In honor of the Olympics, I thought I’d make the American version of Chinese food. (I doubt this could be called actual Chinese food.) Since it’s hard to eat this out in a restaurant, I’ve been making it more at home. I usually make my version of General Tso’s Chicken, and have recently tried Natalie’s Sesame Chicken (it’s really good).  This is another simple recipe that can be make with either chicken or shrimp (or tofu or just vegetables).

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Ingredients:

1 pound chicken breast
1 teaspoon ginger, chopped
1 egg white
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 green (or red) bell pepper
2-4 carrots
12 oz can of pineapple chunks

Sauce:
2 teaspoons sherry
2 teaspoons light gf soy sauce
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

- Cut up the chicken into bite-sized chunks.
- Combine ginger, egg white, about 1/2 teaspoon each salt and cornstarch, and about 1 teaspoon oil.
- Add chicken and stir until well-coated.
- Cut pepper into strips about 1 x 1/4 inches.
- Cut carrots diagonally into thin slices.
- Drain pineapple, saving 1/2 cup of the juice.
- Prepare sauce by mixing sherry, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, reserved pineapple juice, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, and 1 teaspoon salt. Set aside.
- Heat about 3 tablespoons of oil in wok or deep cast iron pan (peanut oil is recommended because of high smoking point).
- Stir-fry chicken in small batches, stirring continuously until golden brown. Remove to dish. Repeat until all chicken is done.
- Heat about 1 tablespoon of oil in empty wok. Stir-fry carrots and green pepper for about a minute or two.
- Add chicken and pineapple chunks. Stir 1 minute or until well-mixed and re-heated.
- Add sauce to wok and stir until thickened.
- Serve with rice.

General Tso’s Chicken

For those of you who read Carrie’s blog over at Ginger Lemon Girl, you saw this recipe and photo.  But I promised her that I would post the recipe with step-by-step photos and more detailed instructions.

So here you are.  I usually cut the original recipe in half.  It calls for 3 pounds of chicken; a pack from the store is usually 1 1/2 pounds, and that’s a good amount for us for dinner plus lunch the next day.  I just have to halve the sauce recipe.

Ingredients:

3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1/4 cup gluten free soy sauce
1 egg, beaten
1 cup cornstarch
2 cups green onions, sliced
8 small dried chilies, seeds removed (chili pepuin, bird’s eye, etc.)  (Adjust the amount depending on taste and heat of the type of chili used.  And be careful handling the chilies – use gloves and do not touch the seeds with your hands.  I learned this the hard way.)

Sauce:

1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup gluten free soy sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup sherry or white wine
14 1/2 ounces chicken broth (equals one can)

Place all sauce ingredients into a jar with a lid and shake to mix. 

Refrigerate until needed, shaking it again when you are ready to use it.

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Directions:

1.  Mix soy sauce, egg and cornstarch well and add chicken, tossing to coat.

2.  Deep fry chicken, 7 to 8 pieces at a time in hot (350 degree) oil unti crispy.  (I do this in the wok in about an inch to 2 inches of oil.)  Drain on paper towels.  Repeat until all chicken is cooked.

3.  Place a small amount of oil in a wok or large skillet and heat to 400 degrees.  (I just guess on the degrees.)

4.  Add green onions and hot peppers and stir fry for about 30 seconds.

5.  Stir sauce and add to pan with onions and peppers, cooking until thick.  If the sauce gets too thick, simply add a little water.

6.  Add the chicken to the sauce in the wok and cook until it is hot and bubbly.  If desired, add vegetables at same time as you add chicken.

7.  Serve over rice.

Note:  You can make this recipe a little healthier by not frying the chicken.  The sauce is really what’s important.  (Although frying it does make it seem a little more like what I remember from Chinese restaurants.)

(Sorry, the picture turned out really blurry. I need to work on my photography skills.)

I got a couple of really nice Sashimi grade tuna steaks from the market. All I like to do to these is sear them briefly with a little lemon, salt and pepper on them. Tuna is best served rare.

I wanted something a little different to go with them, so I found this recipe for Asian Slaw. Instead of getting the cabbage as individual heads of cabbage, I just bought the pre-shredded bag of slaw that included the green and purple cabbage, as well as carrots. But below is the recipe as originally posted on the FoodNetwork website.

Ingredients:

1 head green cabbage, shredded
1/2 head red cabbage, shredded
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce (GF)
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon chile paste
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter (all natural)
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
2 carrots, shredded
1 cup bean sprouts
4 scallions, julienned on the bias
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions:

Toss the cabbage together in a large colander and set in the sink. Sprinkle the cabbage with salt and let stand for 15 minutes. The salt draws out some of its moisture so that the slaw remains crunchy.

In a bowl, whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, oil, chile paste, peanut butter, and ginger. Toss together with the cabbage, carrots, bean sprouts and scallions; season with salt and pepper. Garnish with sesame seeds before serving.