Sweet and Sour Chicken

Recently, Gary has had some free time on his hands (read: he’s no longer employed), so he decided to use some of his time productively. He decided he wanted to experiment in the kitchen. He started out with Martin Yan’s quick and easy cookbook (recipe post to come soon), and he started looking through The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook written by Jaden Hair from Steamy Kitchen. He’s made a few recipes from the cookbook already, and they’ve been great so far. I think it’s very well written, and the instructions are clear for someone who is beginning in the kitchen. Her recipes also remind me of things I ate growing up at home. I think I need to start asking my mom how she made all those thing I used to love eating as well…

One of the first recipes Gary tried out was this sweet and sour chicken recipe. Sweet and sour chicken is one of our favorite things to order at the local fast food places, but the deep fried greasiness isn’t so great all the time. As Jaden said, this recipe is a great lightened up version of the fast food favorite.

I was pretty bummed when Gary told me he was making this because I ended up working late that night. So instead of eating it right after it was made, I ended up eating it for lunch the next day. I asked him to take a picture for me, so this is what he got.

Other than the fact that Gary used half a 20 oz can of crushed pineapple instead of cutting up the can of rings that were in the pantry, he pretty much stayed true to the original recipe.

Sweet and Sour Chicken
adapted from: Steamy Kitchen via Simply Recipes

printable recipe

ingredients:
1 pound of boneless and skinless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into 1" chunks
1 egg white
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (1/4 teaspoon table salt)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 10-ounce can pineapple chunks (reserve juice)
1/4 cup juice from the canned pineapple
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (1/4 teaspoon table salt)
2-3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cooking oil
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

directions:
In a bowl, combine the chicken with the egg white, salt and cornstarch. Stir to coat the chicken evenly. Let sit for 15 minutes at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator.

In the meantime, whisk together the pineapple juice, vinegar, ketchup, salt, and brown sugar.

Heat a large frying pan or wok over high heat until a bead of water instantly sizzles and evaporates. Pour in the 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and swirl to coat. It's important that the pan is very hot. Add the chicken and spread the chicken out in one layer. Let the chicken fry, untouched for 1 minute, until the bottoms are browned. Flip and fry the other side the same for 1 minute. The chicken should still be pinkish in the middle. Dish out the chicken onto a clean plate, leaving as much oil in the pan as possible.

Turn the heat to medium and add the remaining 1 teaspoon of cooking oil. Let the oil heat up and then add the bell pepper chunks and ginger. Fry for 1 minute. Add the pineapple chunks and the sweet and sour sauce. Turn the heat to high and when the sauce is simmering, add the chicken pieces back in. Let simmer for 1-2 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Timing depends on how thick you've cut your chicken. The best way to tell if the chicken is done is to take a piece out and cut into it. If it's pink, add another minute to the cooking.

Taste the sauce and add more brown sugar if you’d like.

Serves 4.

Crockpot Hawaiian Chicken with Coconut Rice

I saw this recipe come up on my Google reader, and I knew I had to try it. It was a great use of ingredients I had usually had on hand. I was also home and I wanted to put the crockpot to use while I did other things around the house. I know, I know, the crockpot was meant for things such as when you’re out of the house and need to have dinner ready when you get home. However, I still get paranoid (all Gary’s fault) if I leave it plugged in for an extended period of time without supervision. I’ll probably have to use it a few more times under my watch before I leave it on when I’m away. I also don’t have a programmable one, so that’s one of my concerns too. Mine just has low, high, and warm. It doesn’t shut off after a certain amount of time.

With that said, I made this with chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts, because that’s what I usually have on hand. I’m much more of a dark meat fan myself. The pack had 5, so I added it all in there. I also used pineapple chunks instead of rings. I thought I had rings, but I was mistaken. It worked just the same though. I also paired it with some coconut rice that made this a great meal. We both enjoyed this a lot.

The others mentioned that it was a bit sweet, but I didn’t find it sweet at all. I think it was the extra piece of chicken or because it was paired with the coconut rice that balanced it out.

Crockpot Hawaiian Chicken
Adapted from: Stephanie Cooks, Lauren’s Kitchen, and …and a cookie for Dessert, originally from the Easy Slow Cooker Cookbook.

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used a pack of 5 boneless skinless thighs)
salt to taste
1 (15 ounce) can pineapple slices, juice reserved (I used a can of pineapple chunks)
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup cornstarch

Directions:
Place chicken in slow cooker sprayed with non-stick spray and sprinkle with a little salt.

Place pineapple slices (or pineapple chunks) over chicken.

In a small bowl, combine pineapple juice, brown sugar, lemon juice, ginger and cornstarch and stir until combined. Pour over chicken.

Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours or high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Serve over rice.

See below for coconut rice recipe.

Coconut Rice
Adapted from: About.com

Ingredients:
2 cups Thai jasmine-scented white rice (note that other types of rice, such as brown rice, do not work for this recipe)
1 1/2 cups thick, good-quality coconut milk (not "lite")
2 cups water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar

Directions:
Place rice in rice cooker. Add the water, coconut milk, salt, and sugar. Stir well (use a plastic or wooden utensil to avoid scraping off the non-stick surface).

Cover and set to cook.

Once your rice cooker switches to "warm" mode, allow another 8-10 minutes for rice to finish "steaming". This will ensure your coconut rice is fully cooked and pleasantly sticky.

Gently fluff with chopsticks before serving.

This is the recipe that uses a rice cooker.
For Coconut Rice made in a pot on your stovetop, see: Thai Coconut Rice Recipe (stovetop version).

Before I started the coconut rice, I had a can of coconut milk that was new and not opened. I opened it up and saw that it was in chunks! It still smelled like coconut, but I couldn’t use it. I guess it was because I put it in the fridge when I bought it. DO NOT PUT CANS OF COCONUT MILK IN THE FRIDGE. If you do, this is what it will look like:

Luckily, just this past weekend, I found coconut cream powder at the Chinese supermarket and bought it.

This was a life saver! It had instructions for both coconut cream and coconut milk. Whew!

Pineapple Cranberry Cookies

Adapted from: Taste of Home Best Loved Cookies and Bars 2008
Made by: Cathy and Carol

This cookie sound good and looked good in the magazine, however the taste was a little off to me. This is more of a cakey cookie, and I usually don't like that those types of cookies. Nonetheless, here is the recipe.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can (8 ounces) unsweetened crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Directions:
1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in the pineapple, walnuts and cranberries.
3. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 425° for 7-9 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Some of the cookies became mushy after a day in the ziploc bag. We might have not drained the pineapple enough.

To me, these weren't the best tasting cookies, but my sister's coworkers liked them. I'm glad someone did :).

Rave of the Day: Pineapple Corer Slicer

I saw the Vacu Vin Pineapple Slicer a couple of years ago on the Food Network. It was one of the kitchen marvel shows that had cool kitchen gadgets. One of the items I noticed was the pineapple slicer.


Anyone who's ever had to cut and peel a fresh pineapple knows it takes forever to do it. This gadget makes it so much easier to get perfect rings of pineapple in seconds! Well, maybe not seconds, but it's certainly faster than cutting then slicing...you get my drift.

All you have to do is cut the top off, align the gadget with the core, press down and twist clockwise. Remove the top from the base and slide the rings out from the top.


It takes a little getting used to, especially to make perfect equal sized rings. Mine were a little uneven, but it still looked good.


The core and shell of the pineapple is left intact. You can use it to put fruit in, or make a nice mixed drink. Go ahead, I won't tell :). There is juice leftover that can be reserved for something else.


There are the rings! I like to soak them in water with a little bit of salt to preserve the sweetness. However, pineapple doesn't last long with us, so there wasn't left over after I made my shrimp and beef skewers, and since Gary ate the rest of the pineapple.

The problem with this gadget is that it's geared towards smaller pineapple. If you have a bigger fruit, it will not get the sides of the shell. You can always run a knife on the side to cut off the leftovers.

Shrimp and Steak Skewers

Made by: Cathy

Part 2 of our anniversary dinner. I made shrimp and beef skewers with pineapples.

Using a fresh pineapple and juice, I created this.

Ingredients:
1 dozen shrimp
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce and marinade
1 teaspoon sliced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon brown sugar
pineapple wedges
juice from fresh pineapple
1/2 lb steak cut into cubes
Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Peel and devein the shrimp. Combine the shrimp with the teriyaki sauce, pineapple juice, ginger, sugar. Marinate in the fridge for half hour.
2. Cut the steak into cubes. Season with salt and pepper. Add a couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce. Mix well.
3. Soak some wooden skewers with water. Assemble with pineapple, steak and shrimp.


4. Grill on the George Foreman Grill for 3-4 min depending on the desired doneness of the steak. You can also grill under the broiler.


The steak and pineapple were good. The shrimp was so so. I may have to marinate a little longer to get a better flavor next time.

Carrot Cake

Adapted from: All Recipes
Made by: Cathy

I'm not much of a cake person, but carrot cake is one of my favorites. I made this for my sister's Lunar birthday. I adapted the recipe from Allrecipes.com based on one of the reviews. One of the users consolidated all the reviews and came up with her own recipe.

I had rave reviews for this cake. Gary liked it and he told me he didn't like carrot cake. The ones he's had before were dry and didn't taste good. My BIL thought it was something store bought (yes!). My family thought it was great, and they usually hate sweets. They did say the frosting was sweet, but again, the DO hate sweets.

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained (I forgot to add this)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped pecans (I omitted)

For the Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans (I omitted)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 2 round 9" cake pans.
2. Grate 6-7 medium carrots to make 3 cups. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, sugars, vanilla, and pineapple. Mix in dry ingredients. Stir in carrots. Fold in pecans if desired. Pour equal amounts into prepared pans.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.


To Make Frosting:
1. In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in chopped pecans. Frost the cooled cake.

I added 2 cups of confectioner's sugar initially to taste. I then added more sugar by the half cup to my desired sweetness.


In my excitement to eat my first ever carrot cake, I forgot to take a picture of the cut piece. It was so good.

Next time, I'm going to try it with the crushed pineapple to see how it tastes. I'm also going to try cupcakes.