Chinese – Buen provecho…2022

Lighter Beef and Broccoli

I looked back and saw that I had included other beef and broccoli recipes, but not this one for some reason. It just happened that a friend gave us a small picanha (tri-tip sirloin) which she had mistakenly thawed and wasn’t sure what to do with it. After slicing it up and marinating it, the result was very good.

It may seem complicated,but it really wasn’t!

Lighter Broccoli Beef

Ingredients

serves 4

1-1/4lb flank or sirloin steak, cut very thin against the grain
1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons reduced-sodium gluten-free Tamari, divided
2-1/2 Tablespoons gluten-free flour, divided (potato starch)
3/4 cup gluten-free low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes (or more or less)
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons water, divided
4 cups broccoli florets
2 Tablespoon peanut oil, divided
cooked rice, for serving

Directions

1. Add sliced steak, 2 Tablespoons gluten-free Tamari, and 1 Tablespoon gluten-free flour to a large Ziplock bag then seal and squish to evenly coat. Place the bag into the refrigerator to marinate while you prepare the rest of the dish.

2. Add remaining 1/2 cup gluten-free Tamari, remaining 1-1/2 Tablespoons gluten-free flour, chicken broth, brown sugar, 2 Tablespoons water, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, ground ginger, and red chili pepper flakes to a bowl then whisk to combine and set aside.

FYI, I doubled the amount of this part to have more sauce for the rice!

3. Heat a large wok or non-stick skillet over high heat then add remaining 1/4 cup water. Once simmering, add broccoli then stir fry until crisp tender, 2-3 minutes. Remove to a plate then set aside.

4. Heat 1 Tablespoon oil in wok then, once hot, add 1/2 the marinated beef in one layer. Let sit undisturbed until seared, 30 seconds, then stir fry until just barely cooked through (some pink still showing is ok.) Remove to plate with broccoli. Heat remaining Tablespoon oil then stir fry remaining beef and add to plate.

5. Add sauce to wok then simmer until slightly thickened, 2-3 minutes. Add cooked broccoli and beef back into the wok then simmer until everything is heated through, 1 minute. Serve over cooked rice.

Egg Roll Ramen Skillet

Just in case you are tired of holiday food…LOL. There are many variations for egg roll this and that. This one intrigued me because it uses ramen noodles, which certainly stretched the normal recipes. All you need to do is to buy a package of any Asian ramen soup and discard the packets of sauce! In lieu of cutting up cabbage, etc., just buy a package of coleslaw mix!

Egg Roll Ramen Skillet

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 (3 oz) packages ramen noodles
2 tablespoons sesame oil, divided
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground pork
1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 (16 oz) bag coleslaw mix with carrots
2 green onions, finely chopped

PREPARATION

1 In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch into one tablespoon of the soy sauce until dissolved. Whisk in the remaining soy sauce, ginger, hoisin sauce, vinegar, and red pepper flakes. Set aside.

2 Discard the seasoning packages from the ramen and cook noodles 1 minute less than package directions call for. Drain and toss with 1 tablespoon sesame oil.

3 In a large skillet or work, heat the remaining oil over high heat. Add the onion and cook about 3 minutes.

4 Reduce heat to medium-high, add garlic, and cook 30 seconds. Push onions and garlic to the side of the pan and add pork to center. Let cook 30 seconds before stirring, then break apart meat with a wooden spoon and stir in onions and garlic. Cook until no longer pink.

5 Add bell pepper and coleslaw mix and cook until cabbage has reduced, 2-3 minutes.

6 Add noodles and sauce and toss thoroughly, cook 2-4 minutes.

7 Adjust seasoning as needed, top with green onions, and enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Chelsea’s Messy Apron. [https://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/egg-roll-noodles/]

KETO Cashew Chicken Casserole

It is always difficult to choose a new recipe each week, and this time I went with a new KETO recipe, since we are once again back on the Keto track after our recent journey. It really is a great recipe, so don’t be afraid to try it, even if you are not on a KETO diet…

Note that this recipe calls for minced ginger. If you dont normally buy fresh ginger, I suggest buying a small jar of ginger paste (which you can find in the Asian section of many grocery stores).

Keto Cashew Chicken Casserole

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds chicken breast cut into chunks (Can also use thighs).
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 tsp avocado oil
1 green pepper cut into chunks
1 white onion cut into chunks
1/4 cup roasted cashews
Sesame seeds for garnish
Chopped green onions for garnish
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
3 tbsp liquid aminos OR soy sauce *

Sauce

2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp ground ginger OR ginger paste
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp chili garlic sauce Use only 1/2 tsp for a milder recipe or double if you want it spicier!

Instructions

In a bowl add sauce ingredients (chili garlic sauce, minced garlic, sesame oil, ginger, salt, and pepper to taste). Set aside.

Heat pan on low heat and toast cashews until lightly brown and set aside.

Add avocado oil to the pan and increase heat to high and add chicken and cook through.

Throw in the chopped pepper, onion, and the sauce mixture and cook on high for about 5 minutes.

Add the liquid aminos/soy sauce, cashews, and rice wine vinegar to pan. Cook until sauce has thickened.

Top with sesame seeds and serve!

Beef and Broccoli

I have always enjoyed this dish in an oriental restaurant, and having found myself with too much broccoli, I searched for how to easily use it up. The ingredients list seems long, but actually it does not take much time as there is no marinating the sliced beef! It gets the flavour from the sauce ingredients. You will obviously notice that there is NO rice. We are trying to cut back on rice these days…

Better-Than-Takeout Beef with Broccoli

1 to 1.25 pounds flank steak, sliced into thin strips, no more than 1/4-inch thick
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons sesame oil, divided
4 cloves garlic, pressed or nicely minced
1 to 2 teaspoons ginger, or to taste (fresh or dried is okay, use less dried than you would fresh)
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed (light may be substituted)
4 to 6 cups broccoli florets (dependent on preference for broccoli)
2 to 3 green onions, sliced into 1/4-inch-long segments
red pepper flakes, optional and to taste
sesame seeds, optional for garnishing

To a large zip top bag, add the steak, cornstarch, seal, and toss to coat. Set aside while preparing the sauce.

1 To a medium saucepan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and heat over medium-high for about 1 minute, or just until garlic is fragrant, taking care not to scorch it.

2 Add the soy sauce, water, brown sugar, and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil and allow it to boil for about 2 to 3 minutes. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes, or until slightly thickened and reduced. While it simmers, sear the steak.

3 To a large skillet, add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, and the steak. Cook over medium-high or high heat until steak is cooked through, about 5 to 7 minutes, flipping the pieces intermittently to ensure even cooking.

4 Add the broccoli.

5 Evenly drizzle in the soy sauce mixture, noting it will bubble up dramatically. Toss the beef and broccoli to coat evenly with the sauce. Simmer for about 3 to 5 minutes at medium-high, or until the broccoli is as crisp tender as desired.

6 Optional — If your sauce hasn’t thickened up as much as you’d like and your broccoli is done or nearly done, and you want a sauce that clings better and isn’t as thin, simply dissolve 1 tablespoon cornstarch in 1 tablespoon water (called a slurry), add it to the skillet, stir for about 1 minute, or until your sauce has thickened to your desired level. Since I used 6 cups broccoli, the natural water and juices that escaped from it thinned out my sauce, so I needed to use a slurry.

8 Turn off the heat, add the green onions, and stir to incorporate.

Optionally, evenly sprinkle with red pepper flakes.

Shrimp Stir Fry

I am always looking for new stir fry sauce recipes and I came across this one on my favourite sites, Pinterest. I almost always use peeled and deveined shrimp to simplify cooking prep and this suited what I had on hand. Since we began a KETO diet years ago for the most part, we avoid rice and pastas, with some exceptions. You do not need to have rice with this, and thus, it becomes a shrimp “stew”…LOL. We always have a stir fry blend of vegetables on hand in the freezer, so you can substitute these with the frozen vegetables.

Shrimp Stir Fry

Ingredients

1 lb large shrimp (I usually buy peeled and deveined)
1 bunch broccoli
8 oz baby Bella mushrooms or other variety
8 oz snow peas
1/2 cup diced green onion
2 bell peppers

Stir Fry Sauce:

1/2 cup soy sauce
1 cup chicken broth can also use vegetable broth
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1/4 cup honey
6 garlic cloves
2 tsp chili paste more if you want spicier
2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch

Instructions

Peel and de-vein shrimp if needed. Whisk all ingredients for the sauce together and set aside. Chop vegetables and set aside.

Preheat a large cooking pan or a wok over medium heat and add peanut oil.

Sauté vegetables, mixing often, until start to soften. Don’t cook vegetables all the way because it will continue to cook after you take it out of the pan and later with sauce.

Take veggies out of the pan and add a little more oil to the pan.

Sauté shrimp over medium-high heat until just turns opaque on each side.

Add vegetables back into the pan and stir.

Whisk the sauce again and pour it into the pan. Stir well and cook for a few minutes, just until sauce thickens.

Stir in green onions and serve right away.

You can serve shrimp stir fry over rice, with noodles, or just on its own.

Chinese Pork Meatballs/Chinese Fried Rice

You just can’t have one without the other, as the old song used to say! Oh, that was love and marriage….for those old enough to remember. I had purchased ground pork and ground beef to make Low Carb Crustless Taco Pie. Since I did not use all of the pork I had fresh ground pork to use up. Pinterest again! There was also some leftover chicken breast from the rotisserie chicken I had purchased. Clean out the fridge!!! Today you are getting both recipes…..

Chinese Pork Meatballs

Ingredients

∙ Makes 20 meatballs

1 lb. Ground pork
3 Garlic cloves
1 tsp Ginger
2 tsp Soy sauce
2 tsp Brown sugar
1 tbsp Cornstarch
1 tsp Five-spice powder
2 pinches White pepper, ground
3 tbsp Peanut oil

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine the pork, cornstarch, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, soy sauce, five-spice powder, and pepper, and mix well.

Roll 1 heaping tablespoon of pork mixture into a ball and continue until all the pork mixture is used.

In a wok over medium heat, heat the peanut oil. Using a wok spatula, spread the oil to coat enough of the wok surface to fry about 10 meatballs at a time. Lower the meatballs into the wok in batches.

Cook without moving for about 2 minutes, or until the bottoms are cooked through. Use the spatula to carefully rotate the meatballs to cook on the other sides.

Keep rotating the meatballs gently until cooked through.

Serving Tip

For a heavenly dipping sauce, combine equal parts low-sodium soy sauce and honey.

Chinese Fried Rice Serves: 4

Ingredients

4 cups cooked brown or white rice
1 cup frozen peas and diced carrots
1 egg, whisked
⅓ cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon ground ginger (optional)
3 green onions, diced

Instructions

Add veggies and oil to a large pan or skillet and sauté for 3-4 minutes until cooked through. Scoot all of the veggies to one half of the pan. Add egg and allow to cook for 1 minute, then scramble it with a spoon or spatula and stir in with veggies.
Add rice to pan. Add soy sauce and stir over medium heat for 6-8 minutes until browned. Sprinkle remaining seasonings over the rice and stir another 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in green onions.

Shrimp and Green Bean Stir Fry

Too many string beans from Costco AGAIN! What to do? Stir fry of course. Hope you enjoy this recipe with or without the rice…

Shrimp and Green Bean Stir Fry

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 pound large shrimp-shelled, deveined and cut into 1-inch pieces (I cheated and used a dozen frozen, cooked shrimp – no need to thaw)
Salt
1/2 pound green beans, thinly sliced 1/4 inch thick on an extreme diagonal
1 or 2 sliced radishes (optional) seriously, I have started cooking radishes in my stir fries)
1/4 cup chicken stock or low-sodium broth
1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
Freshly ground pepper
OPTIONAL RICE

Heat a wok until very hot.

Add the vegetable oil and heat until shimmering.

Add the garlic and stir-fry for 10 seconds.

Add the shrimp and a pinch of salt and stir-fry until the shrimp are just beginning to turn pink, about 30 seconds.

Add the green beans and radishes and 2 tablespoons of the stock and stir-fry until the beans soften slightly, about 3 minutes.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of stock along with the fish sauce and a generous pinch of pepper and stir-fry until the shrimp are cooked through and the beans are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes longer.

Serve right away.

Beef Stir Fry with Brussels Sprouts

A 2008 survey by Heinz shows that Brussels sprouts now take the most-hated prize for Americans in general, with eggplant faring slightly worse among kids. Brussels sprouts seem to be universally loathed, practically: They make it to the top five in surveys of the most-hated vegetables around the world. From Just Disgusting, by Andy Griffiths…. check out the following link – Brussels Sprouts

I happen to be a big fan of these little gems. A simple little meal is a bunch of Brussels sprouts in a bowl with a few drops of water, microwaved with a little salt, pepper and butter. This time I decided to take it up a notch and use them in a stir fry (Thanks again to Pinterest). As Mikey would say…Try it and you will like it!

Oriental cooking is all in the preparation…so lets get chopping!

Beef Stir Fry with Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients

4 Servings

3 tablespoons oyster sauce
3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 pound Brussels sprouts, halved
8 ounces flank or skirt steak, thinly sliced against the grain
Kosher salt
4 scallions, whites chopped, greens sliced (Substitute green onions if you like)
3 garlic cloves, sliced
2 tablespoons chopped peeled ginger or fresh grated
2 medium carrots, peeled, thinly sliced on a diagonal
1 Fresno chile or jalapeño, sliced into rings OPTIONAL
Steamed rice (for serving)

Preparation

Whisk oyster sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, and 1/4 cup water in a small bowl; set sauce aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add Brussel sprouts and cook, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Cover and cook until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer to a plate; wipe out skillet.

Season steak with salt. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in same skillet over high heat until just beginning to smoke. Add steak in a single layer; cook until browned, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook until nearly cooked through, about 30 seconds. Add to Brussel sprouts.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in same skillet. Add scallion whites, garlic, and ginger and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute, adjusting heat as needed. Add carrots and chile and cook, tossing occasionally, until carrots are slightly softened, about 2 minutes.

Return Brussel sprouts and steak to skillet and add reserved sauce. Cook, tossing occasionally, until sauce is thickened, about 3 minutes. Serve with steamed rice and garnish with scallion greens.

Classic Fried Rice

I know this should not be something new to most folks, but I tried this one out a week ago and it was every bit as good as was stated. I do believe like the writer, that butter makes a difference. The most important thing is to cook and chill the rice beforehand! Trust me on this unless you want a sticky mess…

Fried Rice (www.gimmesomeoven.com)
Learn how to make fried rice with this classic fried rice recipe. It tastes even better than the restaurant version!
Prep: 5 mins Cook: 10 mins Total: 15 mins
Ingredients:
• 3 Tbsp. butter, divided
• 2 eggs, whisked
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced*
• 1 small white onion, diced
• 1/2 cup frozen peas*
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper
• 4 cups cooked and chilled rice (I prefer short-grain white rice)
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced
• 3-4 Tbsp. soy sauce, or more to taste
• 2 tsp. oyster sauce (optional) I used hoisin since I was out of oyster
• 1/2 tsp. toasted sesame oil

* Since I was out of fresh peas and carrots, I substituted a cup or so of frozen veggies which included broccoli, cauliflower and carrots//it worked.
Directions:
Heat 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until melted. Add egg, and cook until scrambled, stirring occasionally. Remove egg, and transfer to a separate plate.
Add an additional 1 tablespoon butter to the pan and heat until melted. Add carrots, onion, peas and garlic, and season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Saute for about 5 minutes or until the onion and carrots are soft. Increase heat to high, add in the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter, and stir until melted. Immediately add the rice, green onions, soy sauce and oyster sauce (if using), and stir until combined. Continue stirring for an additional 3 minutes to fry the rice. Then add in the eggs and stir to combine. Add the sesame oil, stir to combine, and remove from heat.
Serve warm.

Pork or (Chicken*) and Prawn (Shrimp) Wonton Soup

Costco’s large quantities usually leave me scampering to use up those quantities rather than leave them sitting in the freezer for months. Recently, a friend gave me a bag of chicken and cilantro frozen wontons. Since I enjoy Chinese soups I thought I could try and use some of them up. Searching online I found this Jamie Oliver recipe. The great thing was I never had to make the wontons, using what I had from Costco!!

Wonton Soup

Serves 6
For the wonton dumplings (makes around 36 small ones) OR head to Costco for the chicken and cilantro ones)
• 36 small wonton pastry wrappers, round or square (you can find these in the fridges of Asian supermarkets)
• 150g cooked and shelled prawns or shrimps or chicken, finely chopped
• 150g lean pork mince
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar or rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• White pepper
For the soup
• 1.5 liters chicken stock
• 2 small heads of bok choy, or spinach roughly sliced
• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 2 tsp rice vinegar or rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 generous pinches of white pepper
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
In a large pan, bring your chicken stock to a gentle boil. Meanwhile, cook the dumplings. Fill the biggest saucepan you have with plenty of water and bring it to the boil. Add enough dumplings to create a single layer on the water. It’s important not to overcrowd the pot, so cook them in batches if you are cooking lots. Stir them gently as you bring the water up to the boil again. When the dumplings float to the top, they are cooked. OR, add your Costco wontons right into the stock mixture)
Once the dumplings float, use a slotted spoon to transfer them to your gently boiling chicken stock. Add the bok choy or spinach– first the white parts and then a minute later, the green parts. Bring the liquid up to the boil again and allow them to cook for around three minutes.
Turn off the heat and season your stock with the soy sauce, rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil and plenty of white pepper to taste. I’ve provided some guidelines, but feel free to amend according to your preferences.