sesame noodles

sesame noodles.  i don't know why, but this recipe just reached out and grabbed me.  it was actually the first thing i made with my new-found tasty ingredient of sesame oil.  and oh, did it deliver.  this would be wonderful served with chicken, beef, or even a roasted pork chop.  it is good on it's own, but definitely designed as a "side", since it doesn't have a good source of protein.

below are my adaptations to the original recipe...

boil your favorite spaghetti noodles until al dente.  i didn't have my favorite whole wheat blend thin spaghetti so i "suffered" through with the standard fare.

as the noodles simmer away, combine all the amazing dressing ingredients together in a medium bowl--this will be where your noodles end up, so be sure the bowl is big enough to accommodate them all.

remove the noodles from the pasta water with tongs and put into the bowl with sauce.  toss around until the noodles are covered.

chop your handy-dandy green onions (both white and green parts), and add to the noodle mix.  toss one more time and serve.

 here's the recipe

sesame noodles
adapted from thepioneerwoman.com

12 ounces thin pasta noodles
4 whole green onions, diced

dressing:
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp sugar
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
3 Tbsp pure sesame oil
1/2 tsp cayanne pepper (can use hot chili oil instead)
2 Tbsp hot water


bring a large pot of water to a boil.  add noodles and allow to cook until al dente.  in the meantime, whisk together sauce ingredients in a medium bowl.

when the noodles reach al dente, drain them and add to the bowl with the dressing.  toss together and sprinkle with green onions.  serve warm.

 

broccoli beef

broccoli beef

photo by ree drummond of pioneerwoman.com

if there is chinese food to be ordered, broccoli beef or sweet and sour chicken are my A#1 top orders.  and if i can get them in a dinner combo, i am a very happy girl!

i have shied away from trying to make broccoli beef myself because...well...at first i wanted it to be this magical thing i only ordered at a restaurant.  and then it was because i saw recipes with ingredients that i couldn't possibly believe would be used for more than one recipe--and where does one even find oyster sauce?!?  well, one finds it between the soy sauce and the sesame oil in the chinese food section of your run-of-the-mill grocery store.

this recipe is originally by jaden hair of steamykitchen.com .  i had tried her sweet and sour grilled chicken and liked it quite a lot (i have yet to tweak it to my personal tastes, so stay tuned for some later-date post on that).  that gave me confidence in her cooking and actually finding oyster sauce plus the anxiously-awaiting bag of frozen broccoli in my freezer basically begs for me to try this out.

for fantastic step-by-step photos, check out pioneerwoman.com (another great site for tasty, tasty cooking and great food photography).

my only change to this recipe was to double the stir fry sauce (because, well, i like sauce).  i also added a tablespoon of cornstarch to sauce instead of a teaspoon to the marinade.  the original sauce came out rather watery, so i wanted to goop that up a little.  oh, and i used stew meat--because it's what i already had on hand.

so if you want to increase your green veggies with a great, and really rather low-cal, recipe, try this out!  you won't regret it.

broccoli beef
adapted from pioneerwoman.com who got it from the steamy kitchen cookbook


1 pound thinly sliced steak (the recipe recommends top sirloin or flank--i used stew meat)
1 1/2 - 2 pounds broccoli, frozen okay
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon minced garlic

marinade:
1 1/2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 tsp oil (can be vegetable or olive or peanut or whatever---ooh! would be amazing with sesame)
black pepper to season

sauce:
3 Tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp rice wine (or dry sherry)
2 tsp balsamic vinegar (or Chinese black vinegar)
1 Tbsp cornstarch

in a bowl or baking dish, combine the ingredients for the marinade.  add the beef, toss the meat until coated, then let marinate for 10 minutes at room temperature.

in a small bowl (ramekin works), whisk together the ingredients for the sauce.  set aside.

steam the broccoli by your method of choice.  this could be done in a microwave or on the stove.  drain.

in a dry saute pan large enough to hold everything, set the pan on high heat and when hot, add the olive oil.  swirl to coat the pan.  add the steak strips, keeping them in one layer--turn them after about 30 seconds (you don't want to overcook them).

pour the sauce into the meat.  stir to combine.  simmer until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.  add the broccoli and toss all the ingredients to coat.

serve alone or over rice.

Chicken Cashew Lettuce Wraps

photo by missamy

soooo, after moving, i have yet to unearth my camera.  it is here---somewhere---so i'm borrowing the picture from the original recipe :)

if you are a fan of a particular chain chinese food restaurant's lettuce wraps, these are for you!  so incredibly tasty and really rather easy to make.  the recipe below reflects my adaptations to the original posted by missamy on tastykitchen.com

my notes:

*if you like sauciness, use the recipe below as written (i doubled the original because i like extra sauce, especially when serving over rice).  if you like just enough sauce to flavor the chicken, you can easily 1/2 the recipe below to get that good glaze without extra dripping.

*my mouth wimps out when it comes to spicy foods.  i reduced the ground red pepper by half, but you could easily amp it up to meet your own spicy tolerance (mine is very low).

*you could easily use grated ginger in this recipe for a bit of additional freshness

*i enjoyed these using green leaf lettuce as a wrapper (not just a "plate" as seen in the picture).  i have had the restaurant version with iceberg lettuce, and though i liked the additional crunchiness of iceberg, it cracked every time and left the filling dropping everywhere.

*if using for a main dish, i would recommend a side of rice to add some bulk to the whole meal.  the prepared chicken with additional sauce would be great served on rice instead of in lettuce as well.

*if you plan on making enough for microwavable leftovers, leave the cashews out of the whole amount of prepared food and only sprinkle it on each serving---i learned the interesting way that cashews drenched in this sauce turn hard and black in the microwave :)  that's why i'm here, so you don't have to make those mistakes :)

*do not fear the ingredient of sesame oil.  i avoided recipes with it because i thought it would be expensive or i would have to go to a specialty shop.  but alas, i was wrong!  (yay for times like this where being wrong means i get great food!)  i found sesame oil in the ethnic food section at a very run-of-the-mill grocery store on the top shelf with the chinese food.  the bottle was about half the size of a typical soy sauce bottle, for about $2.50 but recipes tend to use it only a teaspoon or tablespoon at a time so this one bottle will last me quite a while.  check back later for more sesame-oil-using recipes...it's my new favorite ingredient!

with that, here is my adaptation to the original recipe.

Chicken Cashew Lettuce Wraps

adapted from missamy at TastyKitchen.com

2 Tbsp rice vinegar

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1/4 tsp ground red pepper

1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger (or 1/2 tsp ground ginger)

2 tsp sesame oil

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
(optional: 1/2 tsp cornstarch if you want a saucy sauce.  if you are halving the recipe, leave out the cornstarch)

1.5 lbs chicken, cut in bite-sized pieces

2 cups diced onion (or 1/2 cup dried minced reconstituted in about that much water)

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp soy sauce

1/2 cup cashews

green leaf lettuce
sesame seeds to garnish

mix the first six ingredients in a small bowl and set aside (a ramekin is big enough).  brown chicken until just cooked through.  remove from heat.  put onions, garlic and 2 tsp soy sauce in the pan; brown.  when onions and garlic are tender, add chicken and sauce mix (if all will be served at the same time, you can add the cashews here---if making enough for leftovers, leave out the cashews and sprinkle them over individual servings).  sprinkle with cornstarch (if using) and saute for a few minutes until blended well and heated through.  serve with lettuce leaves for wrapping (or over rice).  sprinkle with sesame seeds.