Whoo - don't worry all you readers (Scurvington Marie), I have been cooking this past month - just not really any new recipes. Kinda boring. So last night I made one up!!
This is based on the masterful work of Clare, who made the most ridiculously delicious marinade for grilled chicken I have ever eaten. I took the idea, and made a sort of general tso-ish, sweet glazed chicken dinner last night that was decidedly tasterrific! You'll want to start a few hours before dinnertime, because this involves some marinating.
INGREDIENTS:
TB of minced ginger
TB canola oil
TB sesame oil
2-3 TSP cornstarch
One small onion, sliced
Soy sauce (a bit more than a cup)
Maple syrup (a bit less than a cup)
1-2 chicken breasts. in bite-sized chunks
Head of broccoli
rice (I used thai purple sticky rice - I just like the consistency of glutinous rice, but this would probably be tasty with a more flavorful rice, too)
Mix together the soy sauce and maple syrup in a freezer bag, then add the ginger and make sure it's well mixed by smooshing the bag around. Fun. CLH TIP: Make sure the bag is securely closed before you put it down, or you will have marinade on your floor instead of in your belly. I know from experience, dude.
PLace the chicken chunks in the freezer bag. CLOSE IT SECURELY, and put it in the fridge for at least 1-2 hours.
When the marinating time is coming to an end, start to cook your rice (this usually takes about 30 minutes) based on the instructions on your rice container. Far be it from me to give tips on cooking rice - trust me, you'll do better with the manufacturer's instructions. At the same time, boil some water in another pot so you can steam your broccoli.
Heat the canola and sesame oils in your favorite, unsticky pan over medium heat. Cook your sliced onions until translucent, and then use tongs to transfer the chicken chunks from the marinade bag to the pan, but RESERVE the marinade. Sautee the chicken until just cooked through, and then pour the marinade into the pan with the chicken and onions. Stir in a couple of teaspoons of cornstarch to help it thicken. Bring it to a bubbly boil, and then reduce the heat and simmer.
While the sauce and chicken are simmering, hopefully your steaming pot is steaming - place your broccoli in a steamer and set over the boiling water, and steam for about 5 minutes.
Back to the chicken - cook for at least 5 minutes - I think I did more like 10 - until the sauce is nice and thick and glazey. Then serve over rice and with the broccoli - the sauce is good on all of these things and it makes for a very colorful plate!
Showing posts with label asian food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label asian food. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Bao!
So I was feeling adventurous last night and decided to try to make some bao.
It turned out really well. I wasn't completely in love with the improvised filling I made, but now that I know that I can make the buns I am really excited about making more delicious bao in the future. It takes some time; you need an hour for the dough to proof, and you make the buns by hand. But it's satisfying, fun and yummy.
I sort of combined two different BAO RECIPES (one from livejournal user chumas in the food_porn community and another from the excellent cooking blog The Cooking of Joy). The links are there, and here I'll tell you what I did.
1. I used the DOUGH RECIPE from The Cooking of Joy, omitting the glaze step.
2. During the rising hour, make the filling. I will probably try the Cooking of Joy's method of buying char siu sauce and putting it on pork next time. But since you asked, here's what I did this time: veggie crumbles (fake ground beef) & stir fry veggie mix & fresh onions cooked in one skillet in canola and a dash of sesame oil, and then mixed with with a crazy sauce of sesame oil, hoison sauce, soy sauce, a junk load of honey, powdered ginger (fresh would be even better), and a little sugar, all to taste, cooked in a separate skillet for 30+ minutes and "deglazed" with water at least once to thicken. Coat the filling with this sauce, and continue to reduce the rest for a dipping sauce.
3. Follow directions from Cooking of Joy for dividing up and filling the dough - I was only able to make 12 buns out of my dough. Once you have divided the dough, preheat your oven to 400, and start heating water in your steamer. Then start filling. If your filling is fairly wet, as was mine, you might not be able to close the bao as demonstrated on the Cooking of Joy, but I found it fairly simple to just pull dough from either side and seal in the middle, about three-four times all the way around. I just let them rest while I was making them - I didn't do the second, 20 minute proof step, though I did have to wait a couple minutes for the water to boil in the steamer and the oven to make it to 400.
4. I steamed half and baked the other half of my bao. I liked them both ways and will do this again! To bake (from chumas/food_porn): Arrange the balls so they're about an inch apart and bake in the oven at 400*F for about 17-20 minutes. Peek in around 17 and if the balls are a golden brown, they're done. Let rest for a minute and chow down. To steam (from Cooking of Joy), add water to your steamer (I used my stock pot with the steamer insert) and heat on high. Once the water is boiling, place the buns in your steamer and steam for 13-15 minutes. And chow down.
It turned out really well. I wasn't completely in love with the improvised filling I made, but now that I know that I can make the buns I am really excited about making more delicious bao in the future. It takes some time; you need an hour for the dough to proof, and you make the buns by hand. But it's satisfying, fun and yummy.
I sort of combined two different BAO RECIPES (one from livejournal user chumas in the food_porn community and another from the excellent cooking blog The Cooking of Joy). The links are there, and here I'll tell you what I did.
1. I used the DOUGH RECIPE from The Cooking of Joy, omitting the glaze step.
2. During the rising hour, make the filling. I will probably try the Cooking of Joy's method of buying char siu sauce and putting it on pork next time. But since you asked, here's what I did this time: veggie crumbles (fake ground beef) & stir fry veggie mix & fresh onions cooked in one skillet in canola and a dash of sesame oil, and then mixed with with a crazy sauce of sesame oil, hoison sauce, soy sauce, a junk load of honey, powdered ginger (fresh would be even better), and a little sugar, all to taste, cooked in a separate skillet for 30+ minutes and "deglazed" with water at least once to thicken. Coat the filling with this sauce, and continue to reduce the rest for a dipping sauce.
3. Follow directions from Cooking of Joy for dividing up and filling the dough - I was only able to make 12 buns out of my dough. Once you have divided the dough, preheat your oven to 400, and start heating water in your steamer. Then start filling. If your filling is fairly wet, as was mine, you might not be able to close the bao as demonstrated on the Cooking of Joy, but I found it fairly simple to just pull dough from either side and seal in the middle, about three-four times all the way around. I just let them rest while I was making them - I didn't do the second, 20 minute proof step, though I did have to wait a couple minutes for the water to boil in the steamer and the oven to make it to 400.
4. I steamed half and baked the other half of my bao. I liked them both ways and will do this again! To bake (from chumas/food_porn): Arrange the balls so they're about an inch apart and bake in the oven at 400*F for about 17-20 minutes. Peek in around 17 and if the balls are a golden brown, they're done. Let rest for a minute and chow down. To steam (from Cooking of Joy), add water to your steamer (I used my stock pot with the steamer insert) and heat on high. Once the water is boiling, place the buns in your steamer and steam for 13-15 minutes. And chow down.
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