Chinese Chickey

Isn't that All Clad pan pretty?  Although I learned why the
original recipe called for nonstick....cornstarch is sticky! Good
thing I like to deglaze....

I love Chinese food--everything from the sweet, fried, greasy, carb- and MSG-loaded fare at such delicate eateries as Panda Express to the authentic, strange, funky, fermented, pickled, spicy-as-all-hell meal (only one so far) at Lao Sze Cheung in Chicago's Chinatown, to the awkward Dim Sum feast in NYC Chinatown where the little Chinese ladies at the table with us scoffed at our audacity to order water--apparently, you only drink tea with dim sum, thank them very much.  Or maybe it was the 10,000 plates spread in front of us and we sought to try every dish, while they frugally shared three or four plates among the three of them.  I guess American excess prevails even in Chinatown, or at least when the young Americans invade it.

The incredibly diverse food culture includes a little bit of everything, but a lot of things that i love--a prevalence of DUMPLINGS in all shapes, sizes, fillings and preparations; a whole style of eating (dim sum) devoted to appetizers and tasting as many things as possible; and a cheap, trashy side that reminds me that I'm not the only one with a dark side.

Just pretend it's in focus.

Regardless of how much I love Chinese food, both real and fake, ordering Chinese is not something my wallet nor waistline can afford to do everyday...which I why I loved coming across this Cooking Light recipe for Cashew Chicken (I would link to it, but it appears that 2010 recipes are not yet posted online). I had a bunch of the ingredients, but not all, but really what I took away from the recipe was a nice little technique for making a sauce without oil--cornstarch and broth!

First you toss the raw meat with some soy sauce, wine and cornstarch, then mix cornstarch and broth together with more seasonings to form the sauce base.  When you saute the mixture in a pan, the cornstarch reacts to the heat and thickens up almost instantly, turning chicken broth into a thick, gravy-like consistency.   Gross sounding, but when the broth is seasoned with soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and wine, it turns into something much more delicious.  I liked the recipe so far.  Only, I didn't have cashews, so I left them out. An, I wasn't going to buy sherry when I had white wine on hand.  And, really, I wanted more veggies in there than just a measly half cup of red pepper (plus, I had a getting-very-old-very-quickly half-head of cabbage in the bottom fridge drawer, so you know where my mind was with this one).

mmmmm....dumplings.....

I didn't have a great deal of the things the recipe called for and wanted to add in a great deal, and I went ahead and changed up the sauce ingredients, so, once again, I'm calling this my own, since with all the changes it really is.  But isn't that the beauty of cooking? Not being confined to a rigid set of rules; experimenting with ingredients and flavors; using what you have on hand. Like a almost-freezer-burned bag of Trader Joe's potstickers, which I pan-fried up on the side with a quick dipping sauce (equal parts soy and rice wine vinegar; stir in minced garlic and ginger to taste).

Just as delicious as takeout with a fraction of the fat, no MSG, brown rice, and money still in my pocket.  It's a win all around...and it feels trashy and bad for me, which makes the healthiness even better.   Recipe after the jump.


Chinese Chicken and Peppers with Ginger Rice
Adapted from Cooking Light's Cashew Chicken recipe. Serves 3-4
I had to deglaze the cornstarch from the bottom of the pan before proceeding with the veggies, leaving me with some extra liquid (i just used water) that I added in with the broth mixture.  This made it pretty saucy, so I'm thinking you could easily bump up the veggies and meat and leave the sauce measurements the same, stretching this to serve a bunch more people.  And if you have cashews, stir them in with the chicken in step 4.

2 Tbsp minced ginger
2 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 medium onion, chopped and divided
1 cup brown rice
2 cups water
1 lb boneless chicken, cubed
1 green pepper, cut into big chunks
1 red pepper, cut into big chunks
1/2 head green cabbage, sliced (bok choy or napa would be good too)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp sesame oil
3 Tbsp soy sauce, divided
1 Tbsp plus 2 tsp cornstarch, divided
2 Tbsp white wine
2 Tbsp Terriyaki sauce
1 Tbsp honey
2/3 cup chicken broth
green onions, sliced, for serving
toasted sesame seeds, for serving

1 Make rice: Heat a small amount of veg oil in a medium saucepan; add 1/4 cup onion, sesame seeds and ginger, and saute for 2-3 minutes until starting to soften and fragrant.  Stir in rice and water, cover and bring to a boil.  Turn heat to low and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until rice is tender. Remove from heat and let stand until ready to serve.

2. Meanwhile, toss chicken in a bowl with 1 Tbsp soy sauce, wine, and 2 tsp cornstarch.  Mix remaining soy, cornstarch, chicken broth, terriyaki sauce, and honey in a small bowl; set aside.

3.  Heat 1 tsp sesame oil in a large skillet until smoking.  Add chicken pieces; stir-fry 5 minutes or until well browned and mostly cooked through, then remove from pan and reserve.  (If needed, deglaze pan here with some water; reserve resulting liquid and add back in with broth in step 4.)  Add remaining sesame oil to pan and heat until almost smoking; add remaining onion, peppers, and cabbage and saute 3-4 minutes or until starting to soften.  Add garlic and ginger; saute 2 more minutes.

4.  Add chicken and any accumulated juices back to skillet along with the broth mixture.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 3-5 minutes until sauce is thickened and chicken is cooked through.

5.  Serve over rice; garnish with sesame seeds and sliced scallions.