Tag: chinese recipes

Crispy Tofu with Sugar Snap Peas

Celebrating Chinese New Year!

This is a great recipe to make for Meatless Mondays… I love making tofu dishes- we all love it. Recently I have been getting my inspiration from the New York Times cooking site – it has lots of really really good ideas. This recipe is from there.. I tweaked it a bit but it is still quite similar. Try this one, it is a winner!

1 14 ounces package extra firm tofu
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup corn starch

Sauce

4 garlic cloves, grated
1 large jalapeno chiles, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 inch fresh ginger, grated
Juice of 2 medium limes
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons honey

Transfer all the ingredients to small bowl, mix well and set aside.

Peanut oil
2 cups sugar snap peas, trimmed and thinly sliced
4 scallions, thinly sliced
¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
2 teaspoons sesame seeds

Drain tofu and wrap it with several layers of paper towel and place on a plate. Top with a heavy can and let the tofu drain for 30 minutes. Unwrap the tofu and into four parts and then diagonally. Dry with more paper towels and keep aside.

Transfer the cornstarch and salt into a wide bowl. Dredge the tofu and set aside. In the meantime, heat a large skillet over high heat. Add 3 tablespoons peanut oil and start browning the tofu on each side for 2 to 3 minutes. Take out of the pan, add more peanut oil and add the sugar snap peas and scallions. Stir fry until soften- 1 to 2 minutes. Add the sauce and bring to a boil. Add the tofu and garnish with cilantro, basil and sesame seeds. Serve with brown rice.

Chinese Style Chicken and Broccoli

Much better than take out…

1 pound chicken breast, cut into 1 inch pieces

Marinade

One egg white, beaten
2 teaspoons corn starch
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
3 garlic cloves, grated
1 inch ginger, grated

Add the egg white to a small bowl. Beat well and add the cornstarch. Continue beating until incorporated. Add the vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and ginger. Mix well and transfer to a medium bowl with the chicken. Mix well and marinate for an hour in the fridge.

Sauce

½ cup orange juice
2 tablespoons black bean sauce

Mix the two ingredients together and keep aside.

4 tablespoons extra light olive oil
1 bunch broccoli, cut into florets, about 3 cups
1 medium yellow onion, sliced

Heat a wok like pan with 2 tablespoons oil. Add the onions and sauté on high heat for 2 minutes. Add the broccoli florets and sauté for another minute. Cover with lid and lower heat to medium and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Take out of pan and add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and reheat pan. Add the marinated chicken and sauté on high heat for a minute. Add the orange sauce and bring to a boil. Add the broccoli and onion and mix well. Cook with lid on for another 2 to 4 minutes or till the chicken is cooked through. Check for seasonings and serve with brown rice.

Lo Mein with Broccolini

Who doesn’t love noodles, especially those of us who try to watch their carbs through the week..

I recently purchased a bottle of dark soy sauce at a local Asian store. I love going into that huge, mega store. I can’t recognize majority of those ingredients but it is so much fun to roam through the isles. I try to use a little amount of soy sauce since it has so much sodium. With the dark soy sauce, a little goes a long way.. read more …

Shrimp and Bok Choy Stir Fry with Orange Sauce

I sometimes buy ingredients from the super market before I know what I am going to do with them. The bok choy looked really fresh and delicious on the shelf and my husband loves it any shape or form. I use it as a side vegetable with a pork tenderloin or make a stir fry. Bok choy has a delicious crunchy texture with a turnip like flavor. Writing this blog is a lot of fun for me but sometimes I totally run out of ideas and think- “what am I going to cook today”???? I then either go on the internet for ideas or ask my husband. So, I called my husband at work and he said- make shrimp. Shrimp I thought was a good idea and I do have bok choy in the fridge- so I decided to make a stir fry! I started searching the internet for ideas and came across a recipe with for a stir fry with an orange sauce. It sounded like a great idea but the recipe called for orange juice concentrate. The reviews stated the orange sauce had a chemical like flavor. I decided to use fresh orange juice instead and reduced it. I also decided to use orange marmalade which added a depth and sweetness to the sauce. Tamari and sriracha sauce finished it off. The dish had a very fresh sweet and sour flavor to it. I cooked jasmine rice with chicken broth and served it with the stir fry. Everyone was happy in our household that night!

1 bunch bok choy, washed and chopped into 2 inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 inch piece ginger, minced

1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled, deveined
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, divided
2 tablespoons extra light olive oil, divided
Salt to taste

Sauce

1 cup orange juice, reduced to 1/3 cup- In a small pot cook the orange juice on medium heat till it reduces to about 1/3 cup, it should take about 10 to 15 minutes.
1 tablespoon sriracha sauce
1 teaspoon orange marmalade
3 tablespoons tamari
½ cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon corn starch

Mix the orange juice reduction with the sriracha sauce, marmalade and tamari. Mix the chicken broth with the cornstarch, keep aside.

Garnish

½ cup cilantro, chopped
½ cup spring onions, chopped

In a large wok like pan, heat 1-teaspoon sesame oil with 1-tablespoon olive oil. Add the shrimp and a sprinkle of salt. Saute for 1-2 minutes on high heat. Take the shrimp out with a slotted spatula (the shrimp won’t be fully cooked). Add 1-teaspoon sesame oil with 1-tablespoon olive oil. Add the ginger and garlic. Saute for 1-2 minutes on medium heat. Add the bok choy with a sprinkle of salt. Saute till the bok choy is soft and cooked down, about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp with the orange reduction sauce and the chicken broth. Bring to a boil and lower the heat. Let the dish simmer for 5 minutes till all the shrimp are cooked and the sauce is thickened. Garnish with cilantro and spring onions. Check for seasonings.