Cashew Chicken

No, no I did not take this picture, but thanks for asking. ;) I made this awesome new recipe a couple nights ago for our family and another family in the ward and I'm in love with it! It's from a site called Rasa Malaysia, created by a Malaysian woman who's first cookbook on easy asian cooking is coming out next year. I'm totally sold! This recipe was definitely restaurant quality, but not complicated.

INGREDIENTS:

1 boneless & skinless chicken breast, about 10 oz. (cut into small cubes)
1/2 cup cashew nuts
1 small green bell pepper, about 4 oz. (cut into small square pieces)
5 slices ginger
1/4 onion (cut into small square pieces)

MARINATE:

1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon corn starch
1/2 teaspoon rice wine

SAUCE:

1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce
3/4 teaspoon soy sauce
3 tablespoons water
3 dashes white pepper powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon rice wine
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
Salt to taste

METHOD:

1. Marinate the chicken meat with the baking soda for 15-20 minutes and then rinse the chicken thoroughly. (Please make sure that the chicken is properly rinsed clean of the baking soda.)
2. Pat the chicken meat dry with paper towels and then marinate with the rest of the ingredients for 15 minutes.
3. Mix the sauce together and set aside.
4. Heat up a wok with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and stir-fry the chicken meat until the color turns white or half-cooked. Dish out and set aside.
5. Add another 1 tablespoon of cooking oil into the wok and add in the ginger slices, bell peppers and onions.
6. Stir-fry until you smell the peppery aroma from the green peppers and add the chicken meat back in.
7. Add in the cashew nuts and do a few quick stirs.
8. Add in the sauce and stir continuously until the chicken meat is cooked and well coated with the sauce. Add salt to taste, dish out and serve the Cashew Chicken hot with steamed white rice.

A little note on marinating the chicken. I didn't read far enough ahead on the directions and I added all three of the marinating ingredients at once and then had to rinse it off and do just the vinegar and corn starch. Marinade in baking soda first! Then rinse off and marinade in the other two ingredients.

I highly recommend putting it in chinese take-out boxes. It makes it taste even better... really!

Slow cooker Moo Shu Pork

With two babies, the crock pot has become my new best friend. Throw dinner in during the morning between feedings, naps, and diaper changes and Tah-dah! it's ready when the hubby arrives home. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant! What's not to like?

I've been trying out a few new recipes meant for the crock pot from the website for Americanbaby. (Don't really like the magazine, but I somehow got on their mailing list and they send a freebie every once in awhile to try and get me to purchase a subscription. Hasn't worked yet, but the website is free. )

So here's one that actually worked and we enjoyed:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup hoison sauce
• 3 large cloves minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 bag shredded coleslaw mix
• 1/2 (10 0z) bag shredded carrots
• 3/4 pound boneless pork loin chops
• 12 flour tortillas
• scallions (optional)
  

1. Stir together top five ingredients; set aside.

2. Put coleslaw mix and carrots in crock pot; cover with pork chops cut into 1/8 inch slices. Drizzle with 1/4 cup hoison sauce mixture. Cook on Low for 6 hours or on High for 4 hours.

3. Stir in remaining hoison sauce. Serve on tortillas. Top with scallions.

Confession - I didn't exactly follow the directions. Chopped cabbage replaced the coleslaw; googled "hoison sauce" to make it; chopped up some not so pretty pork chops into chunks rather than slices. The homemade hoison sauce had peanut butter in it (*gasp* yes, I know) so while cooking it smelled like burnt p.b. to me. Horror! But it turned out good in the end. So stick to it even if it doesn't look/smell quite normal. It's worth it in the end. And the scallions just added a nice something to it.