Du'in It in the Kitchen » vegetables

Chicken with Pan-Fried Noodles

Du — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 20:24:28 +0000

Chicken with Pan-Fried Noodles

I have been obsessed with pan-fried noodles lately. Years ago I used to love to order Chinese take-out when I first moved to New York – I couldn’t get over the fact that you could order just about any type of cuisine and have it delivered to your door. The only thing I ever ordered for delivery when I lived in St. Louis was pizza…

Over the years my fondness for Chinese food vanished… mostly because there were Chinese take-out places on every block and the quality had gone down immensely. There would be more oil in the container than food… okay, I exaggerate a bit but the food delivered was always very oily and everything tasted the same.

Last year I was taken to a Chinese restaurant (under protest) in Brooklyn called Pacificana. I hesitated to order anything and was very suspicious for what would hit the table. My hosts order food family style… I’m sure I would be able to pick out something. I was not prepared for what was to come…

The food was amazing! Not oily and not greasy and NOT swimming in sauce! The veggies were cooked just right and every dish had it’s own unique flavor. My love for Chinese food had been awakened and my favorite dish became Beef served over Pan-Fried Noodles. The noodles always came out crunchy despite the beef, veggies and sauce over them. I dreamed about pan-fried noodles and looked forward to each visit.

I started thinking – I have got to learn how to make these for myself when the craving gets bad. Stir frying has never been my forte and I don’t have a wok but I was determined to make them. I searched the internet on pan frying techniques and found there wasn’t anything but heating up oil in a pan and frying cooked noodles… Okay, I’m game. I looked at several recipes for stir fried veggies, found what was common among them, came up with my own recipe and decided to add chicken. I couldn’t find Chinese broccoli so I picked up broccolini instead.

This was so good I had to go back for seconds…

*for the chicken broth, I used a powdered style mixed with water

Chicken with Pan-Fried Noodles

(serves 4 – 6)

1 12oz package of Chinese Noodles

1 lb boneless chicken breast, sliced into thin, bite size pieces

1 medium head of bok choy, washed and cut into bite size pieces (or 4-5 leaves from a large)

1 medium onion, sliced in half, top to bottom, then in ½” wedges

2-3 scallions, cut into 2 “ pieces, green tops included

4oz string beans, washed, stem removed (about a large handful)

3oz snow peas washed, stem and string removed (large handful)

1 large carrot, peeled and sliced on the diagonal

2” of ginger root, peeled and cut into matchstick pieces

4 – 6 mushrooms sliced

peanut oil

water as needed

Sauce

1 cup chicken broth (or veggie broth)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Prepare Chinese noodles as directed. Drain and rinse noodles in cold water. Drizzle a little peanut oil into noodles to keep from sticking and set aside.

In a wok or large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of peanut oil over medium high heat. Add chicken to pan and stir frequently until cooked (about 3 minutes). Remove and set aside.

Add another splash of peanut oil to pan and stir fry onions, scallions and ginger until onions begin to wilt. Add water as necessary to keep from sticking. Remove from pan.

To the pan, add bok choy, string beans and carrot, stirring frequently, adding water to keep from drying out. When bok choy begins to soften, add mushrooms and snow peas. Continue stirring and remove from pan when bok choy is soft but still crunchy (another 2-3 minutes). Remove from pan.

In a small bowl, combine chicken broth, soy and oyster sauce and whisk in cornstarch. With heat still on, add to pan stirring frequently and bring to boil. When sauce thickens, add veggies and chicken to pan and mix together. Turn off heat.

Pan-Fried Noodles

Pan-Fried Noodles

In a cast iron skillet, heat a tablespoon of peanut oil over medium high heat. When oil begins to dance, add 4 scoops of noodles into pan. Fry noodles until they begin to brown to a golden color (may take 3-5 minutes). Turn over noodle cakes and brown other side. Brown remainder of noodles into cakes. One 12oz package should make 8-9 noodles cakes. You may need to drizzle in additional oil as needed.

Remove noodle cakes to plate and serve it with the chicken stir fry.

Crispy Spicy Kale Chips

Du — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 17:25:27 +0000

This is a recipe by Jack Ricci. I thought it was too good not to share. I haven’t had a chance to try it yet – gotta dig out the dehydrator… not to mention find a place to put it when using…. I’m NOT kidding!!

If you try it, let me know what you think!!

Crispy Spicy Kale Chips (by Jack Ricci)

1.5 Tbsp untoasted sesame oil
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1-2 Tbsp Tamari
2 Tbsp Agave nectar or Honey (watch your sources of Agave)
1/8 tsp cayenne (or less depending on spicy taste)*
1 clove garlic
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 large head curly kale (lacinto) or 2 heads dinosaur kale

-Mix all ingredients except kale
-Remove stems from kale
-Toss and coat leaves in bowl of sauce, well coated
-Place on dehydrator shelves (teflex) for two hours on Low-Medium level (until juices thicken on leaves, then put them directly on the dehydrator trays on Low setting for up to 8 hours… -Test every hour until they are crispy or desired texture.
-Let cool, store in glass containers. Enjoy.

*adjust the cayenne according to taste

Leftover Turkey Vegetable Soup

Du — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:35:10 +0000

Leftover Turkey Vegetable Soup

Growing up, my mom was always very thrifty with leftovers…. okay… most of the the time she was thrifty. We had a giant turkey at Thanksgiving and an even bigger one at Christmas… which meant we had tons of leftover turkey that went into the freezer to have turkey 100 different ways throughout the year. Usually by Spring I was sick of it.

This year I didn’t cook a turkey but instead went to someone else’s house bringing many side side dishes, biscuits and made the gravy (I make gravy good!). I still managed to come home with a lot of leftovers but had to work late the next couple days and didn’t get to them. Concerned about the turkey going bad before I had a chance to eat it, I decided I could use it all at once and make a hearty soup (and it would be the healthiest option after indulging on Thanksgiving).

The following is a soup I threw together… then measurements are as close as possible. When making soup, you can add just about any herbs and veggies you have and adjust to your taste as needed.

LEFTOVER TURKEY VEGETABLE SOUP

1 lb left over cooked turkey (approx), cut into bite-size pieces

1 medium onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 large carrots, diced into small pieces

1 large parsnip, diced into small pieces

1 medium turnip, diced small

3 celery stalks, diced small

1 teaspoon all purpose seasoning

2 bay leaves

2 sprigs thyme, marjoram, oregano

1 teaspoon kosher salt (more as needed)

Fresh ground pepper

6 – 8 cups chicken broth, vegetable broth or water (additional broth/water)

2 tablespoons olive oil

Sauté onion in olive oil over medium high heat in a large pot. As onion begins to sweat, add kosher salt, fresh ground pepper and garlic and sauté an additional 2 – 3 minutes.

Add vegetables, herbs and broth (may need to add water to cover vegetables). Bring to a low boil then reduce heat to simmer, approximately 20 minutes (until veggies are tender). As the vegetables soak up the liquid, you may need to add even more broth/liquid. Add turkey and simmer another 10 minutes. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Remove herb twigs before serving.

Easy Thanksgiving Side Salads

Du — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:57:37 +0000

Lemon-Garlic broccoli

As Thanksgiving quickly approaches, thoughts of meal meal planning and shopping are overwhelming. The turkey is a given (unless you’re vegetarian). Over indulgence and a little gluttony take over with the amount of food we prepare and eat…. but how else are we supposed to have leftovers???

Here a couple of very easy side dishes, not overwhelming or heavy to send you into that carb coma. Both are cold sides and can be prepared a day ahead to lessen the load on the big turkey day. For these recipes, I don’t measure… I just kinda eyeball it… you can easily adjust the amount for the number of people you are serving.

Lemon-Garlic Broccoli

2 heads/crowns fresh broccoli

several cloves of garlic

extra virgin olive oil

1 – 2 lemons

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Rinse broccoli and cut off most of the stalk. With a sharp knife, separate the spears of broccoli. Steam broccoli in a large enough pot to accommodate until it’s al dente. The steaming time is variable – not sure why…. some broccoli is “tough” and just takes longer. Be careful not to overcook – no mushy broccoli allowed! Place the broccoli in a baking/serving dish in one layer… best to avoid the aluminum pans – they discolor the broccoli and garlic.

Here’s where the eyeball method comes in – we love a lot of garlic in our family but some don’t tolerate it as much as others. Chop garlic into large pieces and place over the broccoli in the pan (the large pieces can easily be avoided for those that don’t want to eat that much garlic). Drizzle olive oil over the broccoli and garlic. Squeeze the lemon on top, being careful to keep the seeds out…. if they fall in, you can just pick them out – no one will know. Add salt and pepper to taste and voila!!! That’s it. Just cover and place in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.

Steamed String Beans with Red Onion Salad

String Bean and Red Onion Salad

1 lb fresh string beans, rinsed and stems removed

1 small red onion, sliced thin into half moon

extra virgin olive oil

balsamic vinegar

sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Steam string beans until they are al dente (should only take a few minutes) and please don’t over cook. Place string beans in a medium – large bowl (you want to make sure there’s enough room to toss the string beans without them flipping over the side).

Add red onion. *To make half moons slices, cut onion in half from top to bottom, then lay cut side down and slice cross-wise.

Drizzle olive oil, then balsamic vinegar over beans. Salt and pepper to taste. Gently toss string beans in dressing until well coated. Place salad with dressing in a cover container (or large plastic ziploc) and refridgerate until ready to serve. Every so often, I toss the beans in the covered container (with lid on) to mix the beans in the dressing.

Du’in it Local

Du — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 02:19:29 +0000

Farmer's Market, Union Square in NYC

The benefits of buying local produce are numerous. The most important – helping to support local farms and bring fresh, in season produce to your table. Nothing beats being able to speak to the folks that actually grow your food. Not only can you ask about their growing methods but also get the low-down on how crops are growing during the current season and a heads up for produce in the coming weeks. Your local farmer may even have a suggestion you try something new. I’ve even had the pleasure of starting up conversations with other shoppers on the various produce currently available and sharing how I used it in a recipe. At the market, everyone’s a chef.

Growing up in Southern California, we had one orange tree and enough room in the back yard to grow a small garden. We grew monster zucchini and tomatoes. The neighbors that lived behind us had an apricot tree with branches that draped over the back wall… I remember keeping an eye on the fruit, just waiting for it to drop into our yard. Much of my summer time was spent at my cousins house where they happen to have avocado, peach, nectarine, apricot and plum trees and a large garden every year.

As a child, I didn’t appreciate being able to grow your own food, tending a garden and bringing it right to your table… and now many years later, living as an adult in NYC in a small apartment with no direct sunlight, I long to have enough space to grow even a container garden on a window sill.

At least I have the next best thing – access to one of the best Farmer’s Market in the country!

To find out more about NYC’s local greenmarkets:

CENYC.org