Wok Wednesdays: Spicy Orange Chicken

Citrus and chicken. I mean how can you go wrong? I can't resist Duck a l'Orange or roasted chicken with oranges, so stir-fried Spicy Orange Chicken seemed like a logical choice for a stir-fry.  The recipe is from the wonderful  Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge by Grace Young.

"Smells delicious, sounds dangerous."  That was my husband's first comment. This time I had the wok hot enough for a loud sizzle. The recipe was delicious and once again, I got to shop at my favorite local Asian food market to find the white peppercorns and chili bean sauce.  I also used some homemade chicken broth that I had in my freezer.  That in itself is a rare occurrence. I usually don't freeze left-over soup; I just make my family eat again later in the week.

I didn't use the Szechuan peppercorns. Somewhere in my house is a rather large bag, but I couldn't find it. Oy. Instead I used just about double the amount of the white peppercorn. We missed that light tingle, but the dish did have a kick to it. Next time, I would be tempted to add more orange zest. Maybe the orange was too small or not quite in season?  I really like a pronounced citrus flavor.

I still have a ways to go in the technique department. I still feel like I'm running a race once the stir-frying begins. In this particular case, I think I had too much liquid and the dish was soupy, although the chicken was still tender and tasty.  

  A group of us are stir-frying together and we're open to any and all who want to join. You can check out Wok Wednesdays or the Facebook page.

Wok Wednesdays: Stir-Fried Eggs with Tomatoes

Years ago, when I was just developing an interest in cooking, I bought a wok along with a beginners' Chinese cookbook.  I marveled at the recipes presented in order of difficulty. I don't know why, but I never, ever made any of the dishes from that book.  Instead, I used the wok to make vegetable tempura and omelets. What possessed me? Who knows? As I recall, the omelets came out quite well.  These days I'm happy that I now include stir-fries in my repertoire.

This week's recipe is Stir-Fried Eggs with Tomatoes. I was really pleased that I had most of the items on hand from the ingredient list.  I substituted fresh basil for the cilantro; we're not big cilantro fans and my basil plant is still producing.  I also used onions instead of shallots because I had them on hand.

I decided that in case we didn't like the recipe, I should make a second dish.  I made mu shu vegetables using tortillas as the pancakes. The recipe was adapted from Millie Chan's Kosher Chinese Cookbook.    I spent about 30 minutes, laying out all the ingredients for both recipes and then started stir-frying.  Everything went great. The only point I started to worry was when I put the eggs into the wok and they just sat there. No fabulous sizzle. No hot bubbling eggs.  I stood there for a moment and then started mixing from the bottom of the pan up. In the end, it all came together.  The garlic and onion gave the eggs a nice crunch and the basil and sesame added flavor.

This recipe is from Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge  by Grace Young, a book well worth adding to your cookbook library. To find out how others enjoyed this recipe, check out the Wok Wednesdays  site.

Wok Wednesdays: Salt & Pepper Dry-Fried Salmon

I know. The Wok Wednesday recipe this time is Salt & Pepper Dry-Fried Shrimp, but we keep a Kosher home. I almost skipped making this dish. The dish is a dry stir-fry and there are few ingredients so it seemed to me that the flavor of the shrimp would be intensified.  The question then is what would be a good substitute.  Tofu is bland, making it wonderful for taking on the flavors of sauces and marinades, but for this dish?  Probably not a good idea.  Beef might work well, but we don't eat a lot of red meat and when we do, my family wants large portions.  In the end, I chose salmon. It's a flavorful fish and would benefit from this simple dish. 

In Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge,  Grace Young explains how to prep the fish for stir frying so that it doesn't fall apart. Velveting is a technique to protect the fish from drying out. You briefly marinate the fish in egg-white, rice wine and cornstarch followed by blanching in hot water. You also use a delicate hand when stir-frying so the fish doesn't fall apart. Grace says "The term stir-frying is more suggestive..." when talking about fish. 

This recipe also calls for Sichuan peppercorns.  When we made Kung Pao chicken, I limited my shopping to the major grocery chains and none of them carried the pink peppercorns. I ended up using a peppercorn medley.  Having read so much about other Wok Wednesday bloggers who raved about the real deal, I went to a local Asian grocery. I found a 4 oz. bag of Sze Chuan Pepper at a very reasonable price. The only thing that gave me pause was the warning on the back of the bag. Don't eat raw. Rinse under running tap water for 5 minutes and then boil for 30 minutes.   Excuse me?  Are you serious?  Am I going to suffer awful consequences for not following these instructions exactly? 

In the end, I compromised. I rinsed the peppers for 5 minutes, but then dried them, took off the tiny stems and dry roasted them for a few minutes. I'm not sorry to have my peppercorn medley, but the Sichuan peppercorns are a revelation and only a little goes a very long way. The salmon flavor was delicious and I will be making this dish again.

To see how others enjoyed this dish check out Wok Wednesdays.  You are always welcome to join in the fun. We have decided not to publish the recipes on-line, but you can borrow or buy the book. It's well worth it.  



Wok Wednesdays: Yin Yang Beans

The temperatures have been in the high 90's, but feel like 110 and the humidity is near 90%. We're all too listless to do much and we're certainly not going to turn on the oven in this weather. It's great weather to stir-fry and grill.

Our Wok Wednesdays challenge this time: Yin Yang Beans.  This tasty dish features green beans, scallions and pork with the piquant flavors of fresh ginger, pickled ginger and garlic.  This is a perfect summer dish as fresh beans are plentiful.  I ususally like to follow the recipe as close as possible, but since we don't eat pork (we have a Kosher kitchen), I decided to make a vegetarian version.
My first thought was to go with some tofu approximation of meat.  I decided that as much as I like Morningstar Farms products, I wasn't sure how they would work in a stir-fry.  I thought black beans might work as a contrast to the green beans.   And then it occured to me; slivered almonds would work great. They're crunchy and they would make the Yin Yang Beans a stir-fry variation of green beans almondine. Perfect.

The almonds add a nice crunch and soak up the flavors of the sauce and aromatics. I also used red onions instead of scallions. This was not so much a culinary choice as a moment of forgetfulness at the grocery store.  Overall, the beans were a success. The only change I would make is that I would use one ounce of almonds. I had used two ounces of almonds to replace the pork and that was too much.  You can read other Wok Wednesday blogs here.  And to get this wonderful recipe, get the book, Stir- Frying to the Sky's Edge by Grace Young.