Take-out at Home....

Oh, how the holidays are busy.  This year on top of the normal hubbub myself and my husband are attending a graduation banquet for him at the Marriott downtown overnight.  This last year he finished his schooling and is now not only a Journeyman in his field, but a Foreman!  I am so proud of how far he has come.  Anyway, we also have another national holiday coming our way, and I'm not talking about Christmas; my birthday.
I turn the frightful age of 28 this year on the 29th, and much to my delight my usual request to eat at my favorite restaurant is not to be ignored this year, even with my food allergies!
You may be asking why risk it, but you have never experienced the delight of smells and the complexity of the flavors that Mark Pi's China Gate can deliver.  I am quite a snob about his actually, as I have visited other locations of this franchise, but I really prefer the location here in Greenwood, Indiana over any other so far.  Not only will they prepare my meal to my dietary needs, they don't act put out, and the food taste like a small piece of heaven straight from a far-reaching Asian land.  In the past I would sample every option on the menu given the chance (and for those not restricted they have a Sunday brunch buffet to die for), but for those of us less able, they will make most any dish with the requests you put forth. 
I should be getting stock dividends from this company I eat there so often and plug them so frequently!

Anyway, it is not always possible or affordable to eat out, so last night when unsure what to fix for dinner and having laid three chicken breast out to thaw, I started rooting through my fridge to discover that low and behold I had some fresh green beans as well as mushrooms.  Originally, I thought I would make a play of the dish they have called what else but 'chicken and mushrooms'.  Made in this wonderfully rich brown sauce, you want to lick the plate when you are finished eating. Alas, my kitchen was calling for something else, and my tastebuds were argueing for something more crunchy and salty, so instead of making the copy cat dish, I whipped up something more akin to Orange Chicken and Sweet and Sour combined.  Now, usually when I have tried (and I might add failed miserably) to make Chinese food at home in the past, I have always cooked my veggies with my meat, but afraid of ruining yet another abundance of items, I instead tried something new.  Below you will find my recipes for Chinese Sweet and Sour Orange Chicken with White Sticky Rice as well as a fresh Green Bean and Mushroom stir fry.

Chinese Sweet and Sour Orange Chicken with Sticky Rice

3 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, trimmed and cut into 1/2" chunks

1/4-1/2 C Amber's Flour Blend

1/8 C Grapeseed oil for frying

3 Tbsp Wine, any will work fine or if available Rice Wine

1/4 small onion chopped

SAUCE:

4 Tbsp brown sugar

1/4 C ketschup

1/4 C GF Soy Sauce (I like San J Tamari)

1/4 C Orange Juice

3 Tbsp. Grapeseed Oil

3 Drops Sesame Seed Oil

1 tsp. Sweet Chili Sauce

2 Tbsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp Garlic powder, or 3 cloves pressed fresh garlic

1. Completely coat chicken in flour mixture, heating an Iron Skillet with the Grapeseed Oil over medium-high heat while doing this.

2. Mix all ingredients for sauce together thoroughly and set aside.

3. Brown and cook onion and chicken on all sides till pretty much done and nicely browned.

4. Soak up any excess oil from skillet with paper towels.

5. Pour Rice wine into pan and deglaze bottom of bits and pieces, then add the sauce mixture.

6. Stir the entire thing a minute or so, until mix becomes thickened slightly and bubbly.  Remove from heat.

FOR STICKY RICE:

If you do not already own a rice cooker immediately go to Target or Walmart and spend the small $20 or so to buy one.  How did you get by before this?

In cooker add 3 cups of rice (using the measuring cup that was included when purchased)

Rinse the rice thoroughly until water you are rinsing with is no longer white and cloudy, but clear.

After rice is thoroughly rinsed and drained and still in rice cooker pot, add water to the 3 marker and push button down to cook rice.

When it switches over to warm I promise it will be a better rice than any you ever made.

I learned this trick of cooking rice from a past BF when I was in college.  His family was from the Phillipines and I learned that it made all the difference!

Green Beans and Mushrooms

2-3 handfuls or approx. 1lb of fresh green beans, ends removed

1/2 package of button mushrooms, wiped and quartered

1/4 soy sauce

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1/4 small onion chopped

1-2 Cloves fresh garlic, pressed

salt

pepper

1 Tbsp Grapeseed Oil

1. After trimming ends from beans, add them and the onion to large skillet.

2. I learned a great trick about mushrooms.  Most will usually come with dirt still on the sides and tops, and in the past I would just rinse them, but this greatly compromises the flavor and ability of the shrooms, so instead I learned that gently wiping them with a soft cloth works to remove the dirt without compromising the integrity.  

3. Chop most of the stem down to a small stub and then quarter each mushroom, adding to the pan as you do so.

4. Drizzle the Tbsp of oil over top of veggies and season with the soy sauce mixture.

5. Over medium heat, and covered with lid, cook veggies for several minutes until tender-crisp.

If you cook the veggies only tell tender-crisp it retains far more of the nutritional value and makes for a tastier and healthier meal.  You may have to get used to eating your veggies slightly less cooked, but remember that your body uses these nutrients for something important; keeping you alive.

I am currently looking into building a great recipe for egg drop soup and for spring rolls so be on the look-out  for those to be coming soon.  Also never forget:

NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS SKINNY FEELS!

Happy Holidays, 

Amber