Char Siu or Chinese Bar-B-Que Chicken

Since moving to the ‘Middle Of The Desert’, I have been looking for ways to make dishes and/or ingredients that I use in dishes inspired by Hawaii.  One dish or ingredient that I’ve been experimenting with is Char Siu or Chinese Bar-B-Que. I’ve made mention that I’ve tried acoupla different sauces or dry mixes that season the meat to achieve the desired flavor.

[photo credit to Walmart.com]

On this go `round, I tried Lee Kum Kee Char Siu Sauce.

My favorite Green Grocer had lovely little Organic Chickens on sale and you know me already, a light bulb went off over my head  💡 … let’s try Char Siu Chicken.  I was going to make it Huli Huli Style but the Monsoon storms finally started and they can be very unpredictable, so I  tossed the birdie in the oven in stead.

I marinated the deconstructed whole Chicken in a half jar of the Lee Kum Kee sauce for three days and then roasted it off at 375° until the breast meat reached 165° and the dark meat got to 175° … DONE!  I mean come on man, how ONO  (delicious in Hawaiian 😉 ) does that look?!

Looks pretty, but the taste isn’t quite there, for me nor DH anyways.  So, what to do with all of this Chicken you ask?

Fried Rice! 

Mise en place or everything in place before you start is always a good bet.

HEH!  What happened to the photograph of our finished product?

OOPS!  Sorry, I got so excited, I forgot that part of this story, but you know how it all goes, right?

WHOA! That’s alot of Fried Rice

[File Photo]

I packed up some of our trial run Char Siu Chicken Fried Rice to share with the gals in our Community’s Office and then we had the rest for our lunch.  DH wasn’t all that thrilled with this version, “I like Char Siu Pork!  Stick with tradition!” 😀

 

 

 

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Aloha Shoyu Brand Guava Pineapple Teriyaki Glaze

I had seen this new-ish product put out by my most favorite Soy Sauce Company from Hawaii; it took me awhile to find it, but I did when we were in Peoria at Lee Lee’s.

I also stocked up on my favorite Shoyu or Soy Sauce as you may call it, YEAH!!!

So let’s get cookin’ …

I marinated Boneless-Skinless Chicken Thighs in the Glaze for a good 24 hours, and then grilled the meat.

I had bought a fresh Pineapple and chunked it for snacking on, and thought that It would make a tasty side to the Guava Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken.

Never have I ever  made Grilled Pineapple before, really!  It was ONO!

I served it all up with some Fried Rice and called it

DELICIOUS!

If you can’t find Aloha Shoyu Brand Guava Pineapple Teriyaki Glaze in your market, try here:

Guava Pineapple Teriyaki Glaze – 20 oz

ENJOY!

Chicken and Snow Pea Stir-Fry

I’ve been thinking a lot about Cheap & Friendly Family Meals lately.  So many households need quick and inexpensive meal ideas; may I humbly suggest this one?

Auntie Doni’s Chicken and Snow Pea Stir-Fry

serves 4

3 B/S Chicken Thighs, diced

1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil

8 oz. package Fresh Snow Peas

2 Garlic Cloves, thinly sliced

3 Green Onion, chopped and divided

1/2 Tbsp. fresh Ginger, grated fine

1/4 tsp. White Pepper

1/4 C. Low Sodium Soy Sauce (you know we like Aloha Shoyu best!)

1/4 C. Chicken Broth

1/2 Tbsp. Corn Starch

1/2 tsp. Sesame Oil

 

In a large fry pan over medium-high, heat the Oil just til you see wisps of smoke. Sauté the Chicken until it get a little brown.  Now goes in the Snow Peas, Garlic, Ginger, half of the Green Onions and White Pepper, toss them with the Chicken and add maybe 2 tablespoons of water and cover.  Steam the veg to crisp-tender, this should take like 1-2 minutes, tops.

Combine the Shoyu, Broth and Corn Starch in a small bowl or measuring cup; pour over the Chicken and Veg and stir to combine.  The sauce will thicken and coat everything nicely.

Remove the pan from the heat and drizzle the Sesame Oil and sprinkle the remaining Green Onions over your finished dish.

Serve with Steamed Rice, Noodles or just by itself.

Here’s the break down of this dish:

Chicken $2.00 + Snow Peas $2.98 + everything else $1.50 = $6.48/4 servings = $1.64

WOW!!   😮

As always, a recipe is simply some else’s idea, you take it and make it your own.  Change out the protein and/or the veg, like Shrimp and Asparagus or Beef and Broccoli, the sky’s the limit.

 

**Cook’s note: if you like a saucier dish, double the Soy Sauce, Broth and Corn Starch.

One-Pan Herb de Provence Chicken & Veg Supper

I keep hearing about Herb de Provence Roasted Chicken and wanted to try this for myself, but on a smaller scale, and with vegetables.

DONE!

Geez, I really should write this down, that was really tasty AND I got a big thumbs up from DH.

 

Auntie Doni’s One-Pan Herb de Provence Chicken & Veg Supper

Serves 2+

3 B/S Chicken Thighs

1 C. New Potatoes, halved

1 C. Baby Carrots

1/2 C. Onions, chopped

2 Tbsp. White Wine

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil

2 tsp. Herb de Provence

1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/4 tsp. Black Pepper

Preheat the oven to 350⁰

Line a sheet pan with Tin Foil

In a small bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients

In a large bowl add the Chicken & Veg, pour the Wine and Oil over everything, coat everything well

Sprinkle in the Spice mixture and evenly distribute over the Chicken and Veggies

Spread into the prepared sheet pan in a single layer

Roast for about 45 minutes, turning everything half way through

Cooking until the Chicken registers 165⁰; the Vegetables should be done at this point too

MMM!

Remember that a recipe is just someone else’s idea, take it and make it your own

ENJOY!

Chicken Cacciatore, Another Sunday Supper

I’m pretty sure that I’ve made mention previously that I really like to make some sort of Italian-Inspired meal on Sundays, hence, Sunday Suppers. 

One of the dishes that I enjoy is Chicken Cacciatore, MMM!  It’s a pretty simple main course and can be multiplied, made ahead, and any leftovers freeze beautifully.  My version is a bit different than what you’ll find in other kitchens.

 

Auntie Doni’s Chicken Cacciatore

2+ servings

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil, divided

2 boneless-skinless Chicken thighs, diced bite-sized

½ C. Onions, chopped

1 C. Mushrooms, diced (I prefer Crimini)

1 C. Sweet Bell Peppers, diced

¼ C. Wine (optional)

1-2 C. prepared Marinara (I buy Trader Joe’s jarred sauce, tastes just like mine homemade)

 

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat.  Sauté the Mushrooms until they’re golden and next add in the Onions and Peppers; sauté until the veggies are crisp-tender, transfer to a plate and set aside.

Heat the remaining oil and sauté the Chicken until brown and a little crispy around the edges.  Deglaze the pan with the Wine (or a bit of Stock or even water is fine), add back in the veggies-mixture and your preferred amount of Marinara, make it as saucy as your family likes.  Stir well; lower the heat to a bare simmer and cover.

Here’s where you can start your sides, like homemade Fettuccini, or any other pasta, potato, rice, noodle, what have you, to serve with you Cacciatore.

When ready to serve, check your sauce, you may need to add some water if it’s gotten too thick.

As always, a recipe is simply someone else’s idea, you take it and make it your own.

Kara`age Chicken Made With My Newest Kitchen Toy

This is my newest kitchen toy, a T-Fal Snacking Fryer that I found at Tuesday Morning for only $19.99!  The MSRP on this baby is over $40 and I’ve had my eye on this fryer for some time now.  I like it because it has a nice vented lid that keeps all of the popping oil contained AND with an electric thermometer built in, the heat remains consistent, which makes for non-greasy fried foods, every time!

For my maiden voyage with my new deep fryer, I decided on making a local-plate-lunch-style meal of Kara`age Chicken (aka Japanese-Style Fried Chicken), YUM!!

I followed the directions on the box of Kikkoman Kara`age Seasoning Mix, set the coated pieces of boneless-skinless Chicken Thigh meat on a wire rack as the fryer came up to temperature (just watch for the light red light on the front panel to go out).

MMM!

I then cooked the Chicken in batches to a deep golden delicious crispy brown and drained it all on paper towels.

I had already made a batch of My Quick Cucumber Kim Chee and a fresh pot of steamed Rice to round out the plate-lunch-style supper for us two.

MAN! That was ONO!!!

Next time around, we need to make some of my CopyCat Zippy’s Macaroni Salad too, oh yeah!

Hawaiian-Chinese Style Chicken Noodle Soup

I know that I’ve talked about this soup in the past, but it’s been a while and seeing as it’s still kinda cold here, let’s make soup!  This is a super easy, old favorite of mine from Hawaii.

 

Chicken Long Rice

1 boneless-skinless Chicken thigh

2 C. Chicken Broth (I tried Swanson’s Cooking Stock, I really liked it)

2 C. Water

1 Garlic clove, peeled and smashed

½ inch piece of fresh Ginger Root, cut into matchsticks (I used more like an inch)

A pinch of Sea Salt (taste before adding, you may not need it)

1/3 of a package of SaiFun or Bean Threads (Long Rice)

3 Green Onions, cut into 1 inch pieces

In a medium-sized pot, add the water, broth, chicken, ginger and garlic; cook until the chicken is very tender.  Remove the chicken to a bowl and allow to cool slightly.  Shred the meat and return it to the pot.  While the chicken is cooking, place the bean threads into a large bowl of hot tap water to soak for 30 minutes.  Strain the long rice and place into the soup; simmer partially covered for about 30 minutes, until the long rice is also tender.  Add the salt, if needed,  and the greens onions just before serving.

This is my favorite brand of Long Rice

This recipe will make 2 very large bowls or 4 small servings.  The dish also freezes very well.  Go ahead and eat those little bits of fresh ginger, this is really good for you, especially when you’re not feeling well, oh and the garlic too.   A trick I learned a long time ago was to take your kitchen shears and cut up the Long Rice in the pot, they are very long.

There are other variations to this recipe, such as adding Black Mushrooms or Hot Chili Peppers.  Some folks do not care for the garlic, others the green onions.  You take this recipe and make it your own, but do try it and let me know what you thought.

Comfort food

My most recent batch of Chicken Long Rice

Aaahhh!