Sesame Chicken (Image © Dexie J Wharton)

INGREDIENTS: Marinade
3-4 pieces of boneless chicken breasts, sliced in chunks
1/4 cup light soy sauce
2 tbsp of sherry wine
1 tbsp of sesame oil
oil for deep-frying (peanut or vegetable oil)

Batter :
1 cup of flour
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup of cornstarch
3/4 cup of water
2 tbsp of baking powder
salt and pepper

The Sauce :
1/4 cup of ketchup
1/4 cup of honey
2 tsp of sugar
2 tbsp of white vinegar
1/2 cup of water
2 tbsp of cornstarch
2 tbsp of sesame oil
sprinkle of garlic powder
Sesame seeds
sliced scallions

How To Make Sesame Chicken (Image © Dexie J Wharton)

Combine soy sauce, sherry wine and sesame oil in a bowl. Add the sliced chunks of chicken. Mix it all in, cover then store in the fridge for an hour or two.

How To Make Sesame Chicken (Image © Dexie J Wharton)

Heat up oil in a small pot or fryer.

Whisk together a beaten egg, cornstarch, flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. Dip the marinated chicken chunks into the batter. Do this in batches.

How To Make Sesame Chicken (Image © Dexie J Wharton)

Fry the battered chunks of chicken into the hot oil until golden brown. Do this in batches as well. Drain the oil of the fried chicken using a strainer with a pot or bowl underneath.

In a non-stick pan, whisk together ketchup, honey, sugar, water, vinegar, cornstarch, sesame oil, and sprinkle of sesame seeds. Add more water if necessary. Keep whisking until sauce is thickened.

Add the deep-fried chunks of chicken into the sauce. Gently stir everything together. Transfer into a serving platter. Sprinkle with more sesame seeds and chopped scallions for garnish.

How To Make Sesame Chicken (Image © Dexie J Wharton)

Serve with white rice. I adapted this sesame chicken recipe from Blog Chef and added my own touches. Enjoy. Let me know how your sesame chicken turns out.

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How To Make Sesame Chicken

Chicken Asparagus Tofu Stir-Fry

INGREDIENTS :

* 1 pack of firm tofu (organic or otherwise), cubed
* vegetable oil for sautéing
* half of medium onion, finely chopped
* 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
* 3 boneless chicken breasts, slices in strips
* bunch of asparagus (cut off the ends, then cut in halves)
* 5-6 pieces of napa cabbage, slices in strips
* 3 tbsp of soy sauce
* 3 tbsp of hoisin sauce
* ground black pepper
* 1/2 cup of water
* another 1/2 cup of water stirred with 1 tbsp of cornstarch

Heat oil in a wok. Fry up the tofu until brown and firm. Transfer into a bowl then set aside.

Sauté garlic and onions. Then add the chicken. Stir and cook. Add soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and water. Stir in the asparagus.

Cover and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the napa cabbage, season with black ground pepper then stir everything together. Cover it and let the cabbage cook. Not too long because you want to maintain the crunchy texture of the asparagus.

Add the tofu, then stir in the cornstarch and water mixture as the last step. Once the sauce is thickened, it’s done.

Serve with white rice.

(Image © Dexie Wharton)

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Chicken, Asparagus, & Tofu Stir-Fry

• Sinamak
• Achara
• Candied Sampaloc (tamarind) — using my aunt’s recipe; she had a candied sampaloc business back in the ’70’s
• Pastillas, but not just the milk kind, we’ll make fruity ones as well
• Ensaimadas with cheese or ube
• Tamari or wasabi flavored nuts
• Themed gift baskets for preparing an Asian meal, e.g., ingredients for Pad Thai or Sushi

What are your favorite Asian homemade food gifts?

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Brainstorming: Asian Food Gift Ideas

My crisper had nothing that evening but some lettuce, avocadoes and green onions. So I thought — perfect! We’ll have a green salad! Doesn’t make for a very good picture here as you can see, but it did make for some good eating.

1/4 cup miso of your choice
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons yuzu juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3 tablespoons Vegenaise or mayonnaise
salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste

Salad greens and veggies of your choice

Combine everything in a bowl; whisk until smooth and creamy. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper, then pour it on!

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Green Salad with Miso-Yuzu Dressing

Another dish that comes from the excellent book by , Cradle of Flavor. It is very similar to Filipino ginisa, so people familiar with that dish will definitely like this. The main difference is that this uses coconut milk. I made a few substitutions based on what I had here, but the results were satisfying nonetheless. We served it with some grilled fish, and since the green bean dish is delicious warm, we set it on the table early, and the kids feasted on it, like an appetizer, as we waited for the fish to cook. Yummy stuff!

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Indonesian Green Beans

You can click on their website here as it has everything you’ll want to know about it.

My thoughts? The kids really like this, and it would be very handy to take along in a little pouch or case with you next time you go to an Asian restaurant. They are easy to use, comes in various colors so your kids can each have their own, they’re made from sturdy plastic so they can take lots of wear and tear. You can stick them in the basket section of your dishwasher and clean them that way if you need to. My only beef with these things is that if you’ve got unusually shaped or sized chopsticks, they won’t work as well. But they should work for all other “normal” chopsticks. A great idea, and may I say, about time! Although, I will sadly miss the cute waiters making the little paper-and-rubber-band-contraption that goes on my kids’ chopsticks. But, as they say, such is life.

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Funchop!

Use it in your sushi, or around it. Shred it and put it in your spring roll. Or sprinkle your salad with it. Pad Thai wouldn’t be complete without it.

What could be easier? Film your wok or skillet with oil. Beat an egg, season appropriately and cook for 3 seconds over high heat.

The seasonings you use determine its compatibility with the other components of your dish. Add dashi and a bit of sake in it and you can use it for sushi. Simply salted, it’s perfect to go with your spring roll filling. If you’re tired of tofu, use egg sheets instead to add some protein to our salad. And there’s nothing prettier than egg shreds tossed with pad thai.

Other ideas abound:

in Pork Ginger Egg Roll
in Pressed Meat Salad with Mustard Sauce
In Korean Shinsollo (hot pot)
in Caviar, Cream Cheese, Scallion and Egg Towers
Crab and Egg Maki with Tobiko
Assorted vegetables wrapped in sliced daikon radish

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Egg Sheets

This dish isn’t that different from regular American beef stew, except some ingredients common to Filipino cooking are used.

3 pounds chuck roast, cut into cubes (or leave whole but tie the roast)
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
cornstarch for coating beef, optional
1/4 cup canola or other cooking oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
3 large cloves garlic, crushed
5 cups water
3 large carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 16-oz package frozen green beans
3 large potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
4 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons corn starch
5 tablespoons water

Sprinkle chuck roast with the soy sauce and the black pepper and let stand 2 hours in the refrigerator, covered (or overnight) — turning meat a few times in the marinade to redistribute flavors. Coat entire roast or beef cubes with cornstarch and shake off excess. Brown beef all over in the cooking oil, over moderate heat. When browned on all sides, add onion, bay leaf, garlic, and water to cover. Bring to the boil over high heat, then immediately lower heat to a simmer and cook meat, 2 hours or until just fork-tender. Add carrots, green beans, potatoes, salt, Worcestershire sauce, and soy sauce
and continue to cook just until vegetables are cooked through, 10 minutes or so. With tongs and/or slotted spoon, remove meat and vegetables and transfer to a platter. Keep warm while you finish off the sauce. Dissolve cornstarch in the water. Bring the liquid back to the boil, then stir in the cornstarch-water mixture and stir until thickened. Adjust seasonings, then return meat and vegetables to the pot and stir gently to coat with the sauce. Serve hot.

Variation: Add 1 cup of chopped tomatoes along with the onion for a tomatoey sauce.

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Filipino-Style Beef Stew

They come in all sizes, to suit the dish, and your preference. Small, Medium, Large, and Extra Large, just like shirts, only yummier! Mostly used in Thai and Vietnamese Cuisine, but adaptable for most Asian cuisines and even non-Asian cooking. And if you’re trying to avoid gluten or wheat, these are perfect substitutes. Do check the ingredient list, because some rice noodles are not made with only rice flour, so if you have allergies, don’t assume it’s safe just because it says “rice noodle” on the packet. On the other hand, if you want to cook an Asian dish that calls for rice noodles, and don’t have an Asian store nearby, check the noodle aisle at your health food store instead. You might not find Asian brands, but chances are you will find rice noodles that will work with your recipe. Some non-Asian brands to look out for include Tinkyada and Ener-G.

And if you’re like me and stock these things in your pantry, you might want to click on the following links — lots of ideas for cooking rice noodles here:

Mandira at Ahaar’s Thai Rice Noodle & Vegetable Soup
The Budding Cook’s Overstuffed Chilies Over Rice Noodles
Rachael of Fresh Approach Cooking’s Rice Noodle Pancakes
Tigerfish at Teczcape’s Wat Dan Hor
Ruth Daniels’ Rice Noodle Salad with Lemongrass Chicken at Recipes From 4EveryKitchen
Lemongrass Shrimp Cold Noodle Salad from Ellen of I Am Gluten Free
PlaysWithFood’s Chile Garlic Prawns with Rice Noodles
Malay Style Stir-Fried Rice Noodles from Ooibob/Cooking in Plano

And here, Amy promises to share the recipe for fresh-made rice noodles. Can you wait? I know I can’t!

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Using Your Noodle

A really easy way to add flavor and crunch to your Asian dishes. The oil itself can be used for stir-frying, or to drizzle over food right before serving. You can cook the shallots until they’re golden and crunchy and use it as topping for noodle dishes like mee rebus, or over your rice, or over Asian-marinated and grilled fish. So many things you can do with just two ingredients.

1 cup oil
1 cup shallots, sliced thin

Heat oil over medium heat in wok. Add shallots and cook. If planning to use oil for stir-fry, take some out before the shallots turn brown so that you keep the flavor delicate and avoid making dishes taste bitter. Continue cooking shallots until golden, stirring frequently. Remove with slotted spoon, draining well, and continue to drain on paper towels.

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Shallots and Shallot Oil