Thai Sweet Plum Chile Stir-Fry

I got this recipe from a chef at the main cooking station at HEB.  I make it with steak, but it can be made with chicken or pork as well.  It's a perfect blend of spicy and sweet.  The rice helps tone down the heat a little bit.  This dish might be too spicy for little ones

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:
*vegetable or canola oil
*1 lb. flank steak, cubed (or boneless, skinless chicken breast or boneless pork loin chops)
*Adam's grilling seasoning
*1 bag (16 oz.) frozen broccoli florets, thawed
*1 yellow onion, sliced into strips
*1 cup chicken broth
*2 teaspoons corn starch
*1 cup sweet chile plum sauce (I find this at HEB)
*cashews
*2 steamer bags of white or brown rice

Directions:
Preheat a large skillet over high heat.  Season cubed flank steak with Adam's grill seasoning.  Make sure every piece is seasoned well.

Once the skillet is very hot, add about 1 Tablespoon of oil.  Immediately add the steak.  Stirring constantly, cook the meat for just a minute or two--until cooked to medium doneness.  It will cook more later, so do not cook past medium.  Remove the steak from the pan and set aside.

Heat skillet back up to high heat again.  Once very hot, add a Tablespoon of oil again, and add the onion and broccoli.  Season well with the Adam's grill seasoning.  Stir-fry onion and broccoli by stirring constantly until the onions are tender and the broccoli is al dente.  Remove from heat.

Measure out the chicken broth, and add the cornstarch to the room temperature chicken broth.  Whisk it in well.  Place skillet back onto the burner over medium-high heat.  Pour the chicken broth into the skillet.  Add the sweet chile plum sauce.  Add the meat.  Add the cashews.

Bring to a boil.  Once to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the sauce is thickened.

Meanwhile, microwave steamer bags of rice.

To serve, pour stir-fry over rice.

Teriyaki Wings

I adapted this recipe from a recipe in one of my mom's cookbooks.

Ingredients:
*2 1/2 lbs. chicken wings
*1 onion, chopped
*1 cup soy sauce
*1 cup brown sugar
*1 teaspoon minced garlic
*1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

Directions:
Preheat oven to broil.  Rinse chicken and pat completely dry with paper towels.  Place chicken on a broiler pan with some water underneath, and broil for 10 minutes, flipping about half way through.   Remove from oven.

Transfer wings to a crock pot.  In a medium bowl, whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger.  Stir in onion.  Pour sauce over chicken wings in the crock pot.

Cook on high for 2 hours.  Stir wings half way through to coat.  Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Transfer wings to a baking dish and pour as much of the liquid on them as you want.  I usually pour all of it.  Bake uncovered for 1 hour.

Kristen's Noodles Ona Loa

This is my cousin, Kristen's, recipe.

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:
*vegetable oil
*1/2 lb. medium egg noodles
*3 Tablespoons soy sauce
*2 cups chicken broth
*1 garlic clove, minced
*2 teaspoons sugar
*1 teaspoon salt
*dash of black pepper
*2 green onions, chopped

Directions:
Heat enough oil in a skillet to cover 1 inch of the bottom.  Heat on medium heat.  Toss in a raw noodle.  If it sizzles and bubbles immediately, the oil is ready.

Toss the noodles in one handful at a time.  Keep in the oil for just a few seconds until golden brown and use a spatula/strainer to remove from oil.  Place on a paper towel lined plate.  Repeat until all noodles are fried.  Drain oil thoroughly from skillet.  The noodles will be crispy.

Add the remaining ingredients to the skillet, except for the green onions, stirring well.  Stir in the noodles.  Cover and simmer on medium-low heat until noodles are soft and most of the liquid is absorbed.  Sprinkle with green onions.

Asian Coleslaw

This is my husband's co-worker, Shelly's, recipe.  It's a great side dish for Asian entrees as well as BBQ entrees.  It's a great thing to bring to a pot luck dinner.

Ingredients:
*1 lb. shredded cabbage coleslaw mix
*1 package (3 oz.) chicken Raman noodles
*1/2 cup sunflower seeds
*1/2 cup sliced almonds
*4 green onions, chopped
*1/2 cup olive oil
*3 Tablespoons white vinegar
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*2 Tablespoons sugar
*1/2 teaspoon black pepper
*1 Tablespoon soy sauce

Directions:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Place sunflower seeds and almonds on a cookie sheet.  Toast for a few minutes.  Take out as soon as you smell them.  Set aside to cool.

Crush Raman noodles.  Set aside the seasoning packet for later.  In a large bowl, combine cabbage, Raman noodles, toasted sunflower seeds and almonds, and green onions.

In a medium bowl, combine the olive oil, vinegar, salt, sugar, black pepper, soy sauce, and seasoning packet from the Raman noodles.  Whisk together well.

Immediately poor dressing over salad.  Toss to coat.  Chill until ready to serve.  When ready to serve, stir well beforehand.

Kristen's Asian-Marinated Grilled Fish

This is my cousin, Kristen's, recipe.  My two year old son kept asking for more when we made this.

Ingredients:
*1/4 cup honey
*3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
*2 teaspoons finely minced orange zest
*2 cloves garlic, minced
*1 1/2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
*1 teaspoon dried basil
*2 Tablespoons soy sauce
*1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
*4 frozen fish fillets, thawed (tilapia, salmon, etc.)
*canola oil
*salt to taste
*black pepper to taste

Directions:
Whisk together honey, orange juice, zest, garlic, mustard, basil, soy sauce, and sesame oil.  Place the fish in the marinade, and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

Remove the marinated fish from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking to allow to come to room temperature.  Shake off excess marinade, and discard marinade.  Blot the fillets dry with paper towels.  Coat with canola oil.  Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat the grill pan to medium-high.  Spray with cooking spray.  Place fillets on grill pan and cook for about 3 minutes.  Flip fillets over and cook for 3 more minutes until fish is flaky.

Asian Lettuce Wraps (Like Pei Wei or PF Chang's)

These low-fat and healthy lettuce wraps taste like the ones at Pei Wei or P.F Chang's.  I made these with ground turkey like the recipe called for, but I also think you could make them with chicken to make them even more like the lettuce wraps at Pei Wei and P.F Chang's.  This recipe is from Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet cookbook.

Makes 10 lettuce wraps

Ingredients:
*cooking spray
*1 1/4 lb. extra lean ground turkey (or boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
*1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen stir-fry vegetable blend, thawed
*1/3 cup teriyaki sauce
*1/4 cup hoisin sauce
*3 Tablespoons reduced-fat peanut butter
*1 Tablespoon fresh ginger root, minced (the original recipe calls for 2 Tablespoon, but it was a bit much)
*1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
*1 Tablespoon sesame oil
*3 fresh garlic cloves, pressed or minced
*4 green onions, chopped
*10 Boston lettuce leaves (or Iceberg if you cannot find Boston)

Directions:
In a large non-stick skillet coated with cooking spray, cook the turkey over medium-high heat until no longer pink, stirring occasionally.  (If using chicken instead, salt and pepper the chicken lightly, spray the skillet with cooking spray, and cook 6-7 minutes per side.  Remove the chicken from the pan.  Dice up the chicken into very small pieces.  Return to pan.)

Coarsely chop mixed vegetables.  Add to the pan with the cooked turkey or chicken.  Stir in the teriyaki sauce, hoisin sauce, peanut butter, ginger, rice vinegar, and sesame oil.  Cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add the garlic.  Cook for 1 minute.

Remove from heat.  Stir in the green onions.  Scoop about 1/2 cup turkey or chicken mixture on each lettuce leaf.  Fold lettuce leaf over filling.  Serve with additional hoisin sauce if desired.

Quick Asian Salad

I have a more complex Asian coleslaw recipe from one of my husband's co-workers that is full of flavor.  This recipe is a short cut version for when I do not have time to make the other.  It's not as flavorful, but it is a good week night substitute. 

Ingredients:
*1 bag shredded cabbage
*1/4 cup sunflower seeds
*1/4 cup sliced almonds
*2 green onions, chopped
*Kraft Asian salad dressing (according to taste)

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a large salad bowl, except the salad dressing.  Toss.  Pour salad dressing on salad and toss.  Serve cold.

Asian Green Beens

Ingredients:
*1 lb. frozen green beans, thawed
*1 oz. slivered almonds
*4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
*1/8 cup soy sauce
*olive oil

Makes 6 servings

Directions:
Saute green beans in a little olive oil in a skillet over medium heat for a couple of minutes.

Add garlic to skillet.

About halfway through, add almonds and soy sauce.  Continue to saute until hot.

Indonesian Chicken

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:
*1 Tablespoon orange marmalade
*1/2 cup soy sauce
*1/2 cup honey
*2 garlic clove, pressed or minced
*3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
*6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Directions:
In a small sauce pan mix together all ingredients except the chicken.  Bring to a boil.  As soon as it boils, remove from heat.  Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Once marinade has cooled down, put chicken and marinade in a large zip lock bag.  Seal.  Place in refrigerator for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375.  Pour marinade and chicken into a baking dish.  (Do not discard marinade.  It will boil in the oven.)  Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.  Baste.  Bake 20 more minutes.