General Tso Chicken

To be honest, I don't remember the last time I had General Tso Chicken and it is my husband's favorite Chinese entree. I think this is the only entree that he order whenever we go to a Chinese restaurant. He likes it because of the variety of taste in one meal - sweet, tangy, spicy and the crunchy texture. I am not a fan of anything sweet on my meat but I decided to give it a try and twist the recipe I found on Food Gawker just a bit to make it my own General Tso! The result was quite tasty!

The recipe is simple if you love to cook Asian food because I'm sure you already have most of the ingredients in your pantry. If not, then I suggest you invest on some of these ingredients because they are inexpensive and you'll be able to use them with other Asian dish recipes.

INGREDIENTS: (Serves 4-6)

2 lbs breast of chicken (sliced in cubes)

6 jalapenos peppers sliced

4 teaspoons minced ginger

4 teaspoons minced garlic

6 cups of peanut oil or vegetable oil for deep frying

4 cups corn starch

1 pinch of sesame seeds for garnish

MARINADE THE CHICKEN (15 Minutes)
4 teaspoons soy sauce

4 teaspoons sesame oil

2 egg yolk

SAUCE:

3 tablespoons tomato paste and mixe with 2 tablespoons of water

2 teaspoons cornstarch

6 teaspoons white sugar

4 teaspoons soy sauce

4 teaspoons rice vinegar

6 tablespoons water

3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

Mix ingredients for the sauce and set aside.

Toss the chicken in the corn starch in 4 batches to avoid clumping. Shake off excess cornstarch before frying. Heat the frying pan with oil until it is smoking a little bit. Add the first batch of chicken and deep fry until cooked through. Stir constantly to avoid burning.  Remove chicken with slotted ladle when it is medium brown and drain on paper towel. Repeat with the last 3 batch.

After all the chicken is cooked, heat a different frying pan and add 2 tablespoons of peanut or vegetable oil. Add the ginger, garlic and jalapeno peppers and stir fry for about 2 minutes. Add the sauce mixture and stir until it thickens. Add the chicken and stir well to coat with sauce. Transfer the chicken to a big platter and garnish with sesame seeds. Serve with steam rice and your choice of salad or veggies.

Jicama, Chinese Cucumber, Basil & Arugula Salad

I love making salad! There are so many ways to make it especially if a farmer's market is nearby because of the abundance of greens and fruits they sell to make a refreshing salad. I picked up some baby jicamas, chinese cucumber and Thai basil at the farmer's market yesterday near my job in Oakland. I mixed them with the Arugula I picked growing in my green room and made a salad to pair with the Chicken & Prosciutto ravioli I cooked for dinner. This salad is very refreshing! The dressing is simply lime juice, olive oil salt and pepper.

SALAD INGREDIENTS: (Serves 2)
2 baby jicama peeled and diced
2 chinese cucumbers diced (substitute 1 regular cucumber and diced)
20 pieces of thai basil leaves
40 pieces of arugula leaves
1 whole lime
1 tbs olive oil
shaved parmesan cheese (optional)
pinch of salt and pepper to taste

Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Slice the lime, squeeze and drizzle the juice all over the mixture. Drizzle the olive oil on the salad and mix well. Serve with a pasta dish or any entree.

Chicken & Prosciutto Ravioli w/ Basil, Garlic & Tomato Sauce

Buotoni Pasta is one of my favorite fresh refrigerated pasta brand. Today, i'm going to try the Whole Wheat Ravioli. I always make my own sauce with fresh ingredients. I picked up some sweet basil, Thai basil and beef steak tomatoes at the farmer's market near my job. The sauce is so simple to make but it is very tasty.

INGREDIENTS: (Serves 4)

8-10 ounces of Boutoni Chicken & Prosciutto Ravioli

6 cloves of chopped garlic

1 large beefsteak tomato

20 pieces of fresh sweet basil leaves

15 pieces of fresh thai basil leaves (purple in color)

1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes

1 tsp dry Italian Seasoning
salt and black pepper to taste

1/2 cup of water

3 tbs of Olive Oil

Boil ravioli for 10 minutes or as directed on the package. While the ravioli is cooking, heat the pan and add the oilve oil. Add the chopped garlic and stir until brown. Add the chopped tomato, stir and simmer for 3 minutes until the tomato releases its juice in medium heat. Add the sweet and Thai basil, italian seasoning, pepper flakes and water. Simmer for 2 more minutes until the sauce thickens and add salt and pepper to your tasting.

Remove the ravioli from boiling water, put in a large serving dish and top with the sauce. ENJOY!

Mango Shrimp Curry with Honey and Lemongrass

I was craving for something spicy for dinner tonight. I checked out one of my old recipe books and saw something that was enticing - Pineapple Shrimp Curry with Red Chilies. As I was reading the recipe, i thought it was a little boring so I added a little twist to it and the outcome was outstanding!

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb Jumbo shrimps shelled
1 cup mango chunks (frozen or fresh if in season)
4 cups coconut milk 
4 tbs yellow curry powder
6 cloves garlic crushed and chopped
1/4 cup honey
2 tbs lemongrass sauce
2 jalapeno peppers chopped
4 tbs fish sauce
2 tsp butter


In a medium pot, heat butter, add garlic and brown. Add 2 cups of the coconut milk and boil for about 5 minutes. Add the curry and stir until completely dissolved. Add the other 2 cups of coconut oil, mango, lemongrass sauce, fish sauce and honey. Stir and bring to a boil. Lower heat after it started boiling and then simmer for about 10 minutes. Add shrimp and jalapeno peppers and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve with steam rice and enjoy!

Filipino Chicken Adobo

If you are Filipino, you must know how to cook this dish! At least, that's what everyone thinks. This dish is a staple that you will find in every Filipino household. I have cooked this for many family gatherings, and brought it to potlucks at school, church and even at work. It's one of those you just can't get enough dish.

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 lbs of chicken legs (10 pieces)

4 large potatoes quartered 
3/4 of white vinegar (or 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar)

1/4 cup of soy sauce

10 cloves of garlic smashed and chopped

1 medium white onion chopped

4 bay leaves

1 tsp of black pepper corn crushed

4 tbs of vegetable oil

1 cup water

Combine and mix thoroughly the chicken, vinegar, 1/2 of garlic, black pepper and bay leaves in a medium pot, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Stir a few times while simmering making sure it doesn't burn. In a pan, saute the other 1/2 crushed garlic and brown. Add the onions and saute with the garlic until it caramelized. Remove from heat and add it to the pot with chicken and stir. Add the potatoes, soy sauce, water and boil for 10 minutes. Lower the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender and the juice has reduced and thicken.Adjust the vinegar and soy sauce according to your taste (some likes it with more vinegar taste, some likes it more a bit salty taste or even a little sweet tangy taste). If its too sour for your taste, add a few pinch of brown sugar until the sourness is to your liking.  Enjoy with steam rice.

HINT: Chicken Adobo taste even better the next day so  DO NOT pass the left overs!

MJ's Chicken Lumpias

I kept bragging about my lumpias at work so I decided to take out the old recipe I learned from my mom and made some of these delicious meat pastries for my co-worker's birthday.  It will be a nice surprise treat for him because he's never had them!!
I have made thousands of these lumpias to make extra money when I was a single mother. They are always a hit because they are quite delicious.

Ingredients: (Makes 90 pieces)

1 package of frozen Lumpia wrapper - 25-30 sheets (you can buy this from any Asian store)

Filling:

1 lb ground chicken

2 large carrots (shredded)

4 stalks of celery (diced)

1 bunch of green onions (diced)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

Paste:

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoon flour

Combine all the filling ingredients with bare hands and mix thoroughly in a large bowl. Set aside and start peeling the wrappers individually and slowly to prevent from ripping. Set aside and make the paste mixture by combining the water and the flour, mix it and cook in the microwave for 30 seconds. Make sure it doesn't get hard.

Grab a flat cutting board or a flat plate. Lay one wrapper at a time on the flat surface. Scoop a spoonful of the filling mixture and spread on one end of the wrapper. Roll the mixture tightly towards the other end (like rolling sushi or taquitos) and leave a 1/2 inch at the other end to spread the paste to seal the edge of the rolls. Repeat until all sheets are used. Discard unused sheets. Slice the rolled lumpias into 3 pieces.

Get a heavy skillet and pour a half inch depth of oil. Heat the oil for about 5 minutes. Keep the heat on medium high to prevent them from burning. Use the sides of the skillet to slide the rolls into the oil. When you side the sides, you're preventing oil from splattering when each piece hits it.

Fry about 6-8 rolls at a time and cook each side of the lumpias until they are golden brown and making sure the filling is cooked thoroughly without burning the outside. Place done lumpias onto paper towels to drain excess oil. Serve immediately with hot chili sweet and sour sauce or plain.