Mom’s Weeknight Chicken Stir Fry

I don’t remember if this is how my mom would cook her chicken stir fry when I was little, but this is how she does it now. Really simple.  With only using chicken and no veggies, the flavor is concentrated, and there is no sauce.

• Chicken thighs, cut into big chunks
• Ginger, thinly sliced
• Garlic, minced
• Sweet Soy Sauce
• Soy Sauce
• Green onions, cut into 2 inch pieces (optional)

Heat a good amount of oil on medium heat.  Add the ginger and garlic and cook till fragrant but not browned

Add chicken and stir-fry till white on the outsides.

Add sweet soy sauce and regular soy sauce (about 1:1 to taste) and continue to stir-fry until fully cooked

Stir in green onions, then serve.

Weeknight Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

• 1 pound flank steak
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 inch chunk fresh ginger, sliced
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 3 tbsp oyster Sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• Pepper to taste
• 1 large bunch broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 tbsp corn starch

Slice flank steak into think slices against the grain.  If time permits, place beef in a bowl and add soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and pepper.

Once ready to prepare, heat oil in a large flat bottomed pan over medium heat.  Cook garlic and ginger until fragrant but not browned.

Increase heat to high and stir fry the beef until the beef is almost cooked through.  Remove from the pan and keep warm.

Add more oil to the pan, and stir fry the broccoli.  Add additional soy sauce and oyster sauce to taste.

Once tender (about 5 minutes, but depend on the size of the broccoli pieces), add the beef and any juices that have developed back into the pan.

Stir corn starch and about 2 tbsp water into a slurry in a small bowl, then add to the beef.  Allow the sauce to come to a boil and thicken.  Remove from heat and adjust taste adding additional soy sauce, oyster sauce and pepper to taste.

Beef & Tomato

This ingredient combination doesn’t seem to scream Asian entree….I don’t even know if his is remotely authentic to any region of China.  But I think I was introduced to this dish by my college roommate who was from Taiwan.  We weren’t that close, so I never tried his version, but I was pretty happy with the results of mine, inspired by the lone tomato sitting on my counter, left over from the weekend’s BBQ.

I decided to try roasting the tomatoes first to caramelize them.  This is not a traditional cooking method in Chinese cuisine.  Although they were good, I didn’t really get that caramelized flavor I was conjuring up in my head.  I wanted them to be concentrated and slightly charred.  The processed was hastened a bit since B came home earlier than expected.  Next time, I’ll try roasting them longer, then put them under the broiler.

I like flank steak for stir frying.  It’s tender and flavorful and does well when quick-cooked.  Ginger is a key ingredient which compliments beef so well.

BEEF & TOMATO

Ingredients

6 oz flank steak, cut into thin strips against the grain

2 large tomatoes, cut into thick wedges

1 onion thinly sliced

6 slices of fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic

Enough Soy sauce to marinate meat and to taste

2 TBSP Ketchup

splash of rice wine vinegar

2 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp cornstarch

1/3 c beef broth

oil for stir-frying

black pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Roast tomatoes with a little bit of oil, cut side up in a 350 degree oven for about 1 1/2 hours till the juices are reduced and tomatoes are slightly charred.  May want to try the broiler at the end to brown the tomatoes.

Take the sliced beef and coat with enough soy sauce and oil to coat. Add the corn starch.  Toss together and let sit.

Once the the tomatoes are done, heat a wok on medium high heat and add oil (about 1 tablespoon)

Once oil is heated, add ginger and stir fry until fragrant. Add minced garlic and allow to cook until fragrant.  Before the garlic burns, add the sliced onions.  Cook for a few minutes before adding a bit of salt.  Cook until softened, adding beef broth if the wok gets a little dry before the onions are done.

Add the tomatoes to the onions along with the ketchup, brown sugar.  Add soy sauce and pepper to taste.  Add a bit of beef broth to create a sauce.  Allow the sauce to simmer.  Then pour the sauce out of the wok.

In the same work, increase the heat to high and add the beef and stir fry until the beef is almost fully cooked.  Then re-introduce the sauce.  Bring to a simmer to allow the sauce to thicken.  Add vinegar.  Season with pepper and  soy sauce to taste.

Serve with white rice

Lemongrass chicken

These books have been sitting on my nightstand for the past week. Really excited to get started and cook! I love the warm weather we’ve been having. Makes me want to entertain more and try out some new recipes!

The first recipe I tried from this collection is lemongrass chicken, a recipe by Australian chef, Luke Nguyen. Simple and quick if you have the ingredients on hand, Luke’s recipe calls for marinading the chicken for at least 4 hours, but how often do we really plan ahead that far in advanced for a dish that takes just minutes to cook? Since I intend to make this dish for weeknight dinners, I tried the dish without extensive marinading. I’m sure that a longer marinade time would enhance the flavor of the chicken, but I think that the bold favors of the ingredients in the sauce compensate for it. Here is my adaptation:

INGREDIENTS
2 chicken thighs cut up into sized pieces
1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp sugar
2 small stalks of lemongrass (from our garden:), finely minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 red onion, sliced
1/2 cup chicken broth
Few sprigs cilantro

DIRECTIONS
1. Combine the chicken, sugar, garlic and fish sauce in a small bowl. Season with black pepper. Set aside and prepare the other ingredients

2. Oil a wok and heat on medium high. Stir fry the lemongrass and chili flakes until fragrant and the cooked through. Be sure that there is enough oil to ensure that they don’t burn

3. Add the chicken and stir fry for a few minutes till chicken is cooked on the outside

4. Add chicken broth and cover the wok. Turn down heat And simmer until chicken is cooked through (1-2 minutes)

5. Remove lid and allow the sauce to reduce slightly. Add onions and cook to desired degree for cooking

6. Turn off heat and add cilantro if using

7. Turn onto a plate to serve with hot rice