Sweet and Sour Chicken over Brown Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 pound chicken breast tenderloins
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small jar of sweet and sour sauce
• 1 can (15 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 cup of frozen carrot slices
• 1 green bell pepper, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 cup of brown or white rice
• 3 green onions, chopped

Preparation:
Tip: Don’t throw away the pineapple juice from the can. Add it to other juice in the refrigerator.

Heat a pan with olive oil.
Cook the chicken in the oil until browned and cooked through.
Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces.
Return to the pan and stir in the sweet and sour sauce, pineapple, carrots, and bell pepper.
Keep warm while the rice cooks.
Cook the rice in boiling water according to package directions.
Serve the sweet and sour chicken over the rice.
Garnish with chopped green onions.


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Chicken with Satay Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 pound boneless, skinless, chicken tenderloins
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil or peanut oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup of chicken broth
• ½ cup of crunchy peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 lime, cut into pieces
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro
• Salt and pepper
• 1 package frozen snow peas
• 1 package soba noodles (You may substitute spaghetti)

Preparation:
Melt the butter in a pan with the olive oil.
Cook the chicken in the olive oil and butter until brown on all sides and cooked through.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and remove from the pan.
Stir in the onion, and cook until softened.
Add the broth and scrape the bottom of the pan to pick up any browned bits.
Stir in the peanut butter and crushed red pepper. If the sauce is too thick, add more broth a tablespoon at a time.
Return the chicken to the skillet and simmer for 20 minutes.
Cook the noodles according to package directions in boiling water.
Heat the snow peas in the microwave.
Toss the snow peas and a small amount of the sauce into the cooked noodles.
Place the chicken and sauce over the noodles and serve with lime on the side.



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Mu Shu Beef and Cabbage Rolls

Invite the taste of China home in this 15 minute meal.

Ingredients:
8 burrito sized tortillas
1 pound of lean ground beef
4 chopped green onions
3 cups of shredded cabbage for coleslaw
1 grated carrot
¼ cup of hoisin sauce (You may use plum sauce if you want a sweeter dish.)
1 tablespoon of cooking oil

Preparation:
Heat the oil in a skillet.
Cook the beef and onion until the beef is well done.
Add the cabbage and carrot and cover to steam for about 5 minutes until it is tender.
Stir in the hoisin sauce.
Place the tortillas on a plate and cover with a clean dishtowel.
Warm the tortillas in the microwave for 20 seconds.
To eat, place some filling on a tortilla and roll up like a burrito.
Serve with additional plum sauce for dipping.

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Stir Fried Pork and Green Beans

Wine Pairing: Gewürztraminer

This is similar to the chicken and green beans you can get at Chinese food restaurants. Serve it over a bed of rice.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon of rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce (I prefer the Pearl River Bridge Superior Light Soy Sauce brand)
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 pound pork, cut into small strips
¼ pound fresh green beans, washed and trimmed (Use frozen if fresh are out of season)
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
½ cup grated carrots
1 onion, sliced
1 cup of rice

How to make Stir Fried Pork and Green Beans
Cook the rice according to the package directions, in two cups of water.
Mix the hoisin sauce, vinegar, soy sauce, and crushed red pepper.
Heat the oil in a skillet and stir fry the pork in the hot oil
Remove the pork and add the vegetables.
When the vegetables are crisp tender, return the pork to the pan.
Add the sauce, and stir to coat. It should thicken as is warms.
Serve over rice.









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Mu Shu Chicken in Tortillas

This low fat dish will stop your cravings for high fat Chinese food. You can always substitute chicken broth for the white wine. This recipe also tastes delicious made with pork.

Ingredients for Mu Shu Chicken in Tortillas

• ½ pound of chicken breast tenderloins
• 3 tablespoons of soy sauce
• ¼ teaspoon of pepper
• 3 tablespoons of hoisin sauce (I’ve also used plum sauce, which tastes great)
• 3 tablespoons of white wine
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 2 cups of coleslaw mix (Or grate your own cabbage and carrots together)
• 1 small can of water chestnuts, chopped
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce mixed with 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 8 soft taco size whole wheat tortillas

Stir together the liquid ingredients.
Heat a pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
Cook the chicken breast tenderloins. Remove and slice into strips.
Put the chicken back in the pan with the liquid ingredients.
Add the cabbage and carrots and cook for about 3 minutes, until crisp tender.
Add the soy sauce with cornstarch and stir into the pan to thicken the sauce.
Serve warm with tortillas.

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Korean Style Beef Bowl with Udon Noodles

Korean Style Beef Bowl with Udon Noodles

This quick dinner is perfect for a cold night when you don’t have much time to cook.

1 lb flank steak or skirt steak, cut thinly across the grain
¼ cup chopped green onions
½ cup grated carrots
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 Tbsp soy sauce
4 cups beef broth
1 package Udon noodles (find them in the fresh food section of the market.)
Optional: 1 cup bean sprouts

Preparation:

Cook the flank steak over high heat in the sesame and vegetable oil until brown and well done. Remove from the pan.
Cook the Udon noodles in the beef broth, according to package directions.
In the pan you cooked the meat in, fry the onions, carrots, and garlic for two minutes, or just until crispy tender. Stir in the soy sauce.
Add the meat back into the pan, and cook for one more minute.
Place the Udon noodles, with broth into bowls. Top with the beef and vegetable mixture.
If you prefer, sprinkle bean sprouts on top.
This is also good with a bit of chopped cilantro on top.

If you are unable to find Udon noodles in your area, you can try another thick chow mein type noodle, and even spaghetti will work in a pinch. It won’t taste quite the same. Another option is to skip the beef broth and serve the flank steak and vegetables over rice.