Asian Grilled Boneless Short Ribs

I discovered the International Farmers Market near my new home. I've driven by it for a couple months now, vowing that I'd go there on the weekend. Well, it has taken a while for that weekend to come. I was excited to see the prices were so much lower than your regular grocery store, and the products didn't look too bad. Sure, they had some poor quality looking produce, including some of their meat selection, but overall it was a nice surprise to see the better quality items having a much lower price.

I bought some boneless beef short ribs. In my grocery they can be as much as $6-$7 a lb. but I got a lb. and a half for only $4!

I pondered how to cook them. I love, love braising. I just enjoy how tender meat becomes using this method, but I wasn't feeling the braising technique this time. I was in the mood for Asian flavors. I suppose in hindsight I could have braised them in Asian flavors, but it didn't occur to me then ; p

I used what I had on hand and made a marinade and let the ribs soak up the flavors overnight.

After marinating, I grilled then boiled the reserved marinade for a sauce and served with a sprinkling of sesame seeds. The flavor was amazing and intense, exactly how I pictured it.

Asian Marinade (for 1 1/2 lbs of beef short ribs)

1/2 cup light soy sauce

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1 Tbs. cider vinegar

2 Tbs. oyster sauce

1 1/2 Tbs. sesame oil (I used dark)

2 Tbs. brown sugar

2 shallots chopped

1 large garlic clove minced

1 Tbs. fresh chopped ginger (or 1 tsp. powdered)

2 tsp red pepper flakes

Whisk everything in a medium sized bowl, add meat, making sure to cover with marinade, and let chill for 12-24 hours. (you can also use a large sized ziplock, which I didn't have at the moment)

To cook:

Remove meat from bowl or bag, and set aside. Strain the marinade into another bowl. Heat oven to broil.

Put marinade into a small sauce pan and boil until thickened and reduced by half (if it isn't as thick as you'd like it add a corn starch slurry).

In a large oven safe skillet (I used my cast iron grill pan) lightly oil and put over medium-high heat. When pan is hot, sear meat on both sides, about a minute each side. Transfer to oven and cook another 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes. Slice thin and serve over rice with steamed veggies, the sauce, and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.

**This could also be done wonderfully on a grill**

Asian Chicken w/ Sauteed Vegetables and Brown and Wild rice

Tonight Chad and I were in the mood for an Asian inspired meal. I decided that it has been quite some time since I've cooked with Asian ingredients so I would give it a go. I decided to make a quick marinated chicken with lots of vegetables and brown and wild rice.

Just to note, I meant to make this a rice bowl of sorts, but it ended up on a plate. Same difference right?

I decided to use brown rice because I want to try to eat healthier. I remembered I had some wild rice taking up space in my pantry so I added it to the brown rice for a goof. Let me tell you, this rice does not take the normal 20-25 minutes to cook. More like 45-50 minutes. Thank God I knew that ahead of time so I could prep/marinate while it was cooking.

I loved how this came out, especially the marinade-which was made into a thick sauce while it simmered with the chicken. This meal definitely was Asian inspired, just how we wanted.

Chicken Marinade/Sauce

1 lb. chicken tender tenders tenderloin removed and cut into cubes

1/3 cup lite soy sauce

2 Tbs. Hoisin sauce

2 Tsp. oyster sauce

2 Tbs. mirin

2 tsp. sesame oil (dark)

1 large clove garlic minced

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. Chinese 5 spice

1/2 tsp. ginger

Whisk all ingredients together in a glass or plastic bowl and add chicken. Let marinate in the fridge 30 minutes to an hour. (I doubled the marinade so we'd have more sauce)

Brown and Wild Rice

1 1/2 cups brown rice

1/2 cup wild rice

4 1/2 cups water

2 tsp. canola oil

Heat a large sauce pan over medium heat and add oil. Add rices and toast about 3-5 minutes. Add water bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Let simmer for about 40-50 minutes.

Veggies

1 cup matchstick carrots

1 can bean sprouts drained

1 can baby corn drained

2 cups Napa cabbage shredded

1/2 cup green onions chopped in 1/2 inch pieces

1 cup sliced button mushrooms

1 smallish garlic clove

1 1/2 Tbs. canola oil

2 tsp. sesame oil

1/2 tsp. salt

Heat a large skillet over med. heat and add oils. When heated add all vegetables except garlic. Add salt and saute for about 6 minutes. Add garlic and saute a minute more. Remove from pan to a plate and cover.

Chicken

Heat same skillet used for veggies over medium heat. Add chicken and marinade and simmer until chicken is done and marinade is thickened. About 8-10 minutes.

When all is finished you can serve in a bowl, or plate how you like. I mixed the components of my plate together. MMMMM.

Vegetable Fried Rice

To go along with the chicken I made below I made a simple but delicious fried rice. It was packed with vegetables, just like I like it. Fried rice is one of those dishes you make when you have just a little bit of a lot of different vegetables in your crisper or freezer. I had a stalk of celery, 1/2 a red pepper, 1/2 a red onion, about a cup of crimini mushrooms, and in the freezer I had like a cup left in the bag of a pea, carrot, corn, green bean combo. Because I wanted to finally use up all the vegetables, I made a big enough batch so both Chad and I can eat some for lunch.

Vegtable Fried Rice

1 1/2 cups rice cooked and put in fridge to cool

2 Tbs. vegetable oil

1 stalk celery chopped

1/2 red onion chopped

1 cup fresh mushrooms chopped

1 cup frozen veggies of choice

1 can diced water chestnuts drained

1 can baby corn chopped

1/2 red pepper diced

1 can bean sprouts drained

2 eggs beaten

3 cloves garlic minced

1 tsp. ground ginger or 2 tsp. fresh grated

3 Tbs. low sodium soy sauce

2 Tbs. sesame oil

pinch red pepper flakes

pepper to taste

Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over med. high heat. Saute all vegetables except garlic and frozen vegetables until soft about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic, ground ginger and red pepper flakes saute for a couple minutes more. Make a hole in the center of the pan by pushing veggies aside. Add beaten eggs and cook until almost done. Add rice,frozen veggies, soy sauce and sesame oil mixing to combine and cook about 5 minutes longer for flavors to meld. Add pepper to your taste and serve.

Wor Su Gai or Almond Boneless Chicken

Tonight I had the guts to try and replicate a chicken dish that is popular in Chinese restaurants around Detroit, MI. It's proper name is Wor Su Gai, but my family calls it ABC, short for almond boneless chicken.

I can only get this when I visit my family up north. I have been to many a chinese restaurant around here in Atlanta and not one has come close. So when I browsed the web for a recipe I was jumping for joy when I actually found one.

The dish isn't anything too special. And definitely not a healthy one either. It is basically batter fried chicken with a gravy like sauce. It sounds simple enough, but I can't get the same flavor from the chinese places around here, and I LOVE this chicken!

The chicken came out pretty close, but next time I think I'll add some sugar to the batter. And the sauce was a bit off as well. Not bad by any means, but not exactly like the one I'm used to. I believe with a little tweaking I can probably get it just right.

Wor Su Gai (ABC)

(recipe from about.com)

2 whole chicken breasts, skinned, boned, and cut in half

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon dry sherry

Sauce:

4 tablespoons cornstarch

3 tablespoons water

3 cups broth

1 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms (optional) (I omitted)

3 tablespoons chicken fat or butter

2 teaspoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules

Batter:

3 tablespoons cornstarch

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg, beaten1 tablespoon water

1 cup shredded lettuce

1/3 cup toasted, slivered almonds

1 green onion, finely chopped (green and white parts) for garnish

Oil for deep-frying

Sprinkle chicken with salt and sherry and marinate for 15 minutes. While chicken is marinating, prepare the sauce. Mix together the cornstarch and water in a small saucepan until smooth. Gradually mix in the chicken broth, mushrooms (if using), chicken fat or butter, soy sauce, and bouillon granules. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Let boil for 1 minute, and keep warm. To prepare batter: Beat together the cornstarch, flour, baking powder, egg, and water until smooth. Coat each piece of chicken with the batter. Heat wok or a large skillet and add oil to a depth of 1/2-inch. Heat to 375 degrees. Cook coated chicken pieces in oil until they are golden, turning them once. This should take about 5 - 7 minutes. Drain the chicken on a tempura rack if you have one, or on paper towels. Cut the chicken diagonally into strips. Reassemble the strips into chicken breast shapes and place on a bed of shredded lettuce. Sprinkle with almonds and green onion. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.

I like my sauce on the side...

Cashew Chicken Wonton Cups

This recipe was inspired by bakingblonde of the "What's Cooking" board on the nest. I was having trouble coming up with an appetizer for the Atlanta Nestie Ornament Exchange, and she had suggested wonton cups. I really didn't know what I wanted to fill them with so I sort of made up a cashew chicken recipe.

I ended up marinating the chicken overnight and then sauteed the veggies and chicken the next day. They really came out great. They look so cute, and there are endless possibilities of what to fill them with.

Cashew Chicken (My amts. are approximate, I really just threw this together.)

The marinade:

• 2 large boneless/skinless chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 Tbs. oyster sauce
• 1 tbs. honey
• 2 garlic cloves roughly chopped
• 1/2 " of ginger peeled and grated
• Pinch of red pepper flakes
• couple dashes ground red pepper
• few drops sirracha (asian chili sauce)
• 1 tbs. ketchup
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

Combine all ingrediens together and pour over chicken in a large zip lock bag. Let marinate at least one hour or overnight for more flavor. When finished marinating cut into small pieces.

Putting it together

• 1 Tbs. peanut or canola oil
• 1 1/2 cups crimini mushrooms small dice
• 1 cup water chestnuts small dice
• 1/2 red onion small dice
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 red pepper small diced
• 1 cup unsalted roasted chashews
• 1 Tbs. hoisin
• 1/2 cup chicken stock or broth
• Pepper
• chopped parsley for garnish

Heat oil in a large skillet over med. heat. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink about 5 minutes. Add veggies (except garlic) and saute for 5 more minutes. Add garlic, hoisin, pepper, and stock and bring to a simmer. simmer for about 20 minutes until sauce has reduced by half. Mix in cashew and fill wonton cups with filling. Top with chopped parsley.

• Wonton cups
• wonton wrapper
• cooking spray
• mini muffin tin

Preheat oven to 350. spray muffn tin with cooking spray, and fit wonton wrappers in the cups. Spray the wontons with cooking spray and cook in oven for 7-8 minutes or until crispy

Sesame Chicken Teriyaki Skewers

I have been craving teriyaki for about 2 weeks now. Every time I add it to my menu for the week, something comes up and I don't make it. Under no circumstances was I going to let that happen again tonight.

I remember a recipe my Aunt gave my mom for teriyaki chicken wings. They were so good, but I remember the recipe having so much oil in it. I looked for it so I could modify it, but to no avail. I decided that I would just wing my own recipe.

For a side dish I knew I wanted to do white rice, but I wanted something more than plain rice. I looked in the pantry and I had a can of water chestnuts, and bean sprouts. Chad and I love these two ingredients and that's why I added them to the rice while it cooked. It turned out so delicious, I will be making my plain white rice like this again. I also served this with roasted baby asparagus that I made in my toaster oven.

Teriyaki Marinade

• 3/4 cups soy sauce


• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar


• 1/4 cup sesame oil


• 3 Tbs. ketchup


• 1 Tbs. brown sugar


• 3 cloves of garlic minced


• 1/2 " of fresh ginger peeled and minced


• 1/2 tsp dried basil


• 1 tsp. pepper


• 1/4 tsp. cayenne

Whisk to combine

I used thin chicken cutlets that I cut in half length wise. I added them to a large ziplock then added the marinade and put in the fridge for about 5 hours.

Special White Rice

• 1 1/2 Cups long grain rice


• 1 Tbs. unsalted butter


• 1 tsp. kosher salt


• 1/2 tsp. pepper


• 1 can water chestnuts drained and chopped


• 1/2 can bean sprouts drained


• 3 cups chicken stock

Bring chicken stock, and butter to a boil. Add salt pepper and rice. Let boil one minute reduce heat and add chestnuts and sprouts. Cover and cook 15-18 minutes.

**Before you begin the rice place bamboo skewers in water and let soak for about 30 minutes.**

Sesame seeds

lay 1/4 Cup sesame seeds in an even layer on a lined cookie sheet. Heat oven to 325 and let toast for about 3-5 minutes. You won't use that much for this recipe, so save extra in an air tight container.

Sesame Chicken Teriyaki Skewers

While Rice is cooking, take Chicken out of bag and reserve the marinade in a small sauce pan. Thread the skewers through the chicken accordion style. When all the chicken is skewered heat marinade over med. low heat and add a tsp. of corn starch slurry. Let reduce for about 8 minutes.

Heat up a large grill pan over med. heat and cook skewers about 2-3 minutes per side.

Take marinade off heat and brush the chicken skewers with it and sprinkle chicken with toasted sesame seeds. Drizzle teriyaki reduction over rice.