Chicken Fried Rice

29 January, 201428 January, 2014Marissa

I have a confession to make: for many years I made chicken fried rice using a boxed dinner because I was intimidated by this dish. It seemed like it would be so simple, but when I tried one recipe I found online it was a soggy mess that tasted like licorice because of the Chinese five-spice. Just recently, I finally found another recipe to try (this one a simple side-dish), and I expanded it into this chicken fried rice. The secret to avoiding sogginess is to use rice that has been sitting in the refrigerator for a day or so, which gives it a chance to cool and dry-out a little. I still don’t feel I’ve quite mastered the art of keeping the egg on only one side of the skillet while scrambling it, but at least when we want fried rice we’re not eating dinner out of a box any more.

Chicken Fried Rice

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1 pound chicken, cut into chunks

1 teaspoons sesame oil and 1 teaspoon canola oil

3 Tablespoons sesame oil

1/2 cup peas

1 cup diced carrots

1-2 green onions, thinly sliced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

2 eggs, lightly beaten.

4 cups cooked white or brown rice (day old or leftover rice works best)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 Tablespoon rice wine

3/4 teaspoons ginger

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Heat 1 teaspoon sesame oil and 1 teaspoon canola oil in wok or large skillet. Fry chicken in hot oil until cooked through. Remove when done.

Add 3 Tablespoons sesame oil to the wok and heat over medium heat. Add the peas, carrots, onion, and garlic. Stir-fry until tender. Push the mixture off to one side, then pour eggs on the other side of the skillet and stir-fry until scrambled.

Add rice and stir. Add soy sauce, rice wine, ginger, and pepper. Stir to blend. Continue stir-frying until thoroughly heated, then serve.

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Brown Rice Pilaf

15 January, 201415 January, 2014Marissa

When served with a few pieces of chicken, this brown rice pilaf is one of my favorite meals. The original recipe (the origin of which I have lost track of) called for long grain or basmati rice — I’ve always used the brown rice that we keep on hand to serve with stir-fries. It has to cook longer than the original 15-20 minutes, but it’s healthy and it tastes good. There are several variations you could try on this recipe, though I like the one with basil and carrots so much that I haven’t played around with it too much. I have kept substitutions suggested by the original recipe in parenthesis if you want to experiment with some of them.

Brown Rice Pilaf

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1 cup brown rice

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups chicken broth

¼ cup shredded carrots (can substitute mushrooms, sweet peppers, or zucchini)

¼ cup rice wine (can substitute apple juice, dry white wine, or water)

¼ teaspoon dried basil (can substitute oregano or thyme)

½ cup slivered almonds (can substitute green onions, chopped walnuts, or pine nuts)

Melt butter in a medium sauce pan. Add garlic and uncooked rice. Stir in hot butter for 3 minutes. Slowly add chicken broth, then stir in carrots, wine and dried herb.

Bring mixture to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Add slivered almonds and serve.

"Brown Rice Pilaf" by marissabaker.wordpress.com. For the chicken, I pour some rice wine in a baking dish, add garlic and basil, then add the chicken. Shake some basil and garlic over the chicken and top with mozzarella cheese or crushed garlic and cheese croutons — For the chicken, I pour some rice wine in a baking dish, add garlic and basil, then add the chicken. Shake some basil and garlic over the chicken and top with mozzarella cheese or crushed garlic and cheese croutons

Soy Sauce-Free Stiry Fry

18 December, 201317 December, 2013Marissa

We very nearly had a crisis last night. I was sitting down to type up this recipe so I could schedule it for this morning when I realized I couldn’t find my notes. This is one of my original recipes, so it didn’t exist anywhere except wherever it was I put it. As you can see, I finally located it in the back of a pink notebook that I’d been taking notes in for something else.

One of my favorite things to cook is Chinese food. Ever since I was old enough eat things that didn’t come out of a baby food jar, my parents have been taking me to their favorite Chinese restaurants trying to teach me to love Chinese food. I guess it worked, since I’m now known around our house as “the red-headed Chinese chef.” I keep hearing how terrible soy sauce it for you, though, and I’ve been wondering if there’s a way to decrease the amount of soy sauce in our food without sacrificing flavor.

This recipe is the result of that experiment. Before this, I’d cut the amount of soy sauce in some dishes by up to half (adding rice wine to make up the difference), but this is the first time I’ve tried a full stir-fry without any soy sauce. The results were encouraging. It was a nice white sauce, similar to Moo Goo Gai Pan. Be sure not to leave out the salt — without the sodium in soy sauce it’s bland until the salt is added.

Soy Sauce-Free Stir Fry Chicken

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Note: if you’re going to serve this with long-grain brown rice, start it cooking before you put the chicken in the marinade. It usually takes about 45 minutes to cook.

Soy Sauce-Free Stiry Fry recipe at marissabaker.wordpress.com — Cooking the chicken

Marinade

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 teaspoon fresh, grated ginger

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon rice wine

Cut the chicken into bite-sized cubes. Mix in the marinade ingredients in a bowl and add chicken. Marinate for 15 to 20 minutes.

Sauce

1 cup chicken broth

2 teaspoons fresh, grated ginger

2 tablespoons flour or starch

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon rice wine

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 teaspoon salt

Whisk the sauce ingredients in a medium bowl. Set aside. Prepare desired vegetables. I used carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, and green onions. Other suggestions include bamboo shoots, zucchini, and button mushrooms.

Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken until cooked through (no pink). Add vegetables and stir fry until just tender (they should still be a little crunchy if you bite into one). Chicken juices should be evaporated by now. Add sauce and bring it to boil. Stir while it bubbles and thickens, about 3 minutes. Serve over rice.

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Chicken and Rice Soup

11 December, 201316 November, 2014Marissa

This has become one of my favorite soups. It is simple and easy to make with few ingredients. Here is the original recipe from Two Peas & Their Pod. It’s a good recipe, and I’ve changed very little to make it perfect for me (basically, I took out the onions because I don’t like them and replaced the fresh thyme with dried because I didn’t have any). It makes a huge pot of soup though, probably enough for 8-10 people, so the version I’m posting here is smaller. It heats up well, so if you want to make a big pot and eat it for several days go right ahead.

In regards to the chicken, you can either boil a chicken breast cut into large pieces for about 7 minutes (until there is no pink left) and then shred it with two forks, or you can use meat left over when making chicken stock from scratch.

One more thing …. I apologize for only have two pictures. I kept for getting to take them while cooking, and then only these two turned out not-blurry and edible-looking.

Chicken and Rice Soup

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Chicken rice soup recipe at marissabaker.wordpress.com — Chopped carrots and the celery we froze from our garden

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large carrot, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 teaspoon ground thyme

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 quart (4 cups) chicken broth

½ cup water

½ cup long grain rice

1 cup shredded chicken

½ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon salt

Cook chicken ahead of time and prepare broth. Set aside.

Place a soup pan over medium heat and add olive oil. Add carrot, celery, garlic, and thyme. Cook for about 6 minutes, stirring until vegetables are softened but not browned. Add chicken broth, water and rice. Bring to boil and add chicken, salt, and pepper. Simmer over medium-low heat for about 30 minutes or until rice is tender. Serve hot.

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Asian Chicken Marinade

20 November, 20138 July, 2014Marissa

I’ve finally decided to write this recipe down (partly so I can remember how to make it, and partly so I can share it here). I like to serve it with salad and my Oriental Salad Dressing. In fact, this is what my brother requested for his birthday lunch this week. I wonder how many other 16-year-old boys want an artisan salad for their birthday?

Asian Chicken Marinade

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¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon ginger powder

½ teaspoon sesame oil

2 Tablespoon soy sauce

1 Tablespoon rice wine

Mix ingredients in gallon-size, plastic zip-lock bag. Add 1-½ pounds chicken breast tenders and seal the bag. Turn to coat chicken. Let rest in the marinade for 30 minutes. Place chicken in a 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Bake at 350°F for 20-30 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink.

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Easy Alfredo Sauce

13 November, 20135 November, 2013Marissa

I was shocked to discover I hadn’t blogged this recipe yet. It’s my mother’s favorite pasta, and it’s a deceptively simple recipe. I’ve been making it for company for several years, and it always gets good reviews. I like to serve it with salad and bread, or with green beans (which my Dad covers in Alfredo sauce). Having made it so many times, I can offer a few suggestions to make timing everything easier. Start water for the pasta boiling right before you start melting butter for the sauce. The chicken should be cooking by the time you are adding cream cheese to the sauce, then everything should be done about the same time.

Easy Alfredo Sauce

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1/2 cup butter

1 (8-oz) package cream cheese

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 cups milk

3/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1-½ teaspoons parsley

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic powder then cream cheese, stirring with a wire whisk until smooth.

Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out lumps. Stir in Parmesan cheese and spices. Stir frequently until sauce reaches desired consistency.

Serve with spaghetti, penne, linguine, or fettuccine.

Chicken Alfredo

For chicken Alfredo, chop 2 chicken breasts into cubes. Cook chicken in olive oil, garlic powder, and black pepper until done. Add to sauce right before serving.

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