Thai Chicken, revisited

This Thai chicken is something my husband requests often. I have a really tough time saying no because it's an amazingly easy and delicious dish, and because it's my husband. The only thing I don't like about this recipe is that it has chives in it. Don't get me wrong, I love chives and without them, this dish wouldn't be nearly as tasty. On the other hand, I hate that they go bad so quickly. While at the farmers market a few weeks ago, a gentleman was selling me some chives and he said you can chop them and freeze them. WHY have I not thought of that before? There will be no more throwing bad chives out of this house again! I'm going to try some recipes with my newly frozen chives soon so I'll update how it went. So far they still look great though!

Thai Chicken
Adapted from: Biggest Book of 30-Minute Meals (Better Homes & Garden)
Yields: 4 servings

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (medium sized, 1-1.5 lbs)
4 green onions, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp canola oil
1/4 cup honey roasted peanuts
In a small mixing bowl, combine coconut milk, peanut butter, ginger and pepper. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat and cook chicken breasts until cooked thoroughly. Remove from skillet and keep warm. Add green onions to warm skillet and cook for 1-2 minutes until tender. Stir in sauce mixture, stirring until bubbly. Remove from heat.

Place chicken on plate and spread sauce over top and sprinkle with peanuts to serve.

Orange Chicken

"If you can make Kung Pao Chicken like this, we won't ever have to go out to a Chinese restaurant again." The words of a wise and very happy husband!! I saw this recipe online and even though I consider myself a HUGE follower of Annie's Eats, I just had to try it anyways. I know a lot of my recipes are from her website but I just don't have nearly enough cookbooks or experience to be able to do things like this on my own yet. I'll be honest in that I was very nervous about deep frying the chicken pieces coated in cornstarch but it worked out amazingly and I wouldn't do it any other way! If you like orange chicken (or you are even on the fence about it), this recipe will change your world, promise. This recipe is actually supposed to be a knock-off to Panda Express and I can say (since I eat there a lot) that this recipe is MUCH MUCH MUCH better than theirs!

Orange Chicken

Adapted from: Annies Eats, originally Cooking at Home with America's Test Kitchen

Serves: 4-6

For the marinade and sauce:

¾ cup chicken broth
¾ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 ½ tsp finely grated orange zest
6 Tbsp white vinegar
¼ cup soy sauce
½ cup brown sugar, packed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 ½ lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped into 1-inch bite-sized pieces
1 Tbsp plus 2 tsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp cold water
8 thin strips orange peel (optional)

For coating and frying:
3 large egg whites
1 cup cornstarch
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
3 cups peanut or canola oil

To make the marinade and sauce, combine the chicken broth, juice, zest, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and cayenne pepper in large saucepan. Whisk to blend well. Set aside ¾ cup of the mixture and transfer to an airtight tupperware container. Add the chicken pieces to the tupperware, seal and refrigerate about 30-60 minutes (no longer).

Place the saucepan on the stove and heat over medium-high heat, bringing to a simmer. In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and water until well incorporated and add it to the saucepan. Continue to simmer until the sauce thickens and becomes translucent, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the orange peel, if using.

To prepare the coating, place egg whites in a pie plate and whisk until frothy. In a second pie plate, combine the cornstarch, baking soda and cayenne pepper. Whisk to blend well. Drain the chicken from the tupperware container in a strainer in the sink, but BE SURE TO SAVE THE SAUCE! To do this most effectively, pick out the chicken pieces with a slotted spoon or tongs. Pat dry with a paper towel (they don’t have to be perfectly dry). Place half of the chicken in the egg whites and turn to coat. Transfer them to the second pie plate with cornstarch mixture and set aside on a clean plate. Repeat with second half of chicken pieces.

To fry the chicken, heat oil in an 11- or 12-inch round dutch oven or straight-sided sauté pan until the oil reads 350 degrees F. Use a candy thermometer to read this. Carefully (without splattering hot oil) place half of the chicken pieces in the oil and fry until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Be sure to flip them about halfway through the cooking time. Remove from the oil with a metal skimmer and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Return the oil to 350 degrees and repeat with remaining chicken pieces.

If desired, place cooked chicken pieces back into the saucepan with the orange sauce and heat on low a few minutes to reheat the sauce. Serve over a bed of white rice.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

This was another dish I have to give my husband credit for making. I didn't feel well this past week so I asked him to cook for me. Who knew he could find something so satisfying and amazingly delicious!? This was a very easy, quick weeknight dinner. I really wasn't sure how this would all come together in 30 minutes or less but it really did and I was actually craving more when my plate was clear! This dish also looked surprisingly like something you would order at a restaurant. That is not something we can often make in our household.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Adapted from: Biggest Book of 30-Minute Meals

white rice (as desired)

1 can pineapple chunks (8 oz)

1/2 cup sweet and sour sauce

12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1-inch pieces)

1 tbsp soy sauce

4 tbsp cooking oil

1 medium red pepper, sliced

1 medium carrot, thinly sliced

Make white rice per box instructions. Meanwhile, drain pineapple, reserving 2 tbsp juice and set chunks aside. In small bowl, stir together pineapple juice and sweet and sour sauce and set aside. In medium bowl, toss chicken with soy sauce and set aside.

In medium skillet, heat 3 tbsp oil on medium-high heat. Add peppers and carrots and cook for 4 minutes until vegetables are crisp-tender. Remove from skillet and set aside. Add remaining 1 tbsp oil to skillet and using a slotted spoon, add chicken to pan. Cook and stir for 3-4 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Add sweet and sour mixture, vegetables and pineapple chunks. Heat thoroughly and serve over white rice.

Thai Chicken

 ***HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 2010 is going to be fantastic! I just know it.***

Throughout the entire process of this recipe I was very skeptical of whether or not it would taste halfway decent at all. Peanut butter, chives, coconut milk? Who would have thought this would go together so nicely! Really it does and is worth a shot in my book. I served this with a side of brown rice (and I started making my brown rice 50/50 with water/chicken broth so it's less dry).

This is defnitely a winner in my book! It has that slight hint of asian cuisine while being easy and quick enough to do yourself at home. This dinner was even so filling I didn't finish my plate! Great for appetite supression if you are looking to lose weight. Email me or comment if you would like the nutritional information!

This is a can of coconut milk. Not too cheap, but not really expensive. Plan two meals to use this in one week so you don't waste it. You can find this in your local supermarket near the asian or thai foods.

Don't skip the peanuts. They really bring it all together.

Thai Chicken

Adapted from: Biggest Book of 30-Minute Meals (Better Homes & Garden)

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (medium sized, 1-1.5 lbs)

4 green onions, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1 tbsp cooking oil

1/4 cup honey roasted peanuts (optional to chop them)

In a small mixing bowl, combine coconut milk, peanut butter, ginger and pepper. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat and cook chicken breasts until cooked thoroughly. Remove from skillet and keep warm. Add green onions to warm skillet and cook for 1-2 minutes until tender. Stir in sauce mixture, stirring until bubbly. Remove from heat.

Place chicken on plate and spread sauce over top and sprinkle with peanuts to serve.