Orange Chicken

Orange Chicken

Sweet, tangy and crispy -- that's how my six year-old son describes my orange chicken recipe. It's actually one of his favorite dishes. And I must admit, it took me a while to perfect this recipe. I remember the first time I tried to cook orange chicken, it was too sweet. The second time, it was fine. But I knew I can make it taste better, I knew something's missing. So when I tried to cook it for the third time, I made the sauce first. I didn't stop experimenting with the sauce until I achieved that sweet, tangy and spicy taste.

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into small pieces
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup corn starch plus 1 tbsp corn starch
1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp ginger, minced
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tsp crushed red chili pepper
1 tbsp rice wine
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 tsp salt
pepper
oil for deep frying

For the sauce:
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp water
5 tbsp brown sugar
zest of 1 orange
zest of one lemon
4 tbsp white vinegar
juice of 1 lemon


Mix beaten egg, salt and pepper in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix 3/4 cup corn starch and flour, stir in water. Then add the flour mixture to the egg mixture. Add the chicken and stir to coat.

Heat oil in a pan for deep frying. Add chicken, fry in small batches at a time. Do not overcook the chicken, just fry it 3-4 minutes or until golden brown.

You can make the sauce while frying the chicken. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mixed well.

Drain chicken on paper towels and set aside. Clean the pan. Add 1 tablespoon  oil.

When the pan is hot enough, add the minced ginger and garlic. Stir fry for about 10 seconds then add the crushed red chilli pepper. Stir for 5 seconds then add the rice wine.

Add the sauce and bring to boil. Add the cooked chicken, stir and mix well.

Dissolve 1 tablespoon corn starch in in water. Add to chicken. Heat until sauce is thickened.

Transfer in a plate, serve and enjoy!

Orange Chicken

[My Version of ] Chicken Cordon Bleu

People think baking is hard to do and that it needs a lot of practice to perfect a recipe. But you know, I consider baking as the easiest and fastest way to prepare a dish. So for today, let me share a simple chicken cordon bleu recipe.

This is my own version of cordon bleu. A popular cordon bleu recipe requires ham slices and Swiss cheese. Since I ran out of ham, I used turkey bacon instead.

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs boneless chicken breast, halves
1 egg beatenhalf cup bread crumbs
turkey bacon
Swiss cheese slices (or mozarella)
salt and pepper
1 tbsp parmesan cheese (optional)


for the sauce:

2 cups water
1 chicken cube
1 tsp corn starch
1 tsp lemon juice
1 can all purpose cream (or 2 tbsp sour cream plus half cup evaporated milk)


Preheat oven to 350F. Grease baking dish with cooking spray.

Mix breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese, season with pepper and set aside.

Pound the chicken breast into 1/4 thickness. Season with salt and pepper. Place 1 turkey bacon slice and 1 Swiss cheese slice on top of the chicken breast. Roll up the chicken breast, carefully dip the roll in egg wash and secure with toothpick. Sprinkle rolled chicken with seasoned bread crumbs. Bake in the oven at 350F for 35-40 minutes.

To make the sauce:

Mix all the ingredients. Bring to boil, stirring constantly.

Remove the toothpick from the chicken. Pour sauce over chicken, serve and enjoy!

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Banana-Q

I have been craving for banana-Q since last week, and today I decided satisfy my craving.
I don't have saba banana, but I do have plantain. I also have brown sugar, but oh no I don't have sticks. Anyway, forget about the sticks, I'm still gonna make my own version of banana-Q.

I like my banana-Q with sesame seeds, so before frying the plantains, I sprinkled some sesame seeds first in the pan. It would take 2-3 minutes to brown the seeds. Then transfer the fried sesame seeds in a plate and set aside.
 
Next, I sliced the plantains. Heat the pan and put about 1/2 cup of oil. I fried the bananas first, 4-5 slices at a time.When both sides of the bananas turned light brown, I sprinkled the brown sugar on top of the banana slices.

You have to wait for the brown sugar to melt before turning the banana slices one by one, then sprinkle sugar again and wait for the sugar to melt again. When the sugar started to melt, sprinkle fried sesame seeds, then carefully stir the banana slices and cook for 1-2 more minutes. Transfer in a plate with paper towel, then serve and enjoy!

 

Beef Embutido

Beef Embutido

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs ground beef
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/3 cup chopped carrots
1 tsp pickle relish
1/3 cup raisin
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/3 cup chopped onion
dash of pepper

2 eggs, boiled and then cut into wedges
cheddar cheese, cut into sticks
1 can Vienna sausage, sliced


Preheat oven to 375F.
Mixed all the ingredients in a bowl except for the boiled eggs, cheese and sausage.

Flatten one cup of the ground beef mixture into the center of a square cut aluminum foil.
Put 2 slices of egg, 2 stick of cheddar cheese and 2 slices of sausage at the center of the flattened ground beef mixture, forming a straight line at the center.

Carefully roll the flattened ground beef using your two hands, placing them under the aluminum foil, folding each side to roll the ground beef and form a log.

Roll the aluminum foil, make sure both ends are closed.

Baked in the oven for an hour at 375F.

Let the embutido stand in the oven for another 15 minutes after turning it off.
When the embutido is cool enough, slice and enjoy!