Sweet and Sour Chicken

I was pleased to receive one of my friend Lishie's recipes in a recent swap. Everything always looks awesome and I love to see her personal touches on what she creates.

I've made several versions of Sweet and Sour Chicken; the flavor in this make-your-own-takeout version was good, but a little too intense. If I were to make this again, I would likely cut down on the amount of orange juice.


Sweet and Sour Chicken
slightly adapted from DeLish; originally from Secrets of a Skinny Chef

• 1 cup orange juice
  
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 lemon, juiced & the zest
• 1 tablespoon orange marmalade
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1⁄2 cup AP flour
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 eggs
  
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
  
• 1 package frozen veggies - I used a stir-fry mix
• 1 small can water chestnuts
• 1 medium can pineapple chunks, drained
  

Preheat tProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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oven to 450°F.

To make the sauce: in a medium bowl, whisk the first 6 ingredients together (the juice through the oil) until incorporated and smooth. Set aside.

Place parchment paper on a baking sheet (or “grease” with cooking spray).

In one shallow bowl, place the flour, cornstarch, salt & paprika, and mix. In another shallow bowl, the eggs.

To bread the chicken, place all of the chicken pieces into the eggs and toss the pieces until they are covered. Transfer the egg-coated chicken to the flour mixture for coating. Lift each piece, shaking off the extra flour mix, and place them on the prepped baking sheet.

Bake 10 to 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the breading is crisp.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. Add the vegetables and cook until heated; add the water chestnuts and pineapple.

Transfer the chicken from the baking sheet to the skillet with the vegetables. Pour the sauce over the chicken and veggies, gently stirring until the sauce is incorporated into the skillet. Cook about 2 minutes more, until the sauce thickens.

Takeout at Home: Chicken and Broccoli

My friend Christina recently hosted a blogging challenge involving a popular takeout cuisine - Chinese food! She posted a link to an article on food.com and asked her readers to select a meal they would like to try out. She has been sharing all of the results on her blog: Tales From a Mad Men Kitchen.

We LOVE Chinese and probably order once or twice a month, so I was excited to participate in this challenge. We are boring creatures of habit. We might get sweet and sour chicken or chicken lo mein or the occasional egg roll, but we always order chicken and broccoli. So when I saw this recipe, I knew that's what I wanted to cook.


We absolutely loved this dinner. It didn't taste really like our local restaurant, and I might decrease the amount of ginger next time, but this was a huge success. Luckily, this was on a night when I was cooking late so the kids had already eaten; the two of us alone finished it so there wouldn't have been enough. Next time I'll for sure double it. Isn't one of the best parts about Chinese take out the leftovers?

Chicken and Broccoli
slightly adapted from food.com

3 tablespoons cornstarch, divided

1/2 cup water, plus

2 tablespoon water, divided

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into thin 3-inch strips

2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

4 cups broccoli florets

1 small onion, cut into wedges

1/4 cup chicken broth

1/3 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground ginger

hot cooked rice

In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 2 tablespoons water and garlic powder until smooth.

Add chicken and toss.

In a large skillet or wok over medium high heat, stir-fry chicken in 1 tablespoon oil until beef reaches desired doneness; remove and keep warm.

Stir-fry broccoli and onion in remaining oil for 4-5 minutes. If necessary, deglaze with about 1/4 cup chicken broth.

Return chicken to pan.

Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger and remaining cornstarch and water until smooth; add to the pan.

Cook and stir for 2 minutes.

Serve over rice.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

I found this recipe for Sweet and Sour Chicken on Colleen's blog (I believe it originated here) and it was... interesting. It wasn't quite as crispy as I was hoping for, but it wasn't bad at all. I would definitely try this again!


Before I get to the recipe, let me just flaunt my adorable son who tried to show off his already-rotting pumpkin, and then stole some carrots:



Ingredients:
Chicken:

• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup canola oil

Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and pour over chicken.

Sauce:

• ¾ cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons ketchup
• ½ cup vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt

Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes. If you like extra sauce, make another batch of sauce and bring it to a boil on the stovetop. Stir constantly and let cook over medium heat until thickened and reduced - about 6-8 minutes.

Orange Beef and Broccoli

I tore this out of the May, 2008 issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray, even though I'm not a big beef eater. I say that a lot about beef and pork, don't I... but truthfully, I'm just a poultry girl. I could chicken or pasta every night and be very happy.

But I try to vary my menu, so once in awhile I'll throw in some cow or pig.

This dish was okay, but not spectacular. I think the orange flavor was a bit strong, so next time I might lessen the amount of zest. Also, I can't help but think that this would be SOOOOO GOOD with chicken...

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of broccoli
• 1 1/4 cup of beef broth
• 3 TBSP hoisin sauce*
• 2 TBSP soy sauce*
• 2 TBSP plum sauce*
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• zest of one orange, juice of half an orange, and wedges for serving
• 1 3/4 boneless sirloin
• 1/4 veg oil
• 1 jalepeno chile, thinly sliced (I omitted.)

*The recipe suggested a time-saver: use a bottle of Asian Stir-Fry Sauce in place of the hoisin, soy, and plum sauces. I did just that - I used 7 tablespoons.

1. In a large skillet, bring 2 cups salted water to a boil. Cut the broccoli into 1-inch florets. Boil until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes; drain the broccoli and rinse under cold water. Reserve the skillet.

2. In a small bowl, stir together the broth, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, plum sauce and 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Stir in the orange peel.

3. Slice the steak 1/4 inch thick, then cut the slices crosswise into thirds; toss with the remaining 3 tablespoons cornstarch.

4. In the reserved skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the steak and jalapeño and cook, turning, until the meat is barely pink, about 2 minutes. Transfer the meat to a paper-towel-lined plate; discard the excess oil. Add the broth mixture to the skillet and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the meat, broccoli and orange juice and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Serve with the orange wedges.

Kung Pao Chicken

When we get Chinese, Pat and I always get Chicken and Broccoli. Some may call us boring; some may say we're creatures of habit. *shrug*

Anyway, I've always tried making my own at home, and it never comes remotely close to Kam Luang Kitchen a few blocks away. While this recipe from It's Melissa's Kitchen still wasn't there, it was probably the closest I've ever come.


I used broccoli instead of peppers, and I also threw in a can of mushrooms. Oh, I also added chicken broth to make more sauce. Next time, I will do two things: use thin-sliced chicken, and double the ingredients for the sauce. I love extra sauce!

Ryan ate it too, and he's been picky lately. So this meal scores extra points. :)

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound total), cut into 1/2-inch pieces.
• 1/4 cup soy sauce, divided
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 small red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (I used broccoli.)
• 1 onion, peeled and very coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts (I omitted.)
  

Combine chicken and 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce. Chill 30 minutes. In small bowl, combine remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch, crushed red pepper, and water. In wok or large skillet, heat canola oil over medium-high heat. Add reserved chicken mixture and garlic and stir-fry 3-4 minutes or until brown. Add bell pepper and onion and stir-fry 3 minutes. add cornstarch mixture. Cook, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened. Add peanuts and toss. Serve over rice.

Serves 4