wraps and then submitted them for one of the recipe swaps where the recipient also raved about them. I'm trying to cook out of my comfort zone while also finding healthier recipes that are more suited to the summer heat. This sounded perfect.


These were delicious, with just a hint of spice from the Sriracha and a vibrant burst from the cilantro.

I had some chicken breasts in the freezer so I used my food processor to grind my own chicken. I made the filling in the morning after Baby Girl and SP left for the day. The smell was intoxicating and I couldn't wait for dinner. I subbed butter lettuce for iceburg and served the wraps with white rice and Asian-Style Broccoli. Because I'd used chicken instead of turkey the filling was a little dry, but that can easily be remedied by upping the amount of sauce ingredients. I reread Melissa's blog entry after I'd made them and was kicking myself for not adding the water chestnuts she suggested - they'd make a great, crunchy addition so I added them to the recipe below so I won't forget next time.


I can't wait to make these again. Thanks for a real winner, Melissa!

Spicy Asian Lettuce Wraps
Adapted from I Was Born to Cook

2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons ginger root, peeled and grated
1 1/2 lbs. ground chicken (or turkey)
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Sriracha
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 small can water chestnuts, chopped
1/3 cup chopped peanuts
1 head butter lettuce (or iceburg)

Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan, add onion and saute about 2 minutes, then add garlic and ginger root and saute another minute. Add ground chicken (turkey) to frying pan and break apart, then add soy sauce and Sriracha. Cook until the chicken (turkey) is brown and crumbling apart, and the sauce is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes.

While chicken (turkey) cooks, wash and chop cilantro. Remove the core end from lettuce and separate leaves. Chop peanuts and put in small bowl to serve at the table. When turkey is done, add chopped water chestnuts and chopped cilantro and cook 1-2 minutes more.

To serve: place chicken mixture on lettuce leaf, sprinkle with peanuts, and fold the leaf closed to make it easy to grab and eat.

Orange Chicken

I love Chinese food. I usually shy away from making it at home because I can never get the flavors quite right, but this recipe for Orange Chicken has been making its way around the blogosphere and getting rave reviews, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Boy am I glad I did!


I don't usually order breaded and fried chicken at Chinese restaurants because most of them use mystery meat that's mostly breading anyway. This version has juicy chunks of breast meat. As SP pointed out, restaurant versions are much sweeter whereas this was tangy and spicy, which I preferred. I think I'll add some honey for SP the next time I make it, though. I served the chicken with rice and steamed broccoli.

Orange Chicken
Cooking at Home With America’s Test Kitchen

For the marinade and sauce:
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
6 tablespoons white vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar (dark or light)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 lbs. boneless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water
8 thin strips orange peel (optional)

For the coating and frying:
3 large egg whites
1 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cups peanut or 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 3/4 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 in a colander and 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 Dutch oven until the oil reaches 350 degrees. 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. Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.

Reheat the sauce and toss with the cooked chicken pieces. Serve over rice.

Spicy Pork with Asparagus and Chili

Brianna over at Oishii recently posted this recipe for Spicy Pork with Asparagus and Chile. It looked great and was a departure from our usual meals so I put it on this week's menu. The same day I was planning to make it someone posted about it on my cooking board, prompting a discussion about the dish. As it turns out, the recipe (which came from Bon Appetit) lacked a little something according to those who had made it. Suggestions were thrown out about how to make it better so I ended up modifying the recipe.


The result was really good. I don't usually cook with ground pork and I liked the flavor, plus now that asparagus was in season I was happy for an excuse to use it.

Spicy Pork with Asparagus and Chili
Modified from the April 2011 issue of Bon Appetit

3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry, brandy or Madeira
2 teaspoons cornstarch
12 oz. ground pork
3 teaspoons Asian sesame oil, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 bunch thin to medium asparagus, trimmed, cut diagonal into 1/2-inch pieces
1 red (or green) jalapeño, minced with seeds
2 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 green onions, thinly sliced on diagonal
Salt and pepper

In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, rice wine/brandy/sherry/Madeira, and cornstarch. Add the pork and toss to blend.

Heat 2 teaspoons of the sesame oil and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a heavy large wok or deep skillet over high heat. Add asparagus, chili, and ginger. Toss until asparagus is crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer asparagus mixture to plate.

Add remaining 1 teaspoon sesame oil and 1 tablespoon olive oil to wok. Add pork mixture and stir-fry until browned, using wooden spoon to break up pork into small pieces, 2 to 3 minutes.

Return asparagus mixture to wok. Add oyster sauce, honey and rice vinegar. Stir-fry until pork is cooked through, about 2 minutes. Add water by tablespoonfuls if it becomes too dry. Add green onions; toss to incorporate. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve over steamed rice.

Recipe Swap - Mongolian Beef

The theme for this week's recipe swap was Asian food. I received Cooking Light's Mongolian Beef from Amanda.


I didn't want to buy hoisin sauce since ingredients I don't use often end up dying a slow death in my fridge, so I searched online for a similar recipe and found this one for P. F. Chang's Mongolian Beef.

I've never had Mongolian Beef before so I can speak to how close the end result was to the restaurant version, but it was a good meal. It was a little sweet for my taste and I think I let the cornstarch sit too long on the meat because it didn't add a crispy coating, but SP loved it. I served it with rice and steamed broccoli.

Thanks Amanda!

P.F. Chang's Mongolian Beef

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 lb flank steak
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 large green onions, sliced

Make the sauce by heating 2 teaspoons of vegetable in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add ginger and garlic to the pan and quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches. Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then raise the heat to about medium and boil the sauce for 2 to 3 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Remove it from the heat.

Slice the flank steak against the grain into thin slices. Tilt the blade of your knife at about a forty five degree angle to the top of the steak so that you get wider cuts.

Dip the steak pieces into the cornstarch to apply a very thin dusting to both sides of each piece of beef. Let the beef sit for about 10 minutes so that the cornstarch sticks.

As the beef sits, heat up one cup of oil in a wok (you may also use a skillet for this step as long as the beef will be mostly covered with oil). Heat the oil over medium heat until it's nice and hot, but not smoking.

Add the beef to the oil and saute for just two minutes, or until the beef just begins to darken on the edges. Stir the meat around a little so that it cooks evenly. After a couple minutes, use a large slotted spoon or a spider to take the meat out and onto paper towels, then pour the oil out of the wok or skillet. Put the pan back over the heat, dump the meat back into it and simmer for one minute. Add the sauce, cook for one minute while stirring, then add all the green onions. Cook for one more minute, then remove the beef and onions with tongs or a slotted spoon to a serving plate. Leave the excess sauce behind in the pan.

Nutty Chicken Stir-Fry and Egg Drop Soup

I really wanted to like this recipe for Nutty Chickn Stir-Fry. It looked delicious and smelled even better, but the flavors just weren't there. I've yet to find a recipe for noodles or stir-fry involving peanut butter that really wows me. It never has enough peanut flavor for me.


It didn't help that the recipe failed to specify what type of stir-fry vegetables to use. The bag of Asian stir-fry veggies in my freezer didn't match the picture, so my guess is there's another mix that might be better suited for this dish. In the magazine where I first saw this recipe they pair it with Egg Drop Soup, so I did, too.


I'm pretty sure my chicken broth wasn't low-sodium but it might as well have been for the absolute absence of flavor. Even adding salt at the table did little to save this soup from flavor boredom. Maybe this is a sign that I need to just give up trying to cook Chinese food at home and stick with our favorite local take-out.

Beef and Broccoli

I've never been very successful recreating certain ethnic foods at home. Indian, Chinese, Thai - they never taste as good at home as they do in a restaurant. This recipe for Beef and Broccoli was good, but it was missing something I can't quite put my finger on.


I made a few modifications (see below). I think it has potential, assuming I can figure out what was missing.

Beef & Broccoli
Modified from Original Joelen Recipe

Marinade:
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/3 cup soy sauce (regular or low sodium)
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 lbs sirloin steak, cut into thin strips

2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 broccoli crowns, cut into florets
salt & pepper to taste
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with cold water

In a large plastic bag combine the sugar, soy sauce, water, garlic powder, and beef. Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight.

When ready to prepare, warm up a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the oil to heat up. Once hot, saute the garlic and onion until softened. Add the marinated beef and marinade to the skillet. Saute the beef about 2-3 minutes (it will not be completely cooked). Add the water, oyster sauce and broccoli florets. Let it come to a boil and allow the liquid to reduce and the broccoli to cook from the steam.

When the broccoli is tender, add the cornstarch and water and season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and serve over steamed rice or noodles.