Soy Chicken

So easy and flavorful.  I find this under a different section of the Chinese restaurant's menu.  It is always served with steamed rice and is priced differently than the other entrees.  When I discovered the recipe, I tried it and now I can have Chinese soy chicken at home. This is great when serving a crowd.  Picky eaters love it as well.

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken (cut up pieces)
1 cup water
2 stalks green onion (sliced)
2 inches ginger root (sliced)
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 star anise
2 tblsp sugar

In a sauce pan, brint to a boil, the water, soy sauce, star anise and sugar.  Reduce to a low boil, add green onion, ginger root and chicken. Return to a full boil.  Reduce to a simmer, cover and let cook for 45 minutes.  Stirring occasionally to ensure all the chicken pieces are cooked in the sauce.

Remove chicken from sauce and discard cooking broth.  Grill chicken for approximately 6-8 minutes either on the grill or in the oven's broiler on low.  Rotate chicken and grill the other side for another 4-5 minutes. This is to develop a nice slightly crisp outer layer.  Serve immediately with steam rice.

Hocks Braised with Sugar (Pata Estofado)

This is a great Filipino recipe.  Cooking time is pretty extensive.  Preparation is easy, pig hocks need a lot of time to braise to make them tender, so the cooking time takes 3-4 hours and does require you to check to ensure that all the liquid does not completely evaporate.  You will need to replenish to allow for the cooking time.
Dried lily blosssoms can be found at any Asian grocery stores.

Ingredients:

2-3lbs pig's hocks
2 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
2 cups water
10 peppercorns
2 cup brown sugar
1 cup soy sauce
1 cinnamon stick
2 onions (quartered)
10 cloves garlic (minced)
8 tblsp oil (for frying)
1 cup dried lily blossoms (add more if desired)
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large stock pot, heat 3tablespoon of the oil.  Add onions and saute for approximately 3-4 minutes.  Add minced garlic and cinnamon stick.  Continue to saute for another 2 minutes.  Remove pot from heat and add the rest of the ingredients except for the oil and dried lily blossoms.  Allow hocks to marinade for an hour.  Heat oil a large deep skillet.  When oil is hot, remove hocks, reserve the marinade in the pot.  Fry hocks on each side to brown.  Approximately 5 minutes on each side.  Do not crowd hocks when frying.  Continue until all the hocks have been browned. Move hocks back into the stock pot and place on the oven set at medium-high heat.  Allow to boil, reduce heat to a low boil and continue cooking for another 2 1/2 hours.  Check pot occasionally to ensure braising liquid has not evaporated.  If braising liquid is low, add another cup each of water, apple cider vinegar and sugar and a 1/2 cup of soy sauce.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and continue with the cooking process. You can increase sugar if you want it a little sweeter.  This dish is more to individual taste.  During the last 30 minutes of the cooking process, add the lily blossoms.  Test the hocks for tenderness by spearing with a fork, meat is tender if fork slides in without any effort.

Pile a scoop of rice into a large bowl.  Ladle sauce, hocks and lily blossoms over the rice and enjoy!

Eggplant Adobo Style

We love eggplant at my house. I try to find recipes out there that utilizes this great night shade.  There are so many different types of eggplants, so you know there will be numerous ways to prepare.  Filipinos love "adobo".  They prepare just about anything adobo style.  So, when I found this recipe, I was so excited to make it.  What a find.  If you love Filipino style adobo and eggplant, this is a perfect marriage.

Ingredients:

3-4 Japanese eggplants
5 cloves of garlic (crushed whole)
1/2 cups chicken or pork broth
3 tblsp soy sauce
1/3 cup white wine vinegar or coconut vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp oyster sauce
3 tblsp canola or olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp canola or olive oil (for sauce)

Slice eggplants diagonally.  Heat the oil in a frying pan.  When hot, fry the eggplant slices until brown and semi-soft but still a little firm.  Remove the cooked eggplant to a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.  Continue cooking until all the eggplant slices have been fried.  Do not crowd.  Eggplant tends to absorb the oil, so add additional oil to the pan when needed.

In another saucepan, heat 1 tsp of oil.  Add the garlic, stirring frequent, cook for 1 minute. Do not allow it to burn.  Add vinegar, soy sauce, broth and lots of pepper.  Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer for 5 minutes.  Add the eggplant, season with salt if necessary.  Continue to cook for 5 minutes, turning the eggplants occassionally.  Serve hot with jasmine or basmati rice.

Bola-Bola (Sweet and Sour Meatballs)

This is a very beautiful and colorful dish.  It is a great hit with kids and people who are picky about Asian foods.  This also quick and easy to fix and gets a lot of ooohhhs and ahhhhs, plus it taste fabulous.  You can do the quick version by replacing the home made meatballs with pre-made from the grocery store.  I recommend IKEAs. If those are not available, those from the grocery store works, just make sure you do not get the Italian style.  The seasoning does not work with this dish.  If you have time, home made is the best. I used different color bell peppers, but you can use one color if you prefer.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup coconut vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
2 tblsp corn starch
3 tblsp olive or canola oil
3-4 stalks of celery (sliced diagonally)
4 roma tomatoes (cut in quarters)
1 medium onion (sliced)
1 large bell pepper or 1/2 of 3 different colors (cut in strips)
1 lb meatballs (home made or pre-made)

Meatballs:
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
1 tblsp garlic powder
1 tsp sugar
salt and pepper
1 cup olive or canola oil

For meatballs:  combine all the ingredients except for the oil.  Mix well.  Pinch off approximately 1 tblsp and form into a ball in your palm.  Repeat until you have made all the meatballs.  Heat the 1 cup of oil on high in a deep sauce pan. Fry meatballs in batches until brown and done.  Remove from oil and set aside.

In a large pot or dutch oven.  Pour the vinegar, soy sauce, water and sugar.  Allow to simmer until sugar disolves.  Add the meatballs and set temperature to low.   In a separate frying pan, heat 1 tblsp of the oil.  When oil is hot, add onions and celery.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir fry for approximately 2 minutes.  Transfer to pot with meatballs and sauce.  Heat another tblsp of oil in the frying pan.  Add the bell peppers, season with salt and pepper, and stir fry until crisp tender for approximately 2 minutes. Transfer to the pot with the meatballs and sauce.  Heat the last tblsp of oil, add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.  Stir fry until slightly scorched, approximately 1-2 minutes. Transfer to the pot.  Stir the vegetables with the meatball and sauce until all the ingredients are well incorporated.  Increase the heat to allow a low boil.  Place the cornstarch into a small bowl.  Add a little water to make a watery paste.  Make sure the cornstarch and water are mixed well with no lumps.  Pour the cornstarch mixture into the pot directly on the sauce.  Stir well to ensure the cornstarch is well incorporated.  Continue to boil for another 4 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken.  Stir occassionally during this process.  Once sauce has thickened, serve over steamed rice and enjoy.  With the sweet and sour sauce, this is great with shrimp fried rice.

Teriyaki Salmon

With the summer brings lots of seafood it seems due to the abundance and heat.  I seem to always want more seafood during this time of year.  Which leads me to researching/finding more recipes that involve seafood. With a busy summer schedule, quick and easy is the key.  Like the five-spice fish fillet, this is another recipe tht is just easy to fix and oh so yummy with rice.  My son loves salmon.  Since it is high with omega3, it is a great fish.   Serve it up with some fried rice and have a great Japanese meal.

Ingredients:
1-2 lb salmon fillet with skin.
1/2 cup light soy sauce
3 tblsp sugar
1 tblsp mirin
1 tblsp ginger paste
1 tblsp sake or white wine
1-2 tblsp of olive or canola oil

In a small sauce pan, heat all the ingredients except for the salmon.  Allow to simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove the sauce from the heat and allow content to cool. 

In a shallow glass dish, pour the marinade and lay salmon in the shallow pan with the skin side up.  Allow to marinate between 2-4 hours.   After marinading, heat oven to 350 degrrees.  Transfer salmon to baking pan, pour marinade over salmon.  Cover with foil and bake in oven for approximately 15 minutes. 
Brush with marinade occassionally.  Remove the foil cover and set oven to broil with a low setting.  Brush salmon with the oil and allow to broil for another 10 minutes to create a nice brown glaze. Check for doneness.  Salmon should feel firm to the touch.  Serve with fried rice and pickled vegetables.

Five Spice Fish Fillet

Quick and easy and oh so yummy. I made some changes to the original recipe, tried it at home and got a winner.  Try any light white fish (tilapia, cod, mahi-mahi) fillet.

Ingredients:
1lb thin fish fillet (tilapia, mahi-mahi, cod or any white fish)
1/2 cup flour
2-3 tsp five-spice powder
3 tblsp canola or olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tblsp brown sugar
1 tblsp sesame oil
Salt and pepper
2 green onion stalks (chopped diagonally)

Place flour in a flat dish, season flour with salt and pepper and set aside.  Rub the five-spice powder on each side of the fish fillet.  Roll fish fillet into the flour and dust off the excess.  Heat the oil in a deep frying pan.  When oil is hot, place the fish fillets into the hot pan without crowding.  Cook each side for approximately 2 minutes until opaque.

In a small bowl, mix soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil; season with pepper.  Pour soy sauce mixture onto fish.  Reduce heat and continue to cook turning fish fillets occassionally to coat.  Continue cooking until sauce thickens and creates a nice glaze on the fish.  Do not allow the glaze to burn.  Transfer fillets to a warm plate and garnish with the chopped green onions.  Serve hot with steamed rice or fried rice.

Filipino Beef and Onions (Bistek)

This is so yummy.  Another recipe that when I make at home does not last very long.  This is one of my mother's favorites as well.  It so simple to make and quick.  This can be prepared while waiting for the rice to cook. If you love liver and onions, this is a great recipe. Just change the beef for thinly sliced liver.

Ingredients:
2 lbs beef skirt or sirloin (thinly sliced)
6 tblsp soy sauce
Juice of 3 lemons - separate 1 of lemon juice
2 onions (sliced into rings)
3/4 cup of water
1 tblsp oyster sauce
Salt and pepper
1 tblsp flour or corn starch
3 tblsp olive or canola oil

In a glass or non-reactive bowl mix beef, 3 tblsp soy sauce, juice of 1 lemon and flour. Let sit for 15 minutes.  Heat oil in a deep saute or frying pan.  Add the onions and season with salt and pepper.  Fry onions until translucent, approximately 5 minutes.  Remove from the pan and set aside.  Add the sliced beef in batches to allow it to brown. Remove and set aside, continue cooking until all the beef has been browned.  Return all the beef back into the pan and add the onions.  Add the  remaining soy sauce, the juice of the last 2 lemons and water.  Allow to slowly boil.  Season with lots of pepper or to taste.  Add the oyster sauce and continue slow boiling for another 5 minutes. If the soup is too tangy, add 2-3 tablespoon of water and continue to slow boil for another 2-3 minutes.  Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.  Serve hot over rice.

Fried Brown Rice

I recently wrote an article on brown rice based on a recent discovery that this very healthy food has changed. The new organic growing and processing methods has definitely changed this rice.  So, I decided to start adding brown rice to my repetoire.  Check out this new version of fried rice.  It goes great with any of your Asian dishes.

Ingredients:

2 tblsp sesame oil
2 green onions (chopped)
2 cups cooked brown rice
2 tblsp pine nuts
2 tblsp soy sauce
1 small red chillie (finely chopped)
1 clove garlic (minced)
1/2 inch ginger (minced)
Salt and pepper

Heat sesame oil in a frying pan or work.  Add garlic and ginger, stirring continuously for approximately 1 minute.  Add green onions and pine nuts and continue stirring for  2 minutes until pine nuts have a light golden color.  Add the brown rice and the soy sauce.  Continue stirring until rice clumps are removed and rice is well incorporated with the other ingredients (approximately 3 minutes).  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Transfer to a bowl and garnish with the red chillie. Enjoy with your favorite Chinese or Asian toppings.