Stir Fried Shrimp and Vegetables

This week I am without a menu plan.  Bummer.  We're trying to clean out the freezer.  I am not motivated.  And, instead of recipes I've been reading things like why the unemployment rate is not so much due to a training/jobs availability problem as it is due to the extension of unemployment benefits and the refusal of the highly paid folks laid off during the recession to settle for lower wages.  Snoooze, eh?  I've seriously been trying to get caught up on all of my business reading.  And, I am making a dent.  It's just not nearly as fun as recipes...  Now, don't get me wrong, I couldn't do the cooking thing for a living.  I really love what I do.  But, I think I've spent a little too much time working in the last week. 

Today we had such a fabulous selection to choose from for lunch:  salsa fish, split pea soup, ham salad, hash browns, soggy salad, leftover pasta fra diavolo and honey ham.  Tonight all I knew was that I had broccoli to use up.  And, there were mushrooms and carrots ready to go too.  On the way home I started ruminating about the possible broccoli dishes.  Roasted broccoli?  Nope, requires a protein and possibly another vegetable or starch,  I wasn't in to three dishes.  A casserole?  Nah.  More leftovers.  And, as you could see from the list above there is still plenty for tomorrow's lunch.  Ok, so how about stir fry?  That'd work. 

I hunted through my recipes and found two likely candidates.  One that had pineapple and shrimp.  Sounded like broccoli could be added.  And, another with snow peas, celery and mushrooms.  That'd be perfect with carrots and water chestnuts swapped out for the snow peas.  Eat with the season as much as possible.  And, avoid unnecessary trips to the grocery.  So, the recipe from Food and Wine it was.

What did we think?  Connie gave this a four.  I used less ginger because it wasn't minced, it was jarred and I didn't want to overwhelm.  I should've used a bit more.  And, I should've upped the sherry just a tad.  This was really close to a four in my book.  And, really, other than the broccoli, it's stuff that we always have on hand.  Mushrooms are pretty much always on the grocery list.  Carrots and celery are a given.  And there's always a bag of shrimp in the freezer.  What could be easier? 

Stir Fried Shrimp and Vegetables
2 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 c diced celery
1/2 c sliced carrot
1 c broccoli florets
4 oz button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 can diced water chestnuts
1/2 lb medium shrimp, shelled (I used pre-cooked)
3/4 c chicken broth
1 T cornstarch
2 T dry sherry
1 T soy sauce
1 t sugar
1 T vegetable oil
1 1/2 T minced fresh ginger
1 small jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 t sesame oil

Directions:

In a large skillet heat the oil to shimmering.  While that's heating, mix up the sauce.  Put the corn starch in the bottom of a measuring cup and slowly add the chicken broth so you can incorporate the corn starch well.  Then, add the dry sherry, soy sauce, sugar and ginger. 

If you're using dried jalapeno like I did, add that too.  Otherwise, add it when you add the garlic. 

Once the oil is shimmering, add the vegetables and stir fry them for a couple of minutes.  Add the garlic and jalapeno if you're using fresh.  Stir fry.  Add the sauce and the shrimp and cook until the sauce is thickened. 

adapted from Food and Wine

Vietnamese Beef

One of the most popular items at our annual client appreciation holiday party is the beef tenderloin - go figure.  We buy the big untrimmed tenderloins at Sam's.  Not only is it FAR more cost effective, but we've got the chain left over.  Now, it takes a good bit of time to clean and trim but the chain is worth every minute. 

Typically, we clean the chain and have it in a dish the night before the party.  It's a fabulous tenderloin bite.  Well, in 2010, that didn't happen.  So, there was a freezer bag with chain in the freezer.  And, I'm on a kick to get the freezer a bit cleaned out. Please, don't ask how much progress I'm making :-(  I keep finding great recipes that don't apply.  Need I say more...  "Something with chain" would go on the menu then I'd find other recipes that sounded great.  Finally, Fine Cooking had a perfect way to use up that chain.  I'd go take a photo of the empty spot in the freezer but it's about 90 degrees in the garage and I've had enough of the heat.  In fact, on the way home from my south office today - the exterior thermometer said it was 101 degrees.  Needless to say, when I got home I pretty much cooked in the dark.  Anything to cool this place down! 

As I've been typing this, my mind has wandered back to Le Colonial in Chicago.  Many years ago, we were in Chicago for a couple of days and one of the fellows at the hotel recommended that we go there.  I'd never had Vietnamese food and I fell in love with it that evening.  I'm not a fan of hot.  But, I'm a major fan of flavor.  Vietnamese food has flavor combinations that just plain make your mouth dance.  This dish was no different.  I added a bit of komatsu that I found at the farmers market.  The stems are kind of like oriental celery.  And, I used brown rice instead of white like they showed in the magazine photo.  Can't wait for lunch leftovers!!

Vietnamese Beef

Ingredients:

2 T soy sauce
2 T lime juice
1 1/2 T brown sugar
1 t fish sauce
5 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 T oil (canola or olive)
1 1/2 beef tenderloin cut in 3/4" pieces
1 medium onion, cut in 1/4" wedges
3 T salted peanuts, toasted and salted
2 scallions, both green and white parts, thinly sliced

Directions:

Combine the soy sauce, lime juice, fish sauce and brown sugar in a small bowl.  Combine the garlic and 1 1/2 t of oil in another small bowl.  Season the beef with salt and pepper.  Put 1 1/2 t of oil in a 12" skillet.  Heat it until it's shimmering.  Add half of the beef. 

Cook 1-2 minutes a side until it's browned.  Turn and cook the 2nd side for 1-2 minutes.  Do NOT overcook your meat here. 

Remove the beef to a plate and add the 2nd batch.  Once you've cooked that, remove it to the bowl.  Add about another tablespoon of oil to the skillet and heat it to shimmering.  Add the onions. 

Now, here's where I made a bit of a change.  After the onions had cooked for a couple of minutes, I added some komatsu - primarily the stems cut in 1/4" dice. 

Once the onions are softened and a bit browned, add the garlic and stir until the garlic is fragrant.  Now, its time to add the meat and accumulated juices back into the pan along with the soy sauce and lime juice mixture.  Stir on high heat until the sauce has cooked down a bit.  Serve over brown rice and top with the chopped peanuts and scallions.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Sometimes you begin with a recipe in mind. Other times it's an ingredient. We went to the store the other day and there was whole fresh pineapple for $1.99. What a world we live in where you can, in the middle of winter, in Indiana, get pineapple for 2 bucks!

I suppose there are consequences and moral debates you could have over whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. I choose to look on this as a glass more than half full situation. Winter can be dreary. Walking through the produce aisle and seeing a pineapple brings summer, or at least tropical islands and not two feet of snow, to mind. Regardless, I couldn't resist.

Now what? I really didn't have any definite purpose or use for the pineapple, however I have it, and it didn't travel a thousand miles or more to end up in my compost pile. My first reaction was to make a dish similar to the sweet and sour chicken Mom made when we were kids.  I asked Connie what he thought and his first reaction was sweet and sour also.

Okay, how about an aside here? The internet is wonderful. Information, all sorts of esoteric, useful, and downright stupid information, is at your fingertips instantly. However, there is nothing like a book. Flipping through a book is a totally different experience. There is no wait as the page loads. It is tactile. You are completely involved and in control. Open, close, pause, whatever. Anyway that is one of the reasons why I own cookbooks. And you can crush spiders with them, try that with the Web!

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming...

Needless to say, I have Chinese, Asian, Thai and other cookbooks. It took no time to pluck one off the shelf and begin to browse under pineapple. The first and only book I messed with was Chinese and Thai 400 Healthy Recipes for Modern Living.  Start out 2011 with something healthy!  Now if this recipe is representative of the others in the book, I have a definite winner. This was simple to cook, completely delicious and healthy too.

Connie swears I never, ever follow a recipe. I admit I rarely do.  The recipe called for pork but I knew chicken would be a fine substitute.  Also, if you read any stir fry recipe, it is always, add this, cook for a minute, add that, cook for a minute. Whatever! I trust my instincts, and so should you. The things that you know take longer to cook have to go in first, those that don't, don't. Therefore, the cooking instructions are a little jumbled compared to a classical Chinese cooking recipe. Cooking in a wok means, prepare your food, cook it hot and fast.

Regardless, I hope you enjoy this as much as Connie and I did.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 boneless skinless chicken breast
1 T vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
½ onion, diced
1 small green bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1 inch squares (we had ½ a red and ½ a green bell pepper left over from another recipe, so your eyes are not playing tricks on you.)
1 small carrot, sliced
½ c drained, canned pineapple chunks (this is where we used ½ of our fresh pineapple, peeled, cored, eyes removed)
2 T malt vinegar
3 T ketchup
2/3 cup pineapple juice (had to use canned since the pineapple was fresh)
2 t confectioners sugar
2 t cornstarch
1 T cold water
salt and ground black pepper
brown rice

Directions:
Cut the chicken in bite-sized pieces.  Marinate the chicken in the rice wine vinegar or sherry with 1/2 t of salt and a pinch of pepper.  Toss the chicken to make sure it's all coated.  Put it aside in a cool place for 15 minutes.

Chop the pineapple,

peppers, 

onions

and carrots.

You need to create what's called a mis en place so that all of your ingredients are ready to pop in the wok.  You'll not have time to measure while you're actually cooking.  Mis en place translated from French just says put in place.  We use small glass bowls for things like seasonings.  In this case, the quantity of each ingredient was small enough that we could use the same bowls for the pineapple and veggies.  A larger bowl was used for the chicken.  We put it out on the cutting board for photo taking.

 Heat a wok (or a non-stick frying pan) then add the oil. The oil needs to be very hot before you begin adding the ingredients.  Add the chicken first and stir it for about a minute. 

Then, add the onion, garlic, peppers and carrot. 

Stir until the chicken is almost done.  Remember, when you make the sauce in the next step, it's going to cook for three more minutes...

Now, it's time for the pineapple and the sauce ingredients (ketchup, pineapple juice and confectioners sugar.)  Bring the sauce to a boil. 

Simmer it for three minutes.  Give it a quick stir a couple of times. 

While the sauce is simmering, make a paste with the cornstarch and water.  Add the paste to the sauce and stir until the sauce is thickened.

Serve over brown rice.


adapted from Chinese and Thai 400 Healthy Recipes for Modern Living edited by Jane Bamforth, Maggie Pannell and Jenni Fleetwood

Stir Fried Chicken with Celery

Every once in a while I make a recipe that I'm not quite sure what prompted me to move it to the front of the list and actually prepare it.  But, I'm REALLY glad I did.  This is one of those.  Other than the cream of celery soup (Joy of Cooking) that Mom fixed for me after some major surgery in 1985, I can't remember a recipe where celery played such a leading role.  And, back in 1985, I was in NO condition to request cream of celery soup.  This, however. was a totally conscious decision.  And, what a decision it was.  This pretty quickly made it onto our top 30 list and may even be on our top seven list.  

Chicken in my book is a blank slate.  Most of the time it has to be paired with some very interesting ingredients to get my attention.  Yes, fried chicken is an exception.  But, look at the recipe for Lemon Brined Fried Chicken.  That's not a short ingredient list.  It is, however, some of the BEST fried chicken we've ever had.  This, however is chicken and celery.  Add some ginger and soy sauce and you've got some of the best chicken ever.  My guess is that this would be equally incredible with shrimp and maybe crab.  At any rate, whatever you do, please try this.  The ginger adds a fragrance and a scent and a flavor that's incomparable.  The celery has some crunch that doesn't overwhelm.  And, the chicken is melt-in-your-mouth tender and flavorful.  Incredible!!

Stir Fried Chicken with Celery

Ingredients:

2 t cornstarch
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 egg white
3 T veg oil
1 1/2" piece ginger
1 leek
5 ribs celery,
1 1/2 T light soy sauce


Directions:

Cut chicken into 1/8 thick strips.  It's a bit easier if the chicken is tossed in the freezer for a bit before being cut.  Tosss it with the corn starch, egg white and a pinch of salt.  Set it aside for 10 minutes.

 

Peel and finely dice the ginger.  The best tool I've found to peel ginger is a spoon. 

Cut the tough green end off the leek, then cut it in half and rinse it well under cold running water.  Leeks tend to contain a lot of grit.  Once the leek is rinsed and dried, chop it.  Chop the celery ribs diagonally into 1/4" slices.

Heat two tablespoons of oil in a wok or 14" skillet.  Swirl it around to coat.  Add the chicken and stir fry it for about 2 minutes. 

Stir it constantly.  Once it's opaque, remove it from the wok and transfer it to a plate. 

Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the wok.  Once it's heated, add the ginger and leek. 

Stir fry for about 30 seconds.  The ginger aroma will about knock your socks off!  Add the celery and stir fry for about a minute until it's crisp yet tender.  Finally, add the chicken back in along with the juices that accumulated on the plate and the soy sauce.  Stir fry until the chicken is cooked through.  That'll take one to two minutes. 

We served our chicken over brown rice with some diced water chestnuts and green onions stirred in. 

I also scrambled the leftover egg yolks and tossed those into the rice.

adapted from Saveur