Asian-Style Stir-Fried Chicken and Broccoli

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Recipes ideas, once in your head, are like flies that hover round a picnic table. They just won't go away until you swat them. In order to test one particularly persistent idea, I purchased one of those super-size bags of broccoli from a local warehouse store. I had good results sooner than I expected and I was left with more broccoli than I had anticipated. My creative energies had ebbed by this time, so I decided to fall back on one of the older dishes that Bob and I both enjoy. It is by no means our favorite Chinese dish, but it is one that was taught in a cooking class that I attended in Hong Kong and there are memories associated with it. Prior to that class, I had never used the cooking technique known as velveting. The technique is used to produce extraordinarily tender meat for stir-frying. It involves marinating whatever is to be stir fried in a mixture of egg white and cornstarch prior to blanching it in oil. It is blanched only until its color changes and then drained before adding it to a stir fry to finish cooking with other ingredients. Velveting helps keep the meat moist, as well as adding flavor to it. The class was a mind sticker on several levels. Chicken and Broccoli is a Chinese-American creation and not one you would generally find on a Chinese table, much less a Chinese cooking school. It was selected for the class because our hosts, ever mindful of our comfort, wanted us to have food that we were comfortable with. They really meant well. The instructor was a wonderful cook, but very proud. He refused to use a translator because he thought his language skills sufficient to teach the class. Things sometimes get lost in translation, and when he was asked why meat was velveted he said it was to get rid of bad smells. I think he meant off-flavors, but we'll never know for sure. I've eaten enough street food to know about off-flavors, but for our purposes it's best to think of velveting as a way to assure that meat or poultry cooked at high temperatures has a flavorful coating that also protects it from burning. If you enjoy Chicken and Broccoli at your local Chinese restaurant I think you'll really enjoy this home-style version of it. I promise it smells good. Here's the recipe.

Asian-Style Stir-Fried Chicken and Broccoli...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
Sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water
Chicken
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs cut in 1-inch cubes
1 large egg white
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups vegetable oil for deep frying
Broccoli
12 ounces broccoli flowerets, cut in bite-size pieces
2 crushed garlic cloves
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar, or to taste

Directions:
1) To make sauce: Combine oyster sauce, light soy, dark soy, and water in a small bowl and set aside. In another small bowl, mix the cornstarch and water thickener and set aside.
2) To make chicken: Combine egg white, cornstarch and salt together in a bowl. Add chicken cubes to mixture and toss to coat all surfaces. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3) To cook chicken: Preheat a wok. Add oil and heat to 275 degrees F. Oil is ready when a piece of chicken floats. Add chicken cubes and cook until they just turn white. Remove cubes from oil as soon as they turn white. Reserve oil. Drain chicken on paper towels.
4) To cook broccoli: Set a large frying pan or another wok over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of chicken cooking oil. When hot, add crushed garlic and stir fry until garlic is fragrant. Add broccoli, sprinkle with sugar and salt, stir frying briefly. Be careful it doesn't burn. Add 1/2 cup water, cover pan and cook for 5 minutes, or until broccoli turns bright green and is crisp tender. Remove from pan and drain.
5) To finish: Clean out pan. Add 2 more tablespoons oil. Add broccoli and chicken, stirring and tossing to cook chicken through, about 2 to 5 minutes more. Add sauce and cornstarch mixture in the middle of the wok and stir quickly to thicken. Mix everything together and serve hot over steamed rice. Yield: 4 servings.







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Peanut Crusted Chicken Breasts with Sweet Onion Sauce

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is a nice recipe to have on hand for a family meal. It's easy to prepare and while it's great for a weeknight, it lacks the finesse needed to elevate it to company fare. The chicken is breaded with a peanut crust and baked rather than sauteed. It's served with a sweet yogurt sauce that's flavored with peanut butter and a Vidalia onion dressing. While I prefer to make my own dressing, I've tested this recipe using one that is commercially available. The commercial variety does nicely and makes quick work of meal preparation. For those of you who are purists and prefer the "from scratch" route, I'll post my recipe for sweet onion dressing within the next few days. If you like heat, you might want to add a bit of sriracha to the finished peanut sauce which can, by the way, be made with natural peanut butter. The chicken will be more flavorful if you use salted roasted peanuts in the crumb coating. I like to serve this over lightly dressed bitter greens such as arugula or watercress. It is quite filling and you won't need a lot of sides to fill out the meal. If you're looking for a nice family meal that's a bit out of the ordinary, you like this one. Here's the recipe.

Peanut Crusted Chicken Breasts with A Nutty Sweet Onion Sauce ...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
Chicken
4 (6-oz. each) boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2-inch
1 cup flour
2 beaten egg whites or 1/4 cup egg substitute (i.e. egg beaters)
4 teaspoons creamy peanut putter
2 tablespoons Vidalia onion salad dressing (commercial product is O.K.)
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 cup finely chopped salted peanuts, toasted
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
Peanut Onion Sauce
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup Vidalia onion salad dressing
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
1/2 cup Greek-style yogurt

Directions:
1) To prepare chicken: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Dredge chicken strips in flour, dip in a mixture of egg white, peanut butter and Vidalia onion salad dressing, then coat with a mixture of bread crumbs, peanuts and chili powder. Place on a greased rack set over a cookie sheet and bake until cooked through 20-30 minutes.
2) To make sauce: Mix peanut butter and dressing until smooth. Stir in soy sauce, parsley and yogurt. Mix well. If very thick, thin with milk. Chill until serving time.
3) To serve: Serve with sauce on plates lined with bitter greens and topped with chicken. If desired, garnish with strands of lemon zest and parsley. Yield: 4 servings.

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Thai-Style Honey Peanut Chicken

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is a quick meal that's perfect for a weeknight dinner. While it may not light your fire, it will quench your hunger and leave folks at your table happy to have tried and survived something new. I chose this version of peanut chicken because it's easy, inexpensive and all the ingredients needed to prepare it can be found in your neighborhood grocery store. I've made very minor changes to the original recipe that was, as nearly as I can tell, first posted by spygirl, at The Tasty Kitchen. Pam Anderson and her daughters, who together blog at Three Many Cooks, have included a tutorial that you might also enjoy. I don't marinate the chicken and I've increased the amount of peanut butter that's used to make it. I've also used chicken thighs because I think they stay moister than breasts which can dry and toughen quickly. This is not a dish that will appeal to younger children. The heat from the chili paste and curry powder will lead to locked-lip syndrome despite the fact that it is very mild. You can, by the by, eliminate the sriracha. I think it would be a mistake because it adds wonderful flavor to the chicken, but it's done all the time. I like to serve this with cilantro or scallion rice. It can be table ready in 30 minutes and that makes it great weeknight fare. Here's the recipe.

Thai-Style Honey Peanut Chicken...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite inspired by a recipe originally developed by spygirl

Ingredients:
1/2 cups soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 teaspoons Sriracha or other Asian-style hot chili sauce
6 to 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs, each cut into 4 chunks

Directions:
1) Add soy sauce, honey, lime juice, garlic, peanut butter, curry powder and sriracha to a large skillet. Bring to a simmer, stirring until mixture is smooth.
2) Add chicken, turning to coat all sides with sauce. Cook chicken in simmering liquid for 8 to 10 minutes, or until chicken is done. Transfer to a bowl.
3) Boil liquid in pan until it begins to thicken and syrup bubbles form. Return chicken to pan, turning to coat pieces in sauce. Transfer to a serving platter. Garnish with chopped peanuts and cilantro if desired. Serve with steamed rice. Yield: 4 servings.

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Indian Butter Chicken

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I appreciate irony. We spent weeks in India, and while chicken stroganoff was featured every evening, we never once were served the famous Indian butter chicken, murgh makhani. The dish is popular in countries all over the world and its absence while we were in India was a bit strange and caused a giggle or two. I honestly believe it was absent from our menus because everyone assumed that someone else had served it and they were trying to please us by offering something new. The dish is made with chicken (murgh) that's marinated in a spicy yogurt sauce before being grilled or cooked in a clay oven, called a tandoor. The sauce (makhani) is made by combining butter, tomato puree and spices with fresh cream. It is my habit to prepare the most popular entrees of the countries we visit prior to an extended trip. It helps us to know what to expect and makes it much easier to adjust to a new cuisine. Butter chicken was one of the dishes I learned to make before we left for India. We have one small Indian restaurant in our community and I used their chicken as my point of comparison. I found an extremely simple recipe developed by Carla Fitzgerald Williams and used that as my base. Her recipe differs from most, in that it uses a deli rotisserie chicken to emulate the texture of the tandoor chicken used in more traditional recipes. I have three recipes for butter chicken. I use this one only when authenticity is not a concern. It's quick, easy and very flavorful. I offer it here for those of you who have never tried butter chicken. This is a wonderful introduction to Indian cuisine. It is much kinder to a beginner's palate than some of the other dishes you might be tempted to try. Garam masala, described here, is the dominant spice mix in this sauce. You should be able to find it in the spice aisle of any major grocery chain. This is a really nice recipe. You can find extensive reviews of it, here. Here's the recipe.

Indian Butter Chicken...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Carla Fitzgerald Williams

Ingredients:
Spice Blend
1 tablespoon garam masala seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
Sauce
3 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 teaspoons jarred minced garlic
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
1 skinless rotisserie chicken, boned out and pulled into 1-1/2 by 1/2-inch chunks or shredded
1 (10-ounce) box frozen peas, placed in a colander and run under hot water to thaw
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
Optional: Hot basmati rice, pita bread

Directions:
1) To make spice blend: Stir ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
2) To make sauce: Melt butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until pieces just begin to turn gold, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, tomato paste and spice blend. Cook for 1 minute until spices are fragrant, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Add tomato sauce and diced tomatoes and stir will. Add chicken pieces, spoon sauce over the top and bring to a simmer. Turn heat to low and cook, uncovered, until the chicken is warmed through and the sauce is flavorful, about 10 minutes. Stir frequently. Remove the chicken to a serving dish and cover to keep warm.
3) To finish: Shake any excess water from peas. Add peas and cream to sauce in the pan, stir well and heat through. Do not boil. Spoon sauce over chicken. Serve with rice and warmed pita bread. Yield: 4 to 5 servings.

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