Szechuan Chicken Stirfry

I love stirfry, and the more vegetables there are, the better I like it. I have discovered that I like spicy Asian food better than sweet, and this is pretty spicy. Even better, it's fast. From prep to plate, I spent half an hour making this dish.

1 chicken breast, cubed or sliced thinly
1 tsp black sesame oil
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup small broccoli florets
1 small red pepper, cut into thin strips
2 medium cloves of minced garlic
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp low-sodium tamari soy sauce
2 tsp water
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
2 tsp sesame seeds
chopped fresh cilantro

Cook the chicken in a non-stick pan just until cooked through. Set it aside. Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the garlic, broccoli, red pepper, and green onions and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the broccoli turns bright green. Add the chicken, red pepper and ginger and let it cook for another minute, then add the tamari soy sauce and the water and let it cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables are crisp-tender. Add water 1 tsp at a time if necessary. Serve over brown rice and top with sesame seeds and cilantro.

This recipe originally called for mushrooms (which I hate), regular sesame oil (which I didn't have), black sesame seeds (which I couldn't find) and soba noodles (which I didn't feel like stopping to get tonight) instead of rice. It also called for szechuan pepper, but suggested substituting lemon pepper instead. I meant to do this but totally forgot, so I will definitely add that in next time. Without it, I think this is really good stirfry, but with it, I think it would have that little something awesome.

This recipe was quick and easy, which I like. I try to do as much prep work as possible when I get home from the grocery store - chopping carrots and broccoli, washing all the fruit, etc - as I have found I am MUCH more likely to use it when it is already prepared and very unlikely to use it at all if I don't do it immediately after getting home from the store. Having all the broccoli and green onions chopped cut down on the prep time, but it still went quickly.

Rating: 4/5
Why? I really wish I would have remembered to put in the lemon pepper. This was decent stirfry, but I think it was missing something that would have really made this awesome. I love that this recipe was quite spicy and it would be easier to make it more spicy by adding more dried red pepper.

Creamy Shrimp and Bacon

I have modified this recipe quite a lot from the original. It is really filling, but takes a little prep to make. The original recipe is from Real Simple.

1 cup brown rice
1 cup water
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3 slices turkey bacon, cooked
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 cups milk
1.5 Tlbs whole wheat or rice flour
1 lb medium-large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups of corn (can be fresh or frozen)

Cook the rice in the water and chicken broth. Chop the bacon into small pieces. Heat a nonstick pan with a little bit of olive oil and saute the onion until soft. Add the rice vinegar and cook 2-3 minutes. Add the milk and flour and bring to a simmer. Add the shrimp, bacon, and corn and add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 5-7 minutes until the shrimp is thoroughly cooked and the sauce has thickened. Serve it over the rice.

The original recipe called for 1/2 cup of wine instead of vinegar and 1/4 cup heavy cream instead of milk. To make it healthier, I use turkey bacon, vinegar (because I don't have any wine), and nonfat milk. I also prefer it to be creamier, which is why I use so much more milk. I also bake the bacon ahead of time and freeze it to use in recipes like this one, but you could also use fresh cooked bacon.

Rating: 4/5
Why? I don't like to peel shrimp. =)

Red Chicken Curry

I never cared for Asian food when I was growing up. I tried Chinese food several times and never liked it, and then living in Dallas didn't really help the situation, as they aren't known for their stellar Asian cuisine. But now that I live in Seattle I have learned what truly good Asian food is, and this has opened up new possibilities. This is a foodie town and I have grown up. One of my favorite Asian foods is red curry and I have  finally found a recipe that tastes comparable to that at my favorite Thai restaurant. This is modified from a recipe off of http://www.allrecipes.com/.

1 Tlbs olive oil
1 Tlbs sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 chicken breast, sliced very thinly (1/4" thick or less)
1 red bell pepper, sliced 1/4" thick
1/2 sweet onion, sliced 1/4" thick
14 oz can of lite coconut milk
1 Tlbs cornstarch
2 Tlbs red curry paste
2 tsp lime juice
2 Tlbs sugar
a handful of mung bean sprouts

Heat the oil (both of them) in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Toss in the garlic and saute for a minute or so. Then throw in the chicken and saute that for 2 minutes or until it is about halfway done. Then throw in the onion and pepper and saute for another 3-4 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked and the vegetables are crisp-tender. Meanwhile, in a bowl with a tight-fitting lid, mix the coconut milk, cornstarch, red curry paste, lime juice and sugar. Put the lid on and shake thoroughly. The red curry paste will still be a little lumpy, but that's ok. When the chicken is cooked, turn the heat down slightly, and add the curry mixture, smashing out any lumps as you do. Let it simmer for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, then add the bean sprouts and let it cook for another minute. Serve over cooked brown rice (or plain, if you prefer).

A few notes....If you don't have sesame oil, just use olive oil, but consider getting some sesame oil. It adds a really great taste. The curry should have a fairly thin consistency, so if it is too thick and you don't have any more coconut milk, add regular milk a tiny bit at a time until it is the consistency that you want. I prefer to slice the chicken really thin because that is how they serve it in my favorite restaurant, and it cooks faster, but do what works best for you. The original recipe also called for mushrooms and zucchini, but again, I was sticking to the recipe I like, so I didn't add them. Because you have to add things fairly quickly in this recipe, I would recommend prepping everything first before you start cooking.

Rating: 5/5
Why? the first time I tried this recipe, I followed the suggestion of one of the commenters and added peanut butter, which I did NOT like. This time I left the peanut butter out and really focused on making the smell match what I remembered. It turned out great, and is a pretty quick meal, which I like a lot. It took me about 15 minutes, including prep time, to put this together (not including cooking the rice). It is hot and spicy, another plus for me, and is fairly healthy if you use the lite coconut milk and go easy on the chicken.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

I have been wanting to try this for a while but finally got around to it today. It calls for fresh pineapple, but I used canned chunked pineapple instead. This is from Clean Eating

1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce (I used tamari because that is what I had)

2 Tlbs raw honey

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp fresh ginger, grated

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped into 1" pieces

1 medium red bell pepper (I also used a red pimiento just because) cut into 1" chunks

1 medium green bell pepper (I also used a green Anaheim - I think), cut into 1" chunks

1 small white onion, chopped

1/2 fresh pineapple, cut into 1" cubes (I used a can of chopped pineapple instead)

12 sprigs fresh cilantro, chopped (I forgot this...oops, but I bet it would be good)

1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice (optional, but I used it)

Put the chicken, soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes in a ziploc bag (or sealable bowl) and let it marinate at least half an hour. I let mine marinate for about 3 hours in the refrigerator.

Spray some olive oil into a nonstick pan and heat over medium to medium-high heat. Add the chicken and marinade and saute for 5 minutes or so, then add the peppers and onions and cook for another 5 minutes or so until the vegetables are crisp-tender. Toss in the pineapple and cook for another couple of minutes.

Top with chopped cilantro and serve over cooked brown rice.

Rating - 4.5/5

Why? It's my own fault, I forgot to add the cilantro to the top, which would have added that little something that was missing. I am not a huge fan of pineapple, but I did really like this. I will make this again. I liked the marinade a lot.