I think I'm cooking Chinese I think I'm cooking Chinese I really think so...

     Okay, bad reference to the song "Turning Japanese" by The Vapors.  ::clears throat::  Now, onto the blog.  So, these next two recipes are so flipping similar that I couldn't decide which one to make.  So I made them both.  Not only that, but thanks to a super market steal, I made both these dishes which fed Scott and I  for four to five meals (including seconds) for under $20!  Now, that's the advantage of cooking at home!

General Tso's Chicken (from Take-out Menu Cookbook by Carla Snyder and Meredith Deeds)

Ingredients:

1 large egg, beaten
4 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp plus 1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tbsp mirin
1.5 lbs boneless chicken, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp. hoisin
1tbsp chili paste with garlic
10 black peppercorns,crushed
2 tsp Asian sesame oil
2 to 3 cups vegetable oil, for frying
5 hot chiles, cut in half 
1 (1 inch) knob fresh ginger, peeled and minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups broccoli florets
1 red bell pepper, seed and thinly sliced
3 green onions, thinly sliced for garnish
White rice, for serving

Procedure:

1) In a medium bowl, combine the egg, 3 tbsp. of cornstarch, 1 tbsp. of soy sauce, and 1 tbsp. of mirin.  Add the chicken and let it marinate at room temperature while you assemble the rest of the ingredients.

2) In a separate bowl, combine the remaining tablespoon of cornstarch, the remaining 1/4 cup soy sauce, the remaining 2 tbsp mirin, and the rice vinegar, sugar, hoisin, chili paste, peppercorns, sesame oil and 1/2 cup of water.  Set aside.

3) In a heavy pot over medium heat, heat 3 inches of oil to 360 F.  Add about 10 pieces of chicken to the hot oil and fry until brown and crispy, about 2 minutes.  Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.  Repeat with the remaining chicken.   Set aside.

4) Remove all but 3 tbsp of oil from the pot and add the chiles, ginger, and garlic, and cook for 30 seconds.   Add the broccoli and bell pepper and stir-fry, tossing the vegetables for 2 minutes or until they are brightly colored and partially cooked.

5) Add the cooked chicken to the pot along with the reserved sauce and cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens and the vegetables are tender, about 2 minutes.

6) To serve,sprinkle green onions over the top and serve hot with rice.

     This came out quite well.  I used my cast iron skillet instead of a heavy pot and it was fine.  I also like brown rice instead of white, so used that in both this recipe and the kung pao chicken below.  I did learn an important lesson on frying, though.  Follow the recipe!  I thought I could cheat and just add all the chicken at once when the oil wasn't as warm as it should have been.  Yeah....  Took a while to cook the chicken, it didn't turn brown and crispy and I lost all my coating on it to boot.  Oh well, live and learn.  I used darker soy sauce so the entire dish turned dark, but it still tasted good!

General Tso's chicken

With a green onion garnish

Kung Pao Chicken (also from Take-out menu cookbook)

Ingredients:

1 egg white, beaten
4 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp plus 2 tbsp rice wine (I used mirin)
4 chicken breasts, skinned, boned, and cut into bite-sized pieces
3 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp hoisin
2 tsp Asian sesame oil
1/2 cup peanut or vegetable oil
1 cup peanuts, preferable boiled and unsalted
5 dried hot chiles, or to taste
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 green onions, sliced
3 quarter-sized pieces of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
White rice, for serving

Procedure:

1) Combine the egg white, 1 tbsp soy sauce, cornstarch, and 1 tsp rice wine in a large bowl.  Add the chicken and stir to coat.  Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

2) In a separate bowl, combine the remaining 3 tbsp soy sauce, and 2 tbsp rice wine with the rice vinegar, sugar, hoisin, and sesame oil and set aside.

3) Heat the oil in a wok over high heat until it is hot and barely smoking.  Add the peanuts and toss them for about 2 minutes, or until they begin to brown.  Remove the peanuts from the oil and transfer them to a heatproof plate. Set aside.

4) Add the chicken to the oil and toss, cooking it until it is slightly browned on the outside, but not cooked all the way through, about 2 minutes.   Remove the chicken from the wok and add it to the peanuts.  (There will be some brown bits on the bottom of the wok.  They will help thicken the sauce when it is added to the pan later.  Be careful and don't let them burn, or your sauce will taste sharp.)

5) Add the chiles to the wok and cook them until they are almost black, about 1 minute.  Add the garlic, green onions, and ginger along with the peanuts,chicken, and sauce.  Toss to incorporate the sauce and heat through.  Serve with rice.

Variation: 

Sometimes we like to add vegetables to this dish to make it a one-dish meal.  Try adding sliced water chestnuts and green or red bell peppers, broccoli, or bok choy along with the other vegetables in the dish.  By swapping out the peanuts for cashews, the dish becomes cashew chicken  You can also vary the dish by using thinly sliced pork or beef, or whole shrimp.

     And guess which vegetables I used in the variation?  That's right!  The broccoli and red bell peppers from the previous dish.  At least this dish didn't ask you to fry everything.  In step four, remove the peanuts as they barely start to brown.  I removed them when they were already brown and ended up with some blackened peanuts.  Oh well.  I also used fresh chiles instead of dried and chicken thighs instead of breasts because, guess what again, I had them leftover from the previous dish!  Isn't it great to only have to go grocery shopping once for two great dishes?

The very similar-looking Kung Pao chicken.  The picture quality is not as good
as this was taken on my cell phone (camera was charging).

Just like at a Chinese restaurant!

More vegetables than egg frittata

     I don't know how it is that I've gone so long without posting this recipe.  This has become a staple in my life and is a wonderful and delicious way to get a lot of vegetables into your system!

More-vegetable-than-egg frittata (from Mark Bittman's Food Matters)

Notes from Mark Bittman: 
"You can start with either cooked or raw vegetables: Try ribbons of spinach or chard,chop[ed fresh or dried tomatoes, potato slices, asparagus, broccoli rabe, sauteed mushrooms, zucchini, or eggplant cubes.  Fresh basil is lovely with nearly everything, but other herbs like tarragon or mint are also duper.  And of course you can toss in some cooked crumbled sausage, bacon, or chopped ham, ore even shrimp just before adding the eggs"

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 onion, peeled and sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4-6 cups of any chopped or sliced raw or cooked vegetables, drained of excess moisture if necessary
1/4 cup basil leaves, or 1 tsp chopped fresh tarragon or mint leaves (optional) 
2 or 3 eggs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional

Procedure:

1) Put a tablespoon of the olive oil in a skillet and turn the heat to medium.  When the oil is hot, add the onion and cook, sprinkling with salt and pepper, until it's soft, about 3 minutes. Add the vegetables, raise the heat, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften anywhere from a couple of minutes for greens to 15 minutes for sliced potatoes.  Adjust the heat so the vegetables brown a little without scorching.  (If you're starting with precooked vegetables, add them to the onions and give a couple of good stirs before proceeding.)

2) When the vegetables are nearly done, turn the heat to low and add the basil.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pan is almost dry, up to another 5 minutes for wetter ingredients like tomatoes or mushrooms.

3) Meanwhile, beat the eggs with some salt and pepper, along with the cheese if you're using it.  Pour over the vegetables, using a spoon if necessary to distribute them evenly.  Cook, undisturbed, until the eggs are barely set, 10 minutes or so.  (You can set them further by putting the pan in a 350 F oven for a few minutes, or running it under the broiler for a minute or two.) Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

  This is a very simple dish to put together and always comes out delicious.  I usually skip the herb and cheese part unless I happen to have them in the house.  I've used a number of veggies in this dish: carrots, zucchini, kale, chard, spinach, summer squash, bell peppers, etc. etc.  Use your imagination.  We love this dish served hot with some hot sauce on top.  Also good cold the next day.

More vegetable-than-egg frittata.  I think I added cheese on top on this one.

Green chile stew

  Continuing on the green chile theme, this time with Scott's favorite soup.  This one we had to modify quite a bit, but once we got it right it was amazingly delicious!

Green Chile Stew (from Authentic Southwestern Cooking  by Lynn Nusom)

Ingredients:

3-4 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 lb. ground pork
3 cups chicken stock or broth
3 cups water
6 mild long green chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped
4 large potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups corn, cut off the cob or frozen
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp dried, crushed oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp salt

Procedure:

1) Heat the oil in a large pot and saute the garlic and onions for 3-4 minutes.  Add the ground beef and pork and cook, stirring, until cooked through.  Add the rest of the ingredients and cook over low heat for approximately 1 hour or until meat and potatoes are done.

  Okay, so here's how I made it differently:

-For one thing, I didn't used two different types of meat, just all ground beef.
-I used 6 cups of chicken stock.  What in the world is the point of diluting the chicken flavor?
-We used way way more than just 6 green chiles.  We initially used maybe 8 or so, found it wasn't spicy enough, and so chopped up maybe 4 more into long strips and put it in the soup.  Made all the difference!
-The corn I used was from a can.  Why is it that when they give corn as an option they never offer canned?  It's always fresh or frozen.  Weird..
-I used purple potatoes, as that happened to be what I had around.  And, if you know me at all, you know I didn't peel them.  I hate peeling!
-I added in more flavorings like hot sauce, a chile pepper grinder and I don't remember what else.  Play with spices!

  In the end, after all that tinkering, it came out quite delicious.  And spicy!  I'm talking spice in your ears spicy!  Mmmmm....

Green chile stew in a bowl I made on our honeymoon

Showing the green chile strips in the stew

Tortilla soup

     How has it been so long since I last blogged?!  My apologies for all my blog followers out there; I guess I haven't been in the blogging zone.  But now, I'm back with a vengeance (or, at least, trying to be ;-) ).
     So, this blog's theme is green chiles.  I've had a many year love affair with the delicious green fruits (yes, fruits!).  Scott went to college (the second time around) at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and was introduced to and fell in love with green chiles.  When we started dating, despite my initial leeriness because of my spice sensitivity, I fell in love with green chiles as well.  There is nothing like a delicious, roasted, genuine Hatch, NM green chile.  It's got an earthy roasted taste that I haven't found in any other chile.  Get the real deal!  And no, the cans don't count.  If you're sensitive to chiles, get the mild kind.  I found, over time, that my body has acclimatized an now I like them quite spicy!  Alas, they are a bit difficult to find out here in CA.  So it surprised the heck out of me when I found the real deal in a grocery store called Sprouts while down in Southern California.  This got Scott to thinking that perhaps they would have green chiles up here in Nor Cal.  He finally found them at a Sprouts grocery store in Saratoga and bought a case with over 200 chiles for $17!!  Such a steal!  We usually get our chiles from the UNM alumni roast, where they are $45 for 10 lbs.  We had maybe about 30 lbs for $17!  Wahoo!  Of course, that meant that Scott did a whole bunch of home roasting (no chile drum for us), but it was totally worth it.  And thus the green chile theme!

Tortilla soup (from Authentic Southwestern Cooking by Lynn Nusom)

Ingredients:

3 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 large, ripe, red tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
6 cups chicken stock or broth
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
2 whole chicken breasts, skinned, boned, cooked, and cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 green chile, seeded and diced (we put in more than one!)
2 cups tortilla chips
6 tbsp. Monterey Jack cheese, grated
1 cup black olives, sliced

Procedure:

1) Saute the garlic and onion in the olive oil until the onion is soft.  Spoon the onion and garlic into a blender with the tomatoes, 1 cup of chicken stock, and cilantro and blend until smooth.  Pour the mixture into a saucepan, stir in the rest of the chicken stock, cooked chicken, salt, black pepper, and green chile and cook over medium heat until heated through.
2) Coarsely crumble the tortilla chips into the bottoms of individual soup bowls, pour the soup over the chips, sprinkle the cheese and olives on top, and serve at once.

  The result?  Cheesy, crunchy spicy deliciousness.  This is one of my favorite soups in the whole world to have (and that's saying a lot!).  Perfect for a cold, autumny day.  Enjoy!

Tortilla soup