Orange Chicken Stir Fry

Some people may find this disturbing...but I haven't tried Panda Express' Orange Chicken until this past year. Honestly, I've never been a huge fan of Chinese food until recently. Growing up I really despised white rice and I guess I just associated Chinese food with that and kind of stereo typically slashed out the entire Chinese cuisine. But, I finally took the plunge and started trying it more and really do love it now...especially Orange Chicken. Most of the time orange chicken is deep fried, but I wasn't in the mood for the mess of frying and decided to just do a quick stir fry with this ridiculous good orange sauce. 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 2 1/12 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onion
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 4 teaspoons corn starch
• 2  tablespoons water 
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• Vegetables of choice, for stir fry 

Directions

Pour 1 1/2 cups water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce into a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, chopped green onion, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and cool for 15 minutes. 

Place the chicken pieces in a large zip lock bag. When orange sauce has cooled. Pour 1 cup of sauce into bag, reserve remaining sauce. Seal the bag and refrigerate at least 1 hour. 

In a wok or dutch oven, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the marinated chicken pieces and sautee  until almost cooked through, about 3-5 minutes. Then add in your vegetables (in my case I just did broccoli) and sautee for another 3-5 minutes. Add the reserved orange sauce to the chicken and vegetables and bring to a boil. Mix the 4 teaspoons of cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water in a bowl and mix into the orange sauce (This acts as a thickening agent). Stir until the sauce has thickened. Serve with Lee's Egg Rolls and garnish with more chopped onion. 

Song of the Recipe

One of my favorite bands, if you ever get a chance to see them live, do it they are amazing! Lee and I saw them in Chicago last year and we were those people smashed up on the front row. We couldn't hear afterwards and I almost got kicked in the face several times...But, we had a blast!

Lee's Hot n' Sour Soup w/ Homemade Egg Rolls

As some of you know, I am not the only cook in my house. Lee, my girlfriend, is very good at it as well. One of her must-haves when we have Chinese is Hot n' Sour Soup. She has been saying for awhile how she wanted to make her own, which brings us to the next post. Delicious Hot n' Sour soup with homemade egg rolls! 

Hot n' Sour Soup

Ingredients

• 2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) chicken broth
• 1 cup chopped cooked chicken or pork (optional)
• 4 ounces fresh shiitake mushroom caps, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup bamboo shoots, cut into thin strips
• 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 ounces firm tofu, well drained and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon chili paste
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablesppons cold water
• sliced green onions for garnish

Directions

Combine chicken broth, chicken/pork, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, venegar, soy sauce, chili paste, pepper and garlic in slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW 3-4 hours or on high 2-3 hours or until done.

Stir in tofu/ Combine cornstarch with water; mix well. Stir into slow cooker. Cover and cook on high until thickend (about 10 minutes).

Garnish with sliced green onions.

Pork Egg Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 quart canola oil for frying
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons water
• 4 cups coleslaw mix
• 8 (7 inch square) egg roll wrappers

Directions

Season pork with ginger, garlic and garlic powder and mix thoroughly. Heat mixture in a medium skillet, stirring, until pork is cooked through. Set aside.

In another large skillet heat oil to about 375 degrees F. While oil is heating, combine flour and water in a bowl until they form a paste. In a separate bowl combine the cabbage, carrots and reserved pork mixture. Mix all together. 

Lay out one egg roll skin with a corner pointed toward you. Place about a 1/3 cup of the cabbage, carrot and pork mixture on egg roll paper and fold corner up over the mixture. Fold left and right corners toward the center and continue to roll. Brush a bit of the flour paste on the final corner to help seal the egg roll. 

Place egg rolls into heated oil and fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels or rack. 

**A really interesting video on the history of American Chinese Food**