Lighted Up Sesame Chicken Stir-Fry

I love making stir-fry because you can do all your prep-work before hand and then when it comes time to cook you only need 1 pan!

The sauce in this stir-fry has a sweet flavor to it but isn't heavy or thick at all. It could be used on a variety of stir-fry ingredients so be adventurous and switch it up.

Recipe adapted from Iowa Girl Eats



WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

• 1/2 cup brown rice
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 egg white
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 small chicken breasts, cut into 2″ pieces
• salt & pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 2 cups broccoli florets (fresh or frozen)

Rinse the rice and prepare according to package directions. 

While the rice is cooking, combine honey, sesame seeds, soy sauce, and garlic together in a small bowl then set aside. 

In a separate larger bowl, whisk together egg white and cornstarch until smooth. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper then add to egg white mixture and toss to evenly coat.

In a small saucepan, steam broccoli until crisp tender then set aside.

Heat oil in a large wok (or skillet) over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Turn off heat and remove skillet from burner. 

Add prepared sauce and green onions then toss to combine. Stir in broccoli, then scoop mixture into bowls over rice.

Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry

I work in the Downtown Crossing area of Boston so Chinatown is right around the corner. We take a lot trips into Chinatown for Dim Sum, Hot Pot and sushi but recently I was taken to the Asian market C-Mart. 

At C-Mart you will find rows of fresh produce, asiles of noodles, nuts, soy sauce, hot sauce, duck sauce...I could go on forever. They have everything you could ever want to create your ideal Asian dish. And the prices are insanely cheap!!

Most signage is in Chinese so I definitely recommend taking someone who can read what everything is - at least for your first trip over there!

I have been C-Mart a few times since my first visit and on my most recent trip I picked up some fresh broccoli and a package of linguini-ish noodles. I knew then and there I had to make stir-fry for dinner.

The key to stir-frying is to have all of your ingredients portioned out and cut to size before putting anything in your pan. Once your wok (or saute pan) is screaming hot just follow the recipe and add ingredients as needed. 

I loved how this beef and broccoli stir fry came out and I had tons of left overs. I will definitely be putting this meal in my regular rotation!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

• 1 lb of boneless sirloin steak, sliced against the grain as thin as you can 
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, divided
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 1/2 cup of beef broth **I used chicken broth because it was all I had at home**
• 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon of hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon of Sriracha (or 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper)
• 2 tablespoons of canola oil, divided
• 1 tablespoon of minced ginger
• 2 teaspoons of minced garlic
• 4 cups of chopped fresh broccoli florets
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1/3 cup of sliced scallions (the green part only)
• 1 tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds
• 1 package of pre-cooked, refrigerated chinese noodles of choice **rice would work too!**

 Combine the sliced beef 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoons of sugar, and beef. Set aside.

Stir together 1 tablespoon soy sauce, broth, cornstarch, hoisin, and Sriracha. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wok (or large saute pan) over medium-high heat. Add beef mixture and saute for 3 minutes or until browned. Remove beef from pan. 

Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan. Add ginger and garlic and cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. 

Add broccoli and 1/4 cup water. Cook 1 minute. 

Add scallions and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. 

Add broth mixture and beef mixture. Cook 2 minutes or until beef is thoroughly heated and sauce is slightly thick. Top with toasted sesame seeds. 

Toss with noodles.

And serve! 

Once you can make one stir-fry there is a million ways to switch it up!

What is your favorite stir-fry recipe?

Asian Turkey Meatballs

I was reading one of my favorite blogs, The Girl Who Ate Everything, and I found this recipe for Asian Turkey Meatballs with a Lime Dipping Sauce. I thought they would be a really great meal to make for our Tuesday girls night and I was right...They were a huge hit! I served them on top of brown rice and sauteed some green beans. 

Source: The Girl Who Ate Everything:

Makes 12 meatballs; Serving size 3 meatballs (229.1 calories)

1/4 cup Panko crumbs (I didn't have Panko so I just used regular breadcrumbs)
1-1/4 lbs (20 ounces) 93% lean ground turkey
1 egg
1 tablespoon ginger, minced  (I bought minced ginger from the grocery store)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 scallions, chopped
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil

Lime Dipping Sauce 
4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons water
1 chopped fresh scallion

Directions:
Preheat oven to 500°F.

Mix ground turkey, panko, egg, salt, scallions, ginger, cilantro, 1 tbsp soy sauce, and 2 tsp oil and mix with your hands until combined well. Shape 1/4 cup meat mixture into a ball and transfer to a baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Repeat with remaining mixture. Bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes.

For the dipping sauce mix together lime juice, water, soy sauce, and remaining 1 teaspoon of oil in a bowl. Add scallions.

Transfer meatballs to a serving dish. Stir sauce, then drizzle meatballs with 1 tablespoon sauce. Serve meatballs with remaining sauce.

For my green beans I just sauteed them in a pan with olive oil, minced garlic and crushed red pepper flakes. Once the beans were cooked but still slightly crunchy I added lemon juice and toasted slivered almonds.

Last, we washed it all down with some delicous Gnarly Head Cabernet Sauvignon. I never used to drink red wine before I tried this kind!