Stir-Fried Chicken and Broccoli

I tried this recipe from the New York Times tonight and my family loved it.

By Martha Rose Shulman

This easy Asian stir-fry is lighter than the fast-food Chinese dishes that many kids love, and it's a great way to get them to eat broccoli, which drinks up the delicious glaze. Have all of your ingredients ready and close at hand, and cook some rice before you start. Once you begin, this dish takes minutes.

1/2 cup chicken stock or water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 bunch broccoli, broken into small florets

2 tablespoons canola or peanut oil

3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders, cut into 1/2- by 2-inch strips

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 bunch scallions, white and light green parts, sliced

1 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot, dissolved in 2 tablespoons water

1. In a small bowl, stir together the chicken stock or water, the soy sauce, vinegar and sugar.

2. Place the broccoli in a steamer basket above one inch of boiling water, cover and steam three minutes. Refresh under cold water, and set aside.

3. Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a large, heavy nonstick skillet or wok over medium-high heat until it ripples. Add the chicken. Cook, stirring, until the chicken is cooked through, about four minutes. Remove from the heat, and place in a bowl.

4. If the pan looks dry, add the second tablespoon of oil. Add the ginger, garlic and scallions, then stir-fry for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Add the broccoli and stir-fry for one minute, then return the cooked chicken to the pan and stir together. Pour in the sauce and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds to a minute. Stir the dissolved cornstarch or arrowroot, add to the pan, and stir until the chicken and vegetables are glazed. Remove from the heat, and serve with rice or noodles.

Variation:

Stir-Fried Tofu and Broccoli

Many kids love tofu. In the recipe above, substitute 3/4 pound tofu, cut into 1/2- by 1-inch pieces, then follow the cooking instructions. In step three, cook the tofu for two to three minutes, until it begins to color.

Yield: Serves four to six

Advance preparation: You can steam the broccoli several hours ahead and have all of the ingredients prepped. The stir-frying can be done at the last minute.

Ratatouille

My family and I watched the movie, Ratatouille, at the library last week. One of my favourite scenes is when the food critic tries Remy's Ratatouille and is transported back to his childhood. I was inspired to make this dish, but not how Remy prepared it since I don't have a mandoline. This recipe is from Martha Stewart, and my husband loved it so much he probably ate half of what I prepared. I'm not complaining. I should prepare more of these kinds of dishes as I feel we're not eating enough vegetables.

Serves 8

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large eggplants, (2 pounds), peeled in strips and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 4 to 5 medium zucchini, (2 pounds), cut into 1-inch cubes
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3 yellow or red bell peppers, ribs and seeds removed, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

1. In a Dutch oven (or other heavy 5-quart pot with a tight-fitting lid), heat oil over medium heat. Cook onions, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in eggplant and zucchini; season generously with salt and pepper.
2. Add 3/4 cup water; cover, and simmer until vegetables are beginning to soften, stirring once, about 5 minutes. Stir in bell peppers; simmer, covered, until softened, 5 minutes.
3. Stir in tomatoes and thyme; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Partially cover; simmer, stirring often, until vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat. If serving immediately, stir in basil. (If freezing, leave out basil.)

Sole with Pimiento Sauce

Here's another recipe I tried from Simply Recipes, but I made some variations (in parentheses). I was going to cook a separate vegetable dish (Snap Peas with Mushrooms), but in the end decided to just dump the snap peas with the fish. It turned out well.

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, cut into thin wedges
1 clove garlic, minced
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup sliced cremini or button mushrooms
3/4 cup pimiento-stuffed olives, coarsely chopped (I used pimientos)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 6-8 ounce tilapia fillets (I used sole fillets)

1 In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook until tender, about 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute more. Add tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, oregano, salt, and pepper. Bring sauce to boiling.

2 Gently place the fish fillets in the pan and scoop some of the sauce over the fillets. Return to boiling. Reduce the heat and cover. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. With a wide spatula, lift fish from skillet to a serving dish. Spoon sauce over fish. Serve with rice, and/or crusty bread.

Serves 4.

Easy Shepherd's Pie

We eat earlier than usual on Mondays because of my son's after-school activity so I usually prepare dinner the night before. This is one recipe I tried this week. It's so easy to make and my family loved it. My mother-in-law says it tastes just as good as the one she sometimes buys at Costco. I got this recipe from one of my favorite blog sites, Simply Recipes. I did not have beef broth so I just used water, and I substituted Worcestershire sauce with oyster sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs ground round beef (about 1/2 kilo)
  
• 1 onion chopped
• 1-2 cups vegetables - chopped carrots, corn, peas
• 1 1/2 - 2 lbs potatoes (3 big ones)
• 8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• Salt, pepper, other seasonings of choice

Method

1 Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).

2 While the potatoes are cooking, melt 4 Tablespoons butter (1/2 a stick) in large frying pan.

3 Sauté onions in butter until tender over medium heat (10 mins). If you are adding vegetables, add them according to cooking time. Put any carrots in with the onions. Add corn or peas either at the end of the cooking of the onions, or after the meat has initially cooked.

4 Add ground beef and sauté until no longer pink. Add salt and pepper. Add worcesterchire sauce. Add half a cup of beef broth and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more beef broth as necessary to keep moist.

5 Mash potatoes in bowl with remainder of butter, season to taste.

6 Place beef and onions in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes on top. Rough up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. You can use the fork to make some designs in the potatoes as well.

7 Cook in 400 degree oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes). Broil for last few minutes if necessary to brown.

Serves four.

Brussel Sprouts

I bought a bag of mini brussel sprouts for a recipe I saw on a blog. Brussel sprouts turn bitter when overcooked and the two times I used it for a recipe, either by frying or roasting, I managed to do just that - make it taste bitter. So the next time, I tried boiling it (I actually added it to sinigang) and it turned out okay. Today when I made pot roast, I didn't have any other vegetable in the refrigerator and the brussel sprouts didn't disappoint.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

I haven't baked a cake in a while, but I had some sour cream, chocolate chips and almonds left so I decided to use it to bake a coffee cake. I also had a bundt pan that hadn't been used yet! I didn't like how the cake turned out, but the cake was consumed in a couple of days, so I guess it wasn't that bad.

Mini Frittata

I did not follow a particular recipe for this dish. I just used 4 eggs, some chopped frozen spinach, feta cheese and pepper. Poured the mixture in a muffin tin and popped it in the oven (375 degrees) and baked it for about 15-20 minutes, or until centre is set.

Frittata

Frittata is one recipe that's good when you want to clean out your refrigerator. I had a few eggs that I bought for the cookies that I didn't find time to make; a half-empty bag of feta cheese from a salad dish last week; some stir-fry vegetables and an almost empty carton of milk.

5 eggs
Milk
Feta cheese
Stir-fry vegetables
Basil

Whip the eggs and add the rest of the ingredients. Add a little oil to a non-stick pan and pour the egg mixture. Cover the pan and cook until eggs are done.

Corned Beef Sinigang

Sinigang is a family favorite and while I've made sinigang countless times, I've never made it from scratch, thanks to the trusty sinigang mix. I bought a couple of packs during my last trip to the grocery in Richmond that sells Filipino stuff.

A couple of nights ago, I made sinigang and decided to add corned beef. I bought a brand that is different (in other words, not good) from the Purefoods Corned Beef that we're used to eating so no one wanted to eat it. I didn't want to throw it away so I stored it in the freezer while I thought of a recipe I could use it for. Then I remembered the Corned Beef Sinigang I tried once at Sentro in Greenbelt. The dish was a success. But I'm not buying that brand of corned beef ever.

PS: I also added left-over cubed spam.

Bistek Tagalog

I got this recipe from the bottle of Marca Pina Soy Sauce I bought from the local grocery. I found it a bit salty, so I will lessen the soy sauce next time. My aunt adds oyster sauce to her recipe.

6 pieces calamansi
1/2 cup soy sauce
500g beef sirloin, cut into thin slices
1 tbsp cooking oil
2 cloves garlic
1 piece onion, cut into rings

Marinate beef in calamansi juice and soys sauce for 1 hour. Saute minced garlic in oil until golden brown. Remove and set aside. Remove beef from marinade and squeeze dry. Set aside the marinade. Fry beef pieces until brown. Add onion rings, reserving a few for garnish. Stir together with the beef until onions are transparent. Add marinade and garlic. Bring to a boil. Serve garnished with onion rings.

I saw this recipe from another blog (http://www.pinoyrecipe.net) and will try it next time:

• 3/4 kilo tender pork or beef steaks, sliced

• 1 tablespoon kalamansi or lemon juice

• 5 tablespoons soy sauce

• 3 cloves of garlic

• 1 small piece ginger, crushed

• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1/2 cup onions, sliced in rings

• 4 tablespoons cooking oil

• Marinate the pork or beef steak in kalamansi (lemon) juice, garlic, ginger, soy sauce and pepper for 30 minutes.
• In a frying, add cooking oil. Add the marinated pork or beef steak and cook slow until done.
• Increase heat for a minute or two to brown steaks.
• Add the sliced onions and continue to cook for another minute.
• Serve on a platter including the oil and sauce.
• Best served with hot plain rice.

Wireless in the Kitchen

It's nice to have wireless internet. I can refer to my online recipes while I'm cooking in the kitchen. I don't have to shuttle between the kitchen and the living room, where the computers usually are, when the recipe I'm using is on my blog and not in any of the cookbooks I have.

As I write this, I have two things cooking - adobo and sinigang. Next, I'm going to cut chicken breasts into cubes and store them in the freezer for Thursday's meal, then prepare Minestrone for dinner. This is where I need my recipe online.

Sweet and Sour Fish

I finally was able to use the thin green onions growing on my kitchen table. I like the sauce of this recipe. It's light and not too tangy as the usual sweet and sour sauce I've had before. This recipe is from "The Quick and Easy Japanese Cookbook" by Katsuyo Kobayashi, an "Iron Chef" winner.

5-6 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 boiled bamboo shoot, 7 oz/200g (optional for me as I didn't have this in my pantry)
1/2 carrot
1/2 onion
1 knob (1 inch/2-1/2 cm) fresh ginger (I used grated ginger)
4-5 thin green onions or chives
4 fillets of flounder, or cod, or any other white fish (each 5 oz/140g)
Potato starch for dusting fish + 1 tbsp potato starch dissolved in 1 tbsp water (I used flour)
vegetable oil for deep frying (I don't like deep frying so I just sauteed the fish)

Sauce:
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp sake (I didn't have sake so I used rice wine)
1 tbsp light-colored (usukuchi) soy sauce or 2 tsp regular soy sauce + 1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sesame oil

1. Reconstitute shiitake mushrooms by soaking them in warm water for 10 minutes until they soften. Drain. Discard stems and cut caps into thin strips. Cut the bamboo shoot and the carrot into thin slices and then into matchsticks. Slice the onion finely. Cut the ginger into thin strips. Cut green onions into 1-inch lengths.

2. Cut the fish into bites-sized pieces and dust with potato starch. In a wok or fry pan, heat the oil to medium, add the fish, and deep-fry until cooked through and crispy. Remove from heat and arrange fish on a dish.

3. In a small pan, combine sauce ingredients, except sesame oil. Add all the vegetables and bring to boil until carrot softens. Stir in the dissolved potato starch and remove from heat as soon as the mixture thickens and glazes.

4. Add green onions and sesame oil, and mix quickly. Pour the sauce over the fish and serve immediately.