Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

recipe credit: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

*Serves 4-6

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

Sauce:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. While the oil is heating, cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Place the cornstarch in a gallon-sized ziploc bag. Put the chicken into the bag with the cornstarch and seal, tossing to coat the chicken. Whisk the eggs together in a shallow pie plate. Dip the cornstarch-coated chicken pieces in the egg and place them carefully in a single layer in the hot skillet. Cook for 1-2 minutes and then flip each piece over to cook on the other side until nicely golden but not all the way cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.

Mix the sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl and pour over the chicken in the baking dish. Bake for one hour, turning the chicken once or twice while cooking to coat evenly with sauce. Serve over hot, steamed rice.

*Note: if you like extra sauce, double the sauce ingredients – pour half over the chicken and follow the recipe instructions; pour the other half in a small saucepan and cook the sauce on the stovetop at a simmer for 8-10 minutes until it reduces and thickens. Serve it on the side of the chicken.

Better Than Takeout Chicken Fried Rice

Better-Than-Takeout Chicken Fried Rice

recipe credit: Rachel Schultz
Serves 5-6

4 cups rice, prepared
1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked
1 cup peas & carrots, frozen
1 small white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce

Prepare rice according to package instructions to yield 4 cups cooked rice. Heat sesame oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add onion, garlic, peas, and carrots. Stir fry until tender. Crack eggs into pan and scramble, mixing throughout vegetables. Add rice, chicken, and soy sauce to pan. Mix soy sauce throughout and remove from heat.

Slow Cooker Korean Beef Tacos

Slow Cooker Korean Beef Tacos (Gluten Free)

serves 6-8

recipe credit: crockpot365

3-4 pounds beef roast (I used a trimmed chuck roast)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup soy sauce (La Choy and Tamari Wheat-Free are gluten free)

1 head garlic (peeled, but leave cloves intact–approx 10 cloves)

1/2 onion, diced

1 inch fresh ginger root, peeled and grated

2 tablespoons seasoned rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 whole jalapeno, diced (be careful! use gloves!)

The Directions

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Okay. This truly can’t be any easier. I didn’t brown my meat, but I did trim off the visible fat. I can make these directions complicated and tell you to add this or that first,

but it honestly doesn’t matter. This is going to cook on low all day long, and the ingredients will distribute just fine all on their own. Throw everything in however you’d like.

Cover, and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until meat has fully shredded— you can help it out by cutting the meat into pieces an hour or so before serving time. Serve in soft corn or flour tortillas (we are gluten free, and used tiny corn tortillas that are labeled gluten free) with shredded cabbage salad and white or brown rice.

this is how I made my shredded cabbage:

1 bag shredded coleslaw from the grocery store’s produce section

1 tablespoon soy sauce (la choy or tamari wheat-free)

2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

toss together and serve immediately (it gets too wilty if you make it early in the day)

Sesame Chicken (Gluten Free)

SESAME CHICKEN (Gluten Free)

1 1/2 lbs of chicken tenders (cut into thirds/bite size pieces)

1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon of San-J’s Wheat-Free Tamari Sauce

2 1/2 Tablespoons of rice vinegar plus 1 teaspoon (you can substitute another if you don’t have it)

1 cup gluten-free chicken broth

1/2 cup sugar (don’t faint; I am trying to mimic the take-out sesame chicken, so reduce if you feel you must)

1/4 cup cornstarch plus 2 teaspoons

2 egg whites, lightly beaten

1/2 cup oil

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

3-6 dried hot pepper pods

1/4 cup sesame seeds

green onions, chopped

cooked jasmine rice

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium bowl, combine sugar, 1/4 cup of the tamari sauce, vinegar, and chicken broth. Set aside. In a separate bowl, combine chicken pieces, remaining 1 Tablespoon of soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon of vinegar. Marinate chicken for at least 30 minutes. Once the chicken has marinated, add egg whites and cornstarch and stir until well-blended.

In your wok, heat oil over med-high heat. Cook chicken (in about 3 batches) until golden on both sides- this will take 3-5 minutes. Remove chicken from wok with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Cover with foil to keep the chicken warm. If you have more than a couple tablespoons of oil left in the wok, discard the remaining oil( leave just a few tablespoons in the wok). Reduce the heat to med. Cook the garlic and pepper pods for about a minute. Then add soy sauce mixture. Increase heat to med-high and cook sauce for about 15 minutes. Stir two teaspoonfuls of cornstarch into a little water and whisk it into the sauce. Once the sauce is thickened and bubbly, add the chicken and sesame seeds. Top with green onions and serve over jasmine rice.

Serves 4-6

Notes: Don’t faint when you read the amount of sugar! I tried to make this recipe with less, but it just didn’t feel as much like the take-out version. If you do decide to reduce the sugar or use agave syrup, you may need to use more cornstarch to thicken the sauce. I suggest just thinking of it as dessert!

You could also try adding a tablespoon of dry white wine to the sauce.

Hoisin Beef & Edamame Noodles

Hoisin Beef & Edamame Noodles

From EatingWell: January/February 2007

Sweet hoisin sauce and tangy lime juice balance perfectly in this quick, colorful, Asian-inspired noodle dish. Make it a meal: Dress a cucumber salad with toasted sesame oil and lime juice and enjoy a cup of jasmine green tea.

4 servings, about 2 cups each | Active Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 8 ounces soba noodles or whole-wheat spaghetti (or rice to make gluten-free)
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce, (see Tip)
• 1-2 teaspoons chile-garlic sauce, (see Tip)
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 8 ounces flank steak, trimmed of fat, thinly sliced (see Tip)
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 10-ounce package frozen shelled edamame, (about 2 cups), thawed
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add soba noodles (or spaghetti) and cook, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are just tender, 6 to 8 minutes or according to package directions. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, whisk lime juice, hoisin sauce and chile-garlic sauce to taste with cornstarch in a small bowl.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add steak and cook, stirring occasionally, until just cooked through, about 2 minutes. Transfer the steak to a plate using tongs. Add bell pepper to the juices in the pan and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add edamame and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Add ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir the sauce mixture and add to the pan along with the beef and any accumulated juices. Cook, stirring, until the sauce is thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Add the noodles; toss to coat. Top with cilantro.

Nutrition

Per serving : 427 Calories; 9 g Fat; 2 g Sat; 2 g Mono; 19 mg Cholesterol; 60 g Carbohydrates; 29 g Protein; 5 g Fiber; 757 mg Sodium; 443 mg Potassium

3 1/2 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 3 1/2 starch, 1 vegetable, 2 lean meat

Tips & Notes

• Tips: Hoisin sauce and chile-garlic sauce can be found in the Asian section of most large supermarkets or Asian markets. Both will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 year.
• Freezing the flank steak for about 20 minutes will make it easier to thinly slice.