Five Spice Chicken and Noodle Stir-fry

I have a confession.

Stir-fries make me a little nervous.

Why you ask?

All that heat!
You have to cook everything very quickly, and at a really really high temperature.
The result?

Spitting oil,

excessive smoke,

smoke detector going off,

DOOM!

At least, that’s pretty much how it goes in my head.

In reality it’s not quite as dramatic. It’s more like I just get really busy flinging everything in the skillet, stirring it around, trying to avoid any spitting oil (okay, that part is true), and not being able to hear anything my husband is saying because the vent for our stove is so ridiculously loud.

So, I honestly don’t make all that many stir-fries. Plus, I have an electric stove, and I think you really need a gas stove and a wok to make really good stir-fries, but that’s just my opinion.

I decided to try out this stir-fry recipe from Jamie Oliver, however, because it sounded interesting yet yummy, is really fast, and quite simple, really.
I wondered if such a simple and fast recipe could be really good or not, so I tried it out.
And it was really good!

It’s called Chicken Goujons with Noodles, but I call it Five Spice Chicken and Noodle Stir-fry. Whatever you call it, it’s definitely tasty, but not your average stir-fry. If you have a really busy night coming up, give this a try. The five spice powder gives it an intriguing flavor that’s delicious with the chicken. Did I mention it’s fast?

Five Spice Chicken and Noodle Stir-fry

(serves 2)

• 8 oz. dried flat egg noodles
• 3 Tbsp. peanut or canola oil (or any high heat cooking oil)
• 2 medium chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
• 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 tsp. dried red chili
• 2 tsp. five spice powder
• 5 – 6 green onions, sliced
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• large handful of cilantro, washed and roughly chopped

1. Cook noodles according to package instructions (typically these only need to cook for a few minutes).
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken, ginger, and chili. Stir around quickly, then add the five spice powder.
3. Once the chicken is browned, add the green onions, soy sauce, and honey, and mix everything.
4. Add the drained noodles and cilantro to the skillet. Toss everything together, adjust the seasoning to taste (add more soy sauce, honey, or five spice powder as desired), and serve.

recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver’s Chicken Goujons with Noodles

Sesame Chicken (the non-deep fried version)

The weather has been so nice this week (high temp around 80° F), that Hisa and I decided to get out of the house and go somewhere yesterday. I’d been wanting to go to the zoo, so we decided to go there.
It was the perfect day for it. It was warm and sunny with some clouds, but not so warm it was hot and uncomfortable. Since the weather was nice, most of the animals were out (if you’ve ever gone to the zoo in the summer when it’s hot, then you probably know that many of the animals are in their dens asleep, where you can’t see them), which was nice.

I’ve always loved animals and going to zoos. It reminds me of my childhood dream to be a zoologist. That is until I discovered that zoologists have to take a huge number of science courses in college. I kinda changed my mind after that…
Still, it was a lot of fun seeing the animals, and just getting out of the house and enjoying the weather.

After the zoo, we got coffee, checked out our favorite used bookstore, and headed home. It was a fun day. With lots of cute, fuzzy animals. That’s hard the beat in my opinion. 🙂

 

Sesame chicken is probably my favorite American Chinese buffet dish, in all of its fried, artificial, and unhealthy glory. Terrible, I know. It’s still my favorite though. Even if I only eat it once in a blue moon.

I’ve been gradually trying to expand my repertoire of Chinese dishes I can cook, so I decided to try my hand at sesame chicken this week (albiet, a somewhat healthier version).

The breading of this chicken doesn’t have the same uniform texture of deep fried sesame chicken, but it’s still really good. I also didn’t make it as sweet as restaurant style sesame chicken, but feel free to adjust the sweetness level to your own tastes.

First, mix up your marinade ingredients: 1 egg, 2 Tbsp. soy sauce, 1 Tbsp. cooking sake (or cooking wine if you don’t have it), a couple drops of sesame oil, 2 Tbsp. unbleached flour, 2 Tbsp. corn starch, 2 Tbsp. water, 1/4 tsp. baking powder, and 1/4 tsp. baking soda.
Cut up 3 – 4 chicken breast into bite sized pieces, mix it with the marinade until it’s well coated, and let it marinate for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix up your sauce ingredients: 1/2 c. water, 1 c. chicken broth, 1/4 c. white vinegar, 3 Tbsp. corn starch, 1/3 c. sucanat (or honey or sugar), 2 Tbsp. soy sauce, 1/8 tsp. sesame oil, 1 tsp. chili paste (more if you want it hot), 1/4 tsp. garlic powder, and 1/2 tsp. onion powder.
Boy, doesn’t that look yummy?! Ahahaha…

 Heat a couple tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (or peanut oil if you have it) in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, and let it cook on one side until well browned, then flip it, and let it cook on the other side.

Once you’ve browned the chicken pieces on both sides, you can chop it up so the pieces aren’t sticking to each other, and stir-fry it around until it’s cooked through.

Once the chicken is cooked through, pour on enough sauce to coat the chicken well (Don’t drown it. I had extra), mix it well, and continue stirring it around until the sauce thickens to consistency you want. Add about 2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds, and mix them up well.
Serve with steamed rice, and any other chinese dishes you want. I served the sesame chicken with rice and  my sweet and sour vegetable stir-fry.

 

Sesame Chicken

(serves 4)

• 3 – 4 chicken breasts

Marinade:

• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. cooking sake
• Around 3 drops sesame oil
• 2 Tbsp. unbleached flour
• 2 Tbsp. arrowroot powder or cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda

Sauce:

• 1 c. chicken broth
• 1/2 c. water
• 1/4 c. white vinegar
• 3 Tbsp. arrowroot powder or corn starch
• 1/3 c. sucanat, honey, or sugar
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1/8 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 tsp. chili paste
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder

• 2 – 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil (or peanut oil)
• 2 Tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted

1. Mix the marinade ingredients. Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces, and mix with marinade until well coated. Let marinate for about 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, mix the sauce ingredients in a bowl.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken. Cook on one side, without stirring, until well browned, about 5 minutes. Flip, and cook on the opposite side, without stirring, until well browned. Stir-fry chicken until completely cooked through, another 5 – 10 minutes.
4. Pour enough sauce on chicken so that it is well coated (you may not need all). Stir constantly until sauce thickens to the desired consistency. Adjust sauce seasoning to taste (add more sugar or chili paste if desired).
5. Sprinkle on sesame seeds and mix well.
6. Serve with steamed rice.

Mabo Dofu (tofu and ground meat in a spicy chili sauce)

If you have no clue what mabo dofu is (you poor soul, you), it’s a delicious Chinese dish that consists of mainly tofu and a little bit of ground beef or pork in a spicy chili sauce. It’s very popular here in Japan, although as the Japanese tend to avoid overly spicy dishes, the Japanese version tends to be not spicy at all.

I’ve had this dish a million times, but I’d been wanting to try to make it myself. I’m still not too familiar with cooking many Chinese dishes, so I wasn’t sure how well this would turn out, but when I finally got around to making mabo dofu last night, the result turned out to be better than I’d expected! It was great actually!

 

Mabo Dofu (serves 2 – 3)

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 lb ground beef or pork
• 1/4 c. leek or scallions, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp. ginger paste or grated ginger
• 2 Tbsp. tobanjan (a Chinese fermented spicy bean paste available in most Asian grocery stores)
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. cooking sake
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 c. broth (chicken, beef, veggie, doesn’t matter which)
• 12 – 15 oz. tofu (1 package) firm or soft, cut into cubes
• 1 Tbsp. corn starch dissolved into 1 1/2 Tbsp. cold water

1. Heat oil in a skillet over med-high heat. Add the ground beef/pork and cook until almost completely browned.
2. Add the scallions, garlic, and ginger paste and cook for another minute. Add the tobanjan and cook for another minute. Add the soy sauce, cooking sake, and sugar, and cook for another minute.
3. Add the chicken broth and mix well. Adjust seasoning to taste. If you want it spicier, add more tobanjan.
4. Add the tofu and mix well. Cook until everything is heated through. Add the corn starch dissolved in water, and stir continuously until sauce thickens. Serve immediately with steamed rice.

I served the mabo dofu with a vegetable stir-fry and steamed rice.