Asian Glazed Chicken

I tried a new recipe the other night and it was good.  (I love it when that happens) I had to go out and buy a bottle of hoisin sauce but other than that the ingredients were all things at had at home.

Asian Glazed Chicken:
(adapted from Cooking Light)

1 teaspoon ground ginger
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon lower-sodium soy sauce
8 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)

Preheat your grill or skillet to medium-high heat.

Combine the ginger, hoisin sauce, olive oil, and soy sauce in a medium bowl and stir well to combine. Add the chicken, toss to coat, and let the chicken marinate for at least 5 minutes.

Place chicken on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 4 minutes on each side or until done.  Remove from the grill and serve.

Asian Peanut Noodles

I've been bored with my dinner options recently.  I've also been on a bit of an Asian food kick so I've been trying to find some new dishes that incorporate my needs.

I found this recipe from Cooking Light magazine.  I love this recipe.  I always have these ingredients on hand and I was able to whip it up really quickly.  I think that this could serve as a main meal or as a side dish, depending on what you're looking for.

The recipe doesn't call for the vegetable to be cooked at all which is fine, but since I did serve this warm I think next time I'll try to blanch the veggies a little bit.

Asian Peanut Noodles:
(adapted from Cooking Light)

6 ounces whole-wheat linguine or spaghetti
1 teaspoon sirarcha
1 tablespoon reduced-fat creamy peanut butter
3 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 cup matchstick-cut carrots
1/2 cup matchstick-cut green onions

Cook the noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain them well.

Combine the sirarcha, peanut butter, soy sauce, and lime juice in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk to combine well. Add the noodles, carrots, and green onions; toss and serve immediately.

Asian Tuna Nuggets

I went crazy at the grocery store this week and got some tuna nuggets instead of the usual tilapia.  (I know... pick yourself up off the floor)

I've been experimenting with Asian flavors recently and decided to try them out with this tuna.  It was a delicious and it was nice to have something a little different. This recipe uses some ingredients that I've bought for other recipes and haven't used all the much.

Mr. T really enjoyed this so I'm hoping that you will too!

Asian Tuna Nuggets:

1 pound tuna nuggets
1 scallion, sliced thinly
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Sirarcha
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon honey
Juice of half a lime
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
sesame seeds for garnish

In a small bowl mix together the scallion, garlic clove, rice vinegar, Sirarcha, sesame oil, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, honey, lime juice, and ground ginger.  Add the tuna and let marinate for at least half an hour.

Heat a skillet on medium-high heat.  Spray the pan with some nonstick spray and cook the tuna for about a minute on each side.

Vegetable Lo Mein

This is another recipe that I have found in my quest for healthier cooking at home.  It was really easy and quick to make.  Feel free to change up the vegetables and use whatever you have in the house.

This can be made gluten free by using gluten free soy sauce and rice noodles.  I've been able to find both at the grocery store with no problems.

Vegetable Lo Mein:
(Can You Stay for Dinner- serves 2)

For the Sauce:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha hot chili sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Remaining Ingredients:
2 teaspoons canola oil
2 cups bean sprouts
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions, white and green parts
1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 cup shredded Napa cabbage
1/4 cup grated carrot
6 oz rice noodles or whole wheat spaghetti

Cook the egg noodles or spaghetti according to package instructions, drain and set aside.

Stir all sauce ingredients together in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until thickened and glossy, about 3 minutes. Set aside.

Meanwhile, set a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the two teaspoons of canola oil and swirl to coat. Add the bean sprouts, mushrooms, cabbage, and carrot. Saute for about 3 minutes, or until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the cooked egg noodles and the sauce, tossing to combine. Serve immediately.

Hibachi Soup

We like to frequent our local Japanese Steakhouse for special dinners, like my birthday!  One of my favorite parts of the experience is the soup that they serve.  I love brothy soups and this is the perfect brothy soup.

It can also be made gluten free by using gluten free bouillon cubes and skipping out on the french fried onions (or making your own).  Not all bouillon cubes are gluten free but these are.  I know that my local grocery store sells them.

Hibachi Soup:
(found on Pinterest, from Cooking with Carrie)

Ingredients:
1/2 stalk celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 tablespoons ginger, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
3 tablespoons beef bouillon granules
1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms
2 quarts water (8 cups)
French fried onions

Directions:
In a large saucepan or stockpot, combine the celery, onion, carrot, ginger, garlic, and a few of the mushrooms. Add chicken bouillon, beef bouillon, and water. Place the pot over high heat, and bring to a rolling boil. When the mixture reaches boiling, cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook for 45 minutes.

After it's cooked for at least 45 minutes strain the cooked soup and discard all of the vegetables, leaving the broth. Serve the broth with sliced mushrooms and sprinkle french friend onions over the top.

Asian Glazed Chicken

This is another great recipe from Skinny Taste.  It's that time of the year and everyone is trying to lose weight, myself included.  There's no time like the present to start so that's what I'm doing.

This recipe was seriously good.  Mr. T asked me to put it on the menu rotation.  I didn't use drumsticks because we didn't have them.

Asian Glazed Drumsticks:
(Skinny Taste- 5pp+, 4 servings)

8 medium chicken breasts
Olive oil spray
1 cup water
1 tbsp Sriracha hot sauce (more or less to taste)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 teaspoons agave nectar
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon ginger, grated
2 tablespoons chives or scallions, chopped
1 teaspoon sesame seeds

In a heavy large saucepan, brown chicken on high for 3-4 minutes with a little spray oil. Add water, balsamic, soy sauce, agave, garlic, ginger, hot sauce and cook on high until liquid comes to a boil.
Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for about 20 minutes.

Remove cover and bring heat to high, allowing sauce to reduce down, about 8-10 minutes, until it becomes a thick glaze, turning chicken occasionally. (Keep an eye on glaze, you don't want it to burn when it start becoming thick) Transfer chicken to a platter and pour glaze on top. Top with chives and sesame seeds and serve.

Chicken Fried Rice

I love fried rice. I've made it at home a few times but it always involved a packet of stuff from the grocery store, which was probably 99% salt.  I found this recipe on Annie's blog.  She has a lot of great recipes and ideas.  

I changed this one up a little bit based on food we had at home and the fact that Mr. T is not a fan of eggs.  I went with chicken breast, a whole cup of veggies, and dropped down to 2 eggs.  Annie's original recipe is linked below so you can see the original.

Chicken Fried Rice

(adapted from Annie's Eats)

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil, divided
2 eggs, beaten
2 stalks green onions, minced
4 cups leftover brown rice
1 cup frozen peas and carrots, defrosted
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Few drops sesame oil

Directions:
In  a medium mixing bowl, combine the chicken, salt, pepper and cornstarch, and toss well to coat the shrimp.  Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.  Heat a large skillet or wok over high heat.  When a drop of water immediately sizzles and evaporates, the pan is hot enough to add 1 tablespoon of the oil.  Swirl to coat the pan well.

Add the chicken to the hot pan and quickly spread them out so that they are in a single layer, and all touching the pan surface.  (You may need to do this in two batches to ensure even cooking.)  Let it cook for one minute, then flip and cook for an additional minute, so that the chicken is about 80% cooked through.  Remove to a plate and set aside.

Lower the heat on the pan to medium.  Add the eggs to the pan and stir quickly, to break up and scramble the eggs.  When the eggs are almost cooked through but still slightly runny in the middle, remove from the pan to the same plate as the chicken.

Use paper towels to wipe the pan clean and return the pan to high heat.  Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, swirling to coat.  Once the oil is very hot, add the green onions to the pan and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds.  Add the rice to the pan and mix well to combine with the green onions.  Spread the rice out evenly over the pan and let cook without stirring, until you hear the rice grains sizzle, about 1 to 2 minutes.  Toss the rice a bit with your spatula, and again spread it out over the cooking surface.

Drizzle the soy sauce all over the rice, and toss again.  Add the peas and carrots, the cooked chicken and eggs, and the sesame oil to the pan.  Toss to combine all the ingredients well with the rice.  Let everything heat back up again until the rice grains are sizzling again.  Add additional soy sauce to taste, if needed.  Serve.

Left Overs Fried Rice

I had a half day of work this week and was able to come home early and have lunch.  I was going to settle on a bowl of cereal but as I was poking around in the the refrigerator I decided that it was time to use up some of the stuff that we had in there.  I went with fried rice and was very happy with the way it turned out.

I used some of the left over chickpea patties in this rice dish.  It's not a normal thing to add to fried rice but they needed to be eaten.  They worked surprisingly well.  This is a smaller portion so if you want to make a larger just add more rice and veggies.

Left Overs Fried Rice:

1 cup of left over rice (I used brown rice)
1 egg
1 carrot, chopped into small cubes
1 green onion, chopped into small pieces
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 left over chickpea patties

Heat up the oil in a pan.  When it get hot add the rice and left over chickpeas to the pan.  Cook, stirring, for a minute.  Make a space in the middle of the rice, add the egg and scramble it in the empty spot on the pan until it's just cooked but still soft.  Mix the egg up with the rice.  Add the vegetables to the pan, stir and let cook some.  Add the soy sauce and stir.

I only had carrots and green onions in the house.  I usually add frozen peas, bell peppers, or broccoli to my fried rice.  Just to give some more ideas.

Honey Sesame Chicken

My sister is a cast member at Disney World in Orlando.  This means at Christmas time the family gets loaded up with sweet Disney swag.  She got me this great cookbook a few years ago.  This is yet another example of me not using my cookbooks to their full potential.

I've been eying this recipe since I got the book.  This was a little time intensive but not really hard and it tasted great.  The batter is what made this to me.  It was a really light batter, which made really crispy chicken pieces.

Honey Sesame Chicken:
(Nine Dragons Restaurant Recipe- Cooking With Mickey and the Disney Chefs)

¾ lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into ½ inch by 2 inch strips

Marinade:
Salt, to taste
Sugar, to taste
½ c. water
½ c. cooking wine
2 tsp. sesame oil

Marinate the chicken; stir the marinade ingredients together in a medium bowl, add chicken and toss gently to coat. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Batter:
¾ c. all-purpose flour
¼ c. cornstarch
1 heaping tbs. baking powder
1 egg white, beaten
2/3 c. water
2 tbs. oil
Pinch of salt

Mix together the flour, cornstarch and baking powder, then add the egg white, water and oil.  Put mixture aside for 30 minutes. Make the Honey Sauce white the batter is resting.

Pour enough oil into a 2-quart saucepan to come to a depth of 2 inches. Heat over med-high heat to 320 F.
Place chicken pieces into batter mixture and coat. Using tongs or chopsticks, drop the chicken into hot oil and fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels.  Serve immediately with Honey Sauce.

Honey Sauce:
3 tbs. honey
¼ c. sugar
2 tbs. ketchup
1 tbs. white vinegar
Pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and set aside for the use chicken has been prepared.

After chicken is fried, heat Honey Sauce mixture in a clean frying pan over med-high heat. Stir until mixture bubbles.  Mix chicken pieces into sauce with a spatula.  Place on serving dish and serve immediately.  Sprinkle with chopped green onions and toasted white sesame seeds.

Beef & Broccoli

In my quest to take advantage of the skirt steak that we stocked up on when Publix had it on sale Mr. T found a recipe for Beef & Broccoli online.  This was really easy and super delicious and I will definitely be making it again!

Beef and Broccoli:

(food.com)

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons cornstarch, divided

1/2 cup water, plus

2 tablespoons water, divided

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 lb boneless round steak or 1 lb charcoal chuck steak, cut into thin 3-inch strips

2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

4 cups broccoli florets

1 small onion, cut into wedges

1/3 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

hot cooked rice

Directions:

In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 2 tablespoons water and garlic powder until smooth.  Add beef and toss.

In a large skillet or wok over medium high heat, stir-fry beef in 1 tablespoon oil until beef reaches desired doneness; remove and keep warm.  Stir-fry broccoli and onion in remaining oil for 4-5 minutes.  Return beef to pan.

Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, red pepper flakes, remaining cornstarch, and water until smooth; add to the pan.  Cook and stir for 2 minutes.  Serve over rice.

Bok Choy

We got a seriously good deal on baby bok choy at Wards, a local family owned supermarket in town.  We came home with 7 pieces and spent $1.02.  A total win to me.

Baby Bok Choy with Bacon:

2 pieces of bacon, cut into small pieces

baby bok choy (6-10 pieces, depending on the size)

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

Wash the bok choy and separate the leaves.  The supermarket we got these from gets them directly from a local farm and they are not washed.  Just make sure they're free from dirt and sand.

Heat up a skillet and add the bacon.  When it gets crispy add the boy choy and the spices.  Stir everything together and cook until the bok choy is bright green but still crisp. 1-2 minutes ~ish.

Chicken Stir Fry

Mr. T's boss brought him some fresh broccoli and cauliflower from her garden and my mind went straight to stir fry.  Lucky for us Publix had chicken on sale.  :)

This was a really good dish.  There's a lot of ingredients but it's easy to make.

Chicken Stir Fry:
(inspired by allrecipes.com)

4 ounces of chicken breast, cut into cubes
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons oil
1 cup broccoli florets
1 bell pepper, sliced into strips
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into strips
1 cup sugar snap peas
1/2 cup bean sprouts
1 scallion, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 chicken bouillon cube

In a large Ziploc bag add the chicken pieces and toss with the corn starch.  In a small bowl mix together the soy sauce, honey, ginger, and garlic powder.  Add the sauce to the bag of chicken and cornstarch.  Make sure everything is covered and store in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

In a large skillet heat up 2 tablespoons of the oil.  Cook chicken for 3-5 minutes, or until no longer pink.  Remove and add the remaining oil.  Add the vegetables and cook for 3-4 minutes, they should be tender but still crisp.

Add the chicken back to the pan.  Add water, Worcestershire sauce, and bouillon cube.  Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.

Thai Peanut Noodle

When I was in college I worked for a small vegetarian cafe.  We served a lot of really interesting foods and working there made me expand my palate. One of the side dishes that I eventually learned to love was the Thai Peanut Noodle salad.  We served it cold which is fine, but when it's warm it's amazing.

This can be made gluten free by using gluten free soy sauce, but make sure you check your peanut butter.  If it's not natural there could be some fillers.


Thai Peanut Noodle:
(Book Lover’s Cafe)

¼ cup rice wine vinegar
1 cup soy sauce
½ tablespoon hot sauce
1/3 cup toasted sesame oil
¾ cup peanut butter
½ cup water
1 package of mung bean (cellophane) or rice noodles

Bring a medium pot of water to boil. Add noodles. Lower heat and simmer for eight minutes.
Whisk vinegar, soy sauce, hot sauce, sesame oil, peanut butter, and water in a bowl until smooth.
Rinse and drain noodles in cold water. Toss with peanut sauce and garnish with chopped green onions.