Monday, February 27, 2017

Chicken Chow Mein

We have soooo many Chinese noodles in our house right now! I have been looking for recipes to start to use them up. This one jumped out at me because we had a lot of the ingredients already in the house. I only needed to get cabbage and bean sprouts!

Don't be overwhelmed by the steps, just prep all your ingredients before starting to cook. Things move quick when you stir fry!

I used my large dutch oven pot because when you add the cabbage it gets quite tall and it is easier to mix everything with the higher sides. Often I crowd my pan because I'm making a lot... someday I'll do it correctly. When the pan gets crowded things steam more and won't get as crispy/browned. Things will still cook but it changes the texture a little bit. The recipe below is updated to what I used to feed 2 adults and 2 big kids (pre-teen age kids).

There are a lot of different types of Chinese noodles that you can use. I used regular thin wheat noodles that are similar to a linguine. Dried rice noodles and fresh noodles can also be used too.

I was intrigued by coating the chicken in the baking soda. Cooks Illustrated validated this technique so I continued to follow the directions. It really made a big difference in the chicken breast!! According to other websites make sure you rinse it off and don't let it sit for longer then 15 minutes. 

The cabbage seemed like a lot but wilted down to next to nothing!

Recipe Tin Eats: Charlie Sauce - This is the link to make the larger quantity of sauce to keep in your fridge. This has quite a bit of kick to it. I followed the recipe and only used 1 tsp of the white pepper. I would use 1/2 - 3/4 of a tsp next time. It did seem very salty but I used all low-sodium soy sauce. I am going to investigate the all purpose soy sauce for next time. 

Chicken Chow Mein
adapted from Recipe Tin Eats
Serves: 4-5 adult size portions

4 cups chicken thigh breast, cut into bite size pieces
½ tsp baking soda
1½ tbsp olive oil
16 oz noodles
6-8 cups green cabbage (savoy/green/napa), finely shredded
2 carrot, matchsticks
2 cup bean sprouts
6 scallions, sliced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup water
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp Chow Mein Sauce
Chow Mein Sauce: mix all ingredients
4 tsp cornstarch
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp oyster sauce
3 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
4 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 White pepper
  • Combine chicken and baking soda in a small bowl and toss to combine. Set aside for 10 minutes to marinate, then rinse chicken well and pat dry.
  • Pour 2 tbsp of Chow Mein Sauce over the chicken and set aside to marinate for 10 minutes.
  • Prepare the noodles according to the package instructions.
  • Heat oil in wok or large fry pan over high heat.
  • Add garlic and stir fry for 30 seconds until the garlic is golden brown and you can smell the garlic in the oil. 
  • Add chicken and stir fry until the skin is white but the inside is still raw - about 45 seconds to 1 minute.
  • Add the cabbage, carrot, and the white pieces of scallions. Stir fry for 1 - 1½ minutes until the cabbage is just starting to wilt and the chicken is cooked through.
  • Add the cooked & drained noodles, Chow Mein sauce and water. Toss to coat everything in the sauce.
  • Add bean sprouts and remaining shallots/scallions. Stir and remove from heat. Serve immediately

Sunday, February 26, 2017

Black Bean Enchiladas

Looking for a quick semi homemade meal? Look no further! I was able to put this meal together in about 15 minutes and then leave it to cook later that day. Corn tortillas will break - but don't worry, you are covering them in sauce and cheese so any broken tortillas will blend in.

From the original recipe...what changes did I make?
  • Reduce cheese from 24 ounces of cheese to 8 ounces of cheese because I'm a not a huge fan of cheese. You can easily add more if you prefer but I thought it was plenty cheesy.
  • I used Wegmans organic black beans because they use less salt. 
  • I couldn't find Wegmans enchilada sauce so I used a can of El Paso enchilada sauce.
According to reviewers if you don't have a Wegmans nearby you can use black bean soup and doctor it up with some Mexican inspired spices, onion, and peppers. 

I think adding chopped spinach to the black bean mix, topping with cilantro, or adding in shredded chicken would also make this quite tasty!



Black Bean Enchiladas
adapted from Wegmans
makes 12 enchiladas 

2 cans (15 oz each) Black Beans (I used organic to reduce the sodium)
16 oz container Wegmans Caribbean Black Bean Soup
2-3 cups of Shredded Mexican Cheese
10 oz can of Red Enchilada Sauce
1 bunch of green onions, thinly sliced
Directions
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
  • Add 1 can beans to large bowl; mash into paste. Add remaining beans, soup, and 1/2 cheese; stir to combine. Set aside.
  • Heat tortillas in microwave for 30 seconds so they are soft and pliable. 
  • Spread 1/4 cup sauce on bottom of a 9x13-inch casserole dish. 
  • Spread 1/4 cup bean mixture in the center of each tortilla. Gently roll up; place seam-side down in casserole dish. Arrange in 2 rows of 6 in each casserole dish. 
  • Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas and top with remaining shredded cheese.
  • Bake, covered with foil, 25 min; remove foil. 
  • Bake 5-10 min until sauce bubbles. 
  • Remove from oven; let rest 5-10 min before serving. Garnish with green onions.

Saturday, February 4, 2017

Slow Cooked Asian Chuck Roast

It is a new year and I am going to again say that I'm going to post once a week! I'd like to try one new recipe each week. I have a few recipes tagged and I'm really looking forward to what comes next!

This week I made a Slow Cooked Asian Chuck Roast which is a Wegmans recipe. 

A few changes:
- Used a dutch oven instead of crock pot
- Used prepared dried noodles instead of the frozen Udon noodles
- Instead of pan searing flour I used flour with a pinch of salt and white pepper
- Canned baby corn instead of frozen since it wasn't at the grocery store
- Fresh broccoli instead of frozen since that is what I had at home

The Thai stock smells amazing! It is a great way to add flavor without needing a purchase lot of ingredients. I have 2 cups left so I need to figure out how to use the rest of it! I'm thinking noodle soup!

The BBQ sauce had a bit of kick too it but it actually was sweet when it had all cooked out.

Slow Cooked Asian Chuck Roast
Adapted from Wegmans
serves 4

Ingredients
2 1/2 - 3 lbs Boneless Beef Chuck Roast
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 bottle (20 oz) Asian-Style BBQ Sauce
2 cups Thai Culinary Stock
1 can Baby Corn, sliced in 1/2-inch rounds
16 oz (1 package) Broccoli
Chinese Noodles, prepared per pkg directions

Directions
Dust meat with flour; pat off excess. Heat oil in large braising pan on med-high, until oil faintly smokes. Add meat. Brown, turning to brown all sides, 3-4 min per side. (move to slow cooker if using). Stir in BBQ sauce and stock.

Cook meat in slow-cooker 4-5 hours on high or 7-9 hours on low or in dutch oven for 2-3 hours. Remove just the meat and transfer to clean platter.

Add corn and broccoli to slow-cooker on high; stir to combine. Cover; cook 5-15 min, or until vegetables are thoroughly heated. Stir in noodles; transfer to serving platter and top with meat.