General Tso's Chicken

I made this recipe not long time ago I am still in the process of perfecting this Chinese goodies. It was good but not very good like I want it to taste. I will post the recipe as soon I get it right.

Sesame Chicken

Sesame chicken is always been my one Chinese food favorites. I felt a little bit disappointed though because I cannot find a sesame chicken as good as in the Chinese restaurants in the Philippines. We went to a Chinese restaurant in the city for Mother’s Day celebration because I was craving for some but to my dismayed the sesame chicken I ordered tasted like sweet and sour chicken. It was lacking of something, it was gooey (too much cornstarch “I guess”), no sesame taste at all. Oh well, I wish we can find a decent Chinese place in this area who cook authentic Chinese food.

Anyway, I just need to learn how to make it so I can enjoy this delicacy with pleasure. I have been surfing online for the recipe and even tried couple of them. But this recipe (captbunzo -opensourcefood.com) is so far one of the best out there. I made some changes of course to cater my taste bud. I hope you will try this sometimes. It’s a very tricky recipe, so be cautious when adding vinegar and sugar. You can add them slowly until you achieve the desire taste.


Sesame Chicken

Ingredients:

3- 4 boneless chicken breasts cut into serving size.

Marinade

2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
3 drops sesame oil
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda


Sauce

1/2 cup water
1 cup chicken broth
1/8 rice wine vinegar (you can add more or less, it should not be too sour)
1 cup sugar (you can add more or less, balance the taste. It should not be too sweet)
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
4 tablespoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon chili paste (or more)
1 garlic clove (minced)


Cooking Oil for deep frying
2 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp. cooking oil
1 stalk green scallion, chopped


Preparation:


1. Wash, pat dry and cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes.
2. Mix the marinade ingredients.
3. Marinate the chicken for 20-39 minutes.

4. While the chicken is marinating, prepare the sauce

- In a medium bowl. Mix together all of the sauce ingredients “EXCEPT THE VINEGAR AND SUGAR).
- “This is the tricky part”. Using a spoon, slowly adding the vinegar and sugar mix until you achieve the desire taste. Remember! You can always add or cut down.
- Set aside when you achieved the taste.


5. Deep fry the marinated chicken cubes a few at a time until golden brown.
6. Drain on paper towels. You can cover the fried chicken with aluminum foil or place it on the warm oven while continue frying.

7. Last, get a wok (if you have any) or deep frying pan.
8. Heat 1 tbsp. cooking oil
9. Sautee garlic until golden brown.
10. Add the sauce, cook, until slightly thicken. If you think your sauce is too runny then you can always add more cornstarch by diluting it first with water.
11. Add the fried chicken. Stir.
12. Add toasted sesame.
13. Sprinkle the green scallion.

Enjoy it with steamed or fried rice !

Grilled Chicken Breast

The kid’s was tired of eating chicken nuggets and sweet and sour chicken so I decided to grill the four chicken breasts that I had left in the fridge. I love grilled food and I could probably eat them anytime of the day. So if you’re craving for chicken tonight then grab the charcoal and start the fire. I have a gas grill and charcoal grill but I preferred the charcoal for so many reasons. It is up to you which one to use.

Prepare the chicken breasts an hour before grilling for spices to absorb for more flavors.

Grilled Chicken Breast


Ingredients:

4 chicken breast, skinned
Salt and pepper to taste
McCormick Seasoned Salt (sprinkle each chicken breast on each side)
4 scallions (optional)
Sweet Baby Rays Barbecue sauce

Preparation

1. Prepare the grill.
2. Wash, pat dry, and cut each chicken breast to flatten it a bit. (See photo above)
3. Sprinkle pepper and salt to taste.
4. Sprinkle McCormick Seasoned All in all sides. Set aside.
5. Grill chicken on a pre-heated grill for approximately 5 minutes on each side (or until the chicken is cooked and is no longer pink inside).
6. Brush each side of chicken with barbecue sauce and cook for another 2 minutes.
7. Grill scallion (optional). Enjoy!

I ate my grilled chicken with hot rice and atsara (pickled papaya). I will post the recipe of the pickled papaya on my next post.