Stir Fry Friday

Honey Garlic Baked Cauliflower

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

As cauliflower continues to gain in popularity, I’m excited to say that we’re finally on that bandwagon. Though to be honest, I still haven’t been able to convince myself to try it raw. Don’t ask me why, it makes no sense.

I decided to delve into that cauliflower enjoyment and search my Pinterest account for any previously saved recipes that I’d forgotten about. Immediately this pin for Honey Garlic Baked Cauliflower called out to me with its stunningly mouth-watering photography.

I made the recipe as directed the first time and while we enjoyed it, it was missing something. I kept thinking, “This needs veggies!” which is hilarious as the entire dish was veggies. That, right there, should tell you that you won’t be missing the meat at all.

We were forced to eat the prepared cauliflower cold as we were dealing with some child(ren) meltdown(s) while simultaneously waiting for the brand new rice cooker to cook some rice.

I determined that the breading wasn’t necessary and decided to try again for lunch later that week. I know it’s “honey garlic” cauliflower, but the garlic was too strong so I toned that flavor down a touch, too. And to get that “desire for something green” I added some frozen edamame to the dish.

cauliflower horizontal

My version is perfect for lunch or a weeknight dinner. It serves 2.

Honey Garlic Baked Cauliflower

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets
  • 6 tbsp honey
  • 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1/2 tbsp sriracha
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 6 tbsp water
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • 1/3 C frozen shelled edamame, thawed
  • cooked rice, for serving

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Place cauliflower on a lightly greased baking sheet in an even layer. Bake 20 minutes.
  3. In a small saucepan over medium heat the honey, soy sauce, sriracha, garlic, and onion powder until combined and warmed through.
  4. In a small bowl, whisk together the water and cornstarch. Slowly pour into the sauce, whisking continuously. Bring to a simmer and cook a couple of minutes until sauce is thickened. Remove from heat.
  5. Toss cauliflower and edamame in as much of the sauce as desired. Serve immediately over cooked rice.

*This recipe is modified from Kirbie at http://kirbiecravings.com/2016/01/honey-garlic-baked-cauliflower.html*

Honey Garlic Baked Cauliflower | Sew You Think You Can Cook | http://sewyouthinkyoucancook.com

Chicken and Broccoli Teriyaki

~ lk529 ~ 15 Comments

I think kids have a natural-born radar for sweets. The other day I was enjoying a homemade rice krispie treat and Firecracker walked over to me and took a bite of it right out of my hand. Now, he’s never seen a rice krispie treat before, how was he to know what it was?! He wouldn’t have done the same thing if it were celery in my hand instead. I was highly amused and slightly baffled.

While I’m on that note: Can someone please explain to me why if it comes out of a package or box my 2 year old will devour it?

As is normally the case if it comes from a restaurant. Chicken Teriyaki from the mall food court, perfect. Chicken Teriyaki made by Mom, no thanks. Maybe he sensed that the chicken wasn’t battered and fried…? My 8 month old enjoyed it at any rate. I think my husband enjoyed it most of all, if only just for the excuse to use his Darth Vader Lightsaber Chopsticks.

Chicken and Broccoli Teriyaki

Ingredients:

  • 2/3 C sugar
  • 1/2 C + 2 tbsp water, divided use
  • 1/3 C soy sauce
  • juice 1/2 lemon
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • 2 tsp canola oil
  • 1 large chicken breast, chopped or sliced
  • 2 C broccoli florets
  • 1-2 scallions, thinly sliced (optional)

Steps:

  1. Combine sugar, 1/2 C water, soy sauce, lemon juice, garlic, and ginger in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer. In a small bowl whisk together the cornstarch and 2 tsbp water until smooth. Add to the sauce. Allow sauce to thicken over low heat.
  2. In a wok or large skillet, heat canola oil over medium-high heat. Season chicken with S+P, saute chicken until browned and fully cooked. Add the broccoli to the pan and cook until tender.
  3. Add as much teriyaki sauce to the chicken and broccoli as desired, tossing to coat.
  4. Serve over a bed of rice and garnish of scallions.

*The sauce recipe is adapted from Kylee at http://www.kyleecooks.com/2016/06/homemade-teriyaki-sauce.html*

Chicken and Broccoli Teriyaki Sew You Think You Can Cook

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

Pineapple Beef Lettuce Cups

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

“Quick! The little man is sleeping! Go write something!”

At least that’s what the little voice in my head is telling me right now.

But it’s not telling me anything else!

Hello, writer’s block, we meet again.

How do you jump the hurdle and share a wonderful story? Help!

At least I have this great recipe to share with you, though. It’s Stir Fry Day Friday, everyone! And today’s edition is getting all dressed up in a bright lettuce cup suit. (I’d actually suggest some added bling by very finely dicing some more fresh pineapple as garnish and an extra drizzle of Sriracha to the lettuce cup!)

This recipe only serves two. In fact, it might be better off as a lunch or even an appetizer. However, you could always serve the stir fry over rice to “beef” it up for dinner.

Pineapple Beef Lettuce Cups

Ingredients:

  • 1 C cubed fresh pineapple
  • 1/4 C soy sauce
  • 1/4 C molasses
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1-2 tbsp Sriracha
  • 1 tbsp ketchup
  • 2 tsp minced garlic (I used Gourmet Garden stir-in chunky garlic paste)
  • 1 tsp grated fresh ginger (I used 1 tsp Gourmet Garden stir-in ginger paste)
  • 1 lb stir-fry beef strips
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 sweet onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 carrot, thinly sliced
  • 8 leaves Bibb lettuce
  • sesame seeds, for garnish

Steps:

  1. Place pineapple, soy sauce, molasses, vinegar, Sriracha, ketchup, garlic, and ginger in a blender. Blend until combined. Pour into a bowl and add the beef. Place in the fridge and marinate for 1-6 hours.
  2. Remove beef from the marinade. Heat the oil in a large, non-stick skillet (or wok) over medium-high heat. Stir-fry the beef for 3-5 minutes; do this in batches if needed so as not to over crowd the pan. Remove from skillet and cover to keep warm.
  3. In the same skillet or wok saute the thinly sliced veggies until tender, season with S+P. Remove and cover to keep warm.
  4. Assemble the wraps by dividing the beef and veggies among each leaf of lettuce. Garnish with sesame seeds and more Sriracha, if desired.

*This recipe is adapted from Liz at http://www.floatingkitchen.net/spicy-pineapple-beef-lettuce-wraps/*

Pineapple Beef Lettuce Cups | Sew You Think You Can Cook

And he’s awake. Until next time!

Mongolian Beef

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

There used to be the best Chinese take-out place back home called Beijing but they closed up shop within the last five years and my parents haven’t been able to find anything as good.

And neither have I. I would always order the Mongolian Beef. And when Beijing wasn’t available to me after I left home I haven’t been able to find a Mongolian Beef recipe even close – in fact, I’ve not even enjoyed it when I’ve tried other restaurants’ versions! As a result my Chinese take-out order has changed to either Sesame Chicken or Orange Chicken.

I’ve been saving Mongolian Beef recipes on foodgawker for quite some time and with our Stir-Fry-Day Friday menu plan (which hasn’t been as successful as Mexican Monday I hate to admit) I knew it was time to give it a shot.

The Mongolian Beef from Beijing had broccoli in it so I added some broccoli. But I didn’t stop there. I had a little bit of sliced red bell pepper in the fridge and some green beans so I added those in too. Hey, the point of Stir-Fry-Day Friday was to add more veggies into our life!

Another advantage, or so I thought, of doing Stir-Fry-Day Friday was to have veggies and meat that the little man could eat. But I was wary of giving him soy sauce because of the high sodium content, even though we use low-sodium. Soy is also a high allergen, although not one in our family tree.

IMG_3350I finally let him try the Mongolian Beef and he loved it! He wouldn’t eat the bell pepper (which is funny because that was one of the first foods he ate) and the green beans were still pretty crunchy because I like the texture. He loved the beef and even surprised us by grabbing some broccoli on his own.

Mongolian Beef

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 C soy sauce
  • 1/2 C brown sugar
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced (I used 3 tsp Gourmet Garden garlic paste)
  • 2 tsp fresh grated ginger (I used 1 tsp Gourmet Garden lightly dried ginger)
  • 1/2 C plus 2 tsp vegetable oil, divided use
  • 1 lb flank steak, cut into strips across the grain
  • 1/4 C cornstarch
  • optional veggies: frozen broccoli, red bell pepper, fresh green beans

Steps:

  1. In a small saucepan heat soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, 2 tsp vegetable oil, and 1/2 C water for 5-10 minutes or until thickened.
  2. In a large bowl, toss steak in cornstarch.
  3. In a large skillet or wok heat 1/2 C vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add beef and stir fry until browned and cooked through, 2 minutes. Remove to a paper towel lined plate and discard the oil.
  4. If using, saute veggies in the same skillet. Return the beef to the pan along with the sauce from Step 1. Cook until sauce is thickened and coats the beef and veggies. Serve with white rice.

*This recipe is adapted from Chungah at http://damndelicious.net/2013/10/05/pf-changs-mongolian-beef-copycat-recipe/*

Mongolian Beef | Sew You Think You Can Cook

Disclaimer: I received Gourmet Garden product for participating in #HotSummerEats. I have received no additional compensation for this post and the opinions expressed here are my own and the recipe shared in the review of this product was not sponsored.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

Hey everyone! Stir Fry Day Friday is back! Well, sort of. Sweet and Sour Chicken isn’t exactly a stir fry, but it’s meat and veggies cooked in a pan and tossed in a sauce.. close enough, right?

Now that Lent is over our Stir Fry Day Friday theme can continue more regularly. While there are great shrimp and fish stir fries out there I much prefer stir fries made with meat!

There are a LOT of recipes on the internet that boast that they taste exactly like restaurant or take-out, and while all of them are delicious I’ve always found something to be missing – usually that extra bit of sweetness that makes take-out not the healthiest option.

This sweet and sour chicken actually tastes like take out! I was so excited. Stuart and I both went back for seconds – and thirds. I’m not sure if it’s really healthier – it might have less sodium and no MSG, but there’s still a good amount of sugar in this delicious sauce. I forgot to coat the chicken in cornstarch prior to frying so maybe I cut out half a calorie there? I was afraid I’d miss that take-out fried chicken texture but I didn’t! I even enjoyed the bell peppers, which aren’t my favorite vegetable. I used yellow and red because the green did not look good at the store that day – use whatever you like.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 C sugar
  • 1/2 C apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 C ketchup
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 2 tbsp canola oil
  • 1 lb chicken tenderloin, cut into bite sized pieces
  • 2 bell peppers, chopped (any color you prefer)
  • 1/2 onion, chopped

Steps:

  1. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine sugar, vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, S+P. Bring sauce to a boil.
  2. In a small bowl whisk the cornstarch with 2 tbsp cold water until smooth. Whisk into the sauce. Reduce heat to low and allow sauce to thicken.
  3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with S+P and brown on both sides. Add the veggies to the skillet and cook until just tender and the chicken is fully cooked.
  4. Add the sauce to the skillet and toss to coat. Serve with white rice.

*This recipe is adapted from Tiffany at http://lecremedelacrumb.com/2014/12/healthy-sweet-sour-chicken.html*

Sweet and Sour Chicken | Sew You Think You Can Cook

SRC: Ginger Beef Stir Fry

~ lk529 ~ 33 Comments

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Today is another Secret Recipe Club Reveal Day! In the secret recipe club, each participating blogger is assigned a blog from another participating blogger and secretly searches their site for something to recreate. The accompanying blog post then goes live on reveal day! So while I was immersed in my assigned blog, someone else was picking through mine! I’m so excited to be part of this group, to see what on my blog peaks other’s interests and to stumble upon new blogs and new recipes.

This month I was assigned the blog Without Adornment written by Bean. Bean bravely talks about her battle with depression. Her blog title came to be from a sermon at church that really spoke to her. To live “without adornment” is something that I think everyone needs to learn how to do. To just be you. With the season of Lent upon us I found this to really hit home. It’s the time of year to reevaluate your relationship not just with God but with yourself. To better yourself, and what better way to do that than to live “without adornment.”

Bean leads a Gluten-Free lifestyle but that doesn’t hold her back from her favorite hobby of baking. I encourage you to check out her amazing recipe index. As I don’t keep gluten-free and am not proficient enough in my baking skills to alter recipes I looked to her savory dishes. With our new Stir Fry Day Fridays I was excited to see Pad Thai and Ginger Beef. I proceeded with the latter.

We enjoyed this beef not on a Friday, but for the Chinese New Year last week. I served it simply with white rice. I again had to eliminate the bean sprouts so I used a little more celery and carrots. I also used three large leaves from a bok choy instead of using baby bok choy. Oh, and I completely forgot to buy bell pepper, so that ingredient was also excluded from my version. This stir fry dish was a huge hit around the table. Thank you Bean for a great recipe.

Note: to keep it gluten-free, use a gluten-free flour (Bean used rice flour) and gluten-free soy sauce.

This stir fry feeds 4-6 people.

Ginger Beef Stir Fry

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 C vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 – 2 lb sirloin, sliced in thin strips
  • 1 tbsp flour
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 2 carrots, sliced diagonally
  • 4 tbsp freshly grated ginger
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 stalk celery, sliced diagonally
  • 3 bok choy leaves, chopped
  • 1/3 C sugar
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp cooking sherry
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp corn starch
  • 2 scallions, chopped

Steps:

  1. Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.
  2. Toss sirloin strips in flour to coat. Stir fry in batches until cooked through and remove to a paper towel lined plate.
  3. Add the onion, carrots, ginger, and garlic to the same skillet. When onions are translucent add the celery and bok choy. Cook until bok choy is wilted.
  4. In a small bowl combine sugar, soy sauce, sherry, and vinegar. Pour over veggies and bring to a boil. Allow sauce to thicken slightly.
  5. Make a slurry with the corn starch and 3 tbsp water. Gradually add the slurry to the stir fry (I didn’t use all of it) to thicken the sauce to desired consistency. Return the beef to the skillet and toss to coat. Add in the scallion.
  6. Serve with rice, if desired.

*This recipe is adapted from Bean at https://withoutadornment.wordpress.com/2011/09/23/gahigf-gluten-free-ginger-beef-and-chinese-esque-pork-dumplings/*

ginger beef stir fry | sew you think you can cook

To see the other bloggers who participated in the Secret Recipe Club this month click here:

Chicken Chow Mein

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

Warning: This post contains meat.

I’m so sorry to post a meat dish on Ash Wednesday but tomorrow is the Chinese New Year AND #BundtBakers posting day. So that means my Chinese New Year dish needs to be posted today. Save this post for later because you’re going to want to celebrate with this stir fry recipe.

It seems this post is all about the apologies, but I have one more for you. I did not use bean sprouts. I really wish I could have – I noticed they were missing and the stir fry really needed that crunch they would have provided. I also would have liked to garnish with scallions, too! To still get the onion flavor I added white onion to the stir fry. So why the missing ingredients? There are two reasons. Reason #1: There was a recall on bean sprouts for salmonella. Reason #2: There was a snow storm approaching and the grocery store was missing quite a few ingredients – scallions being one of them.

I would really like to recreate this dish with the missing ingredients (and rephotograph). Even still, we enjoyed every bite of this Chicken Chow Mein – there wasn’t a single morsel leftover.

This recipe makes 2 servings.

Chicken Chow Mein

Ingredients:

  • 1 pkg (6 oz) Chow Mein Stir Fry Noodles
  • 1 large chicken breast, sliced
  • 1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
  • 1 tsp Sriracha
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1 small onion, thinly sliced
  • 5 oz bean sprouts
  • 1 scallion, sliced lengthwise
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil

Steps:

  1. Cook noodles according to package directions. Rinse under cold water and drizzle with a little seasame oil to prevent sticking.
  2. Season the chicken with the five-spice powder, Sriracha, and a dash of soy sauce. Coat them in cornstarch.
  3. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir-fry the chicken 3 minutes, or until cooked through. Add in the bell pepper and onion and cook until just al dente. Add the bean sprouts and scallion, cook for 1 minute. Add the cooked chow mein noodles to the stir fry along with the soy sauce and sesame oil. Season to taste with black pepper.

*This recipe is adapted from Ching-He at http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/ching-he-huang/chicken-chow-mein.html*

Chicken Chow Mein | Sew You Think You Can Cook

Pineapple Fried Rice

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

The next time you make rice as a side dish to your dinner, I encourage you to make extra. 3 C worth of extra rice to be exact. Or just make this dish from scratch, just plan for extra time to cook the rice. For 3 cups of cooked rice, you’ll need approximately 1 cup of uncooked rice (and two cups of liquid).

Today’s Stir Fry Day Friday is a perfect side dish to accompany fish or chicken. I served it alongside my Brown Sugar Honey Mustard Glazed Salmon.

This fried rice isn’t your typical Chinese take out or Hibachi staple. This rice gets a kick from the ginger and a tropical sweetness from the fresh pineapple.

Pineapple Fried Rice

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp canola oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp grated ginger
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 3 scallions, chopped
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 1/2 bell pepper, diced
  • 1/4 C peas
  • 1 1/4 C pineapple, cubed
  • 3 C cooked rice
  • 2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp white pepper

Steps:

  1. In a wok or large skillet heat oil over medium-high heat. Stir fry the ginger and garlic until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add in the onions and white parts of the scallions. Cook until tender.
  2. Add the carrots, bell pepper, and peas. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the pineapple and cook another minute. Add the rice, soy sauce, and white pepper. Reduce heat to medium and cook two minutes. Add additional salt if desired. Garnish with green parts of the scallions.

*This recipe is adapted from Manali at http://www.cookwithmanali.com/pineapple-fried-rice/*

Pineapple Fried Rice | Sew You Think You Can Cook

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CIC: Lemongrass & Quinoa

~ lk529 ~ 10 Comments

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I am pretty excited about this month’s Crazy Ingredient Challenge. While I didn’t vote for either of these ingredients, I’m glad they won. These two ingredients lend themselves towards healthy cooking, perfect for that post-holiday detox. I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone else made.

I actually found my inspiration during a search of ideas for my new Stir Fry Day Friday theme this year. Lemongrass shrimp. I reserved some of the flavoring mixture to mix into the quinoa. (I wanted to combine the two ingredients, not serve them together.) So if you don’t like or don’t want the shrimp, you can still have a beautiful, flavorful quinoa as a side to your protein of choice. You could even substitute chicken and keep the lemongrass flavor elements.

Lemongrass Shrimp with Quinoa

Ingredients:

  • 1 C uncooked quinoa
  • 2 1/2 tbsp lemongrass paste
  • zest 1 lime
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 tsp grated ginger
  • 1-2 tsp chili paste, to taste
  • 1 tbsp canola oil
  • 1 lb shrimp
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce

Steps:

  1. Cook quinoa according to package direction. (General rule of thumb is 1 C quinoa:2 C liquid)
  2. In a small bowl combine lemongrass, lime zest, garlic, ginger, and chili paste. Set aside 1/3 of the mixture for the quinoa.
  3. Heat the canola oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Cook shrimp 2 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. Stir in 2/3 of the lemongrass mixture and cook one minute. Toss in the fish sauce.
  4. Mix the remaining lemongrass mixture into the cooked quinoa.
  5. Serve shimp overtop the quinoa.

*The shrimp recipe is adapted from Adam at http://unorthodoxepicure.com/2014/10/02/food-snob-chronicles-shrimp-the-real-chicken-of-the-sea-2/*

Lemongrass Shrimp | Sew You Think You Can Cook

To see the other bloggers who participated in this month’s Crazy Ingredient Challenge click on the link below.

Slow Cooker Honey Sriracha Chicken and Cabbage

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Don’t call the doctor, you’re not experiencing dejavu. Yes, I posted a Honey Sriracha Chicken dish yesterday. Yes the ingredients in this slow cooker dish are the exact same. But here’s why.

When we had our friends over for that Honey Sriracha Chicken Stir Fry she asked me if I thought it could be done as a slow cooker meal. Because we loved the stir fry enough, I happily answered her question by testing it out!

The result was yet another wonderful sweet and spicy dinner. While we did prefer it as a stir fry, this version is a perfect alternative for those busy days. I doubled the sauce to ensure there was enough liquid in the slow cooker. Doing so also created that extra heat we were missing. The heat didn’t hit you right away but built with every bite. No extra sriracha or chili flakes needed. Not that that means you can’t add more!

Slow Cooker Honey Sriracha Chicken and Cabbage

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 head green cabbage, chopped
  • 3 large chicken breasts
  • 1/2 C honey
  • 2 tbsp Sriracha
  • 2 tbsp sherry cooking wine
  • 2 tbsp white distilled vinegar
  • 2 tsp corn starch
  • 1/4 C chicken broth

Steps:

  1. Place chopped cabbage in the bottom of a slow cooker. Place chicken on top of the cabbage and season liberally with S+P.
  2. In a bowl, whisk together the honey, Sriracha, sherry, and vinegar. Pour over chicken. Cook on LOW 6 hours.
  3. Remove chicken from slow cooker, cover.
  4. Make a slurry by whisking together cornstarch and chicken stock. Add to the slow cooker and stir to combine. Cook on HIGH 15 minutes.
  5. Cut or shred chicken and return to slow cooker. Keep WARM until ready to serve. Serve over rice.

Slow Cooker Honey Sriracha Chicken and Cabbage | Sew You Think You Can Cook