Asian Bell Pepper Soba Noodle Salad

I had some bell peppers on hand and had a stroke of genius and decided to make them into a salad using soba noodles. I LOVE soba noodles. They're whole grain and they are so tasty. I loved how this salad turned out.

Asian Bell Pepper Soba Noodle Salad

6 oz soba noodles, cooked and chilled (run cold water over after cooking)
3 bell peppers, red, yellow and orange, sliced thin
2 green onions, chopped
1 cup broccoli florets, chopped small
1/2 cup sugar snap peas
4 cups baby spinach

Dressing:
1 whole Lime, Juiced (1 Tbs bottled lime juice)
1/2 cup Olive Oil
1/2 cup Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil
1/3 cup honey or 2 Tbs Agave nectar
3 Tablespoons Fresh Ginger Chopped
2 cloves Garlic, Chopped

Mix up the dressing, pour it over everything else. YUM!

Cashew Chicken

My brother Kyle has had an interest in cooking longer than I have! When we were younger he watched Food Network and tried their recipes. (He was such a fan of Emeril Lagasse that in one of his missionary packages, my mom sent him an Emeril apron that said "BAM!" on the front!) My brother is a great cook, so when he shares a recipe with me I know it's going to be good. My family raved about this meal when Kyle made it for them, so I was excited when he called me with the recipe!

This was delicious and came together in a snap! Since everything cooks very quickly, I made sure to have all the ingredients prepped and ready before cooking began. Savory and slightly spicy, with a nice crunch from the cashews, this asian style chicken is a restaurant-worthy dish. Thanks Kyle!

Cashew Chicken

4 chicken breast halves, diced
3 tbsp soy sauce, divided
1 tbsp cooking sherry
1 tbsp corn starch
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp white vinegar
¼ cup oil
1 tsp red pepper flakes
3 green onions, sliced diagonally
2 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tsp of jarred minced garlic)
¼-½ cup cashews, unsalted
toasted sesame seeds
hot cooked rice

In a medium bowl, combine 1 tablespoon soy sauce with the cooking sherry. Cut chicken into bite-sized cubes, about 1/2 inch, and place chicken pieces in soy sauce/sherry mixture. Let it sit while you prepare the other ingredients.

In a small bowl, whisk remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, corn starch, sugar, and vinegar until well combined. Set aside. Slice the green onions, and measure out the red pepper flakes and minced garlic.



Heat oil in a wok over high heat. (Make sure it is very very hot. I didn't have mine hot enough and my chicken didn't turn out brown and crispy on the outside like it should have. Hot hot hot!) Add red pepper flakes and stir for 10 seconds. Add chicken all at once - it will sizzle and spatter quite a bit in the hot oil - stir quickly to brown all sides of chicken. Cook for 2 minutes until chicken is browned on all sides. Remove chicken from wok. Add sliced green onions and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are slightly cooked (about 1 minute). Return chicken to wok. Slowly pour in reserved corn starch sauce, stir to coat. Continue cooking on high, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and sauce thickens. Remove from heat, stir in cashews. Serve over hot cooked rice with toasted sesame seeds on top.

Post-edit: This is what it is SUPPOSED to look like, when you cook at the right temperature.

Fried Rice

This recipe was born out a necessity to make a meal out of frozen pot stickers from Costco. I feel like a bad wife if all we have for dinner is pot stickers and dipping sauce (although I won't lie and tell you that's never happened). We had leftover rice in the fridge, which is just what you need to make fried rice. Leftover, slightly dried-out rice is best for frying. The result turned out delicious!

Fried Rice

2 eggs
1 Tbs olive oil
1 cup day-old cooked rice
1/2 cup frozen peas and carrots
2 slices deli ham, diced
2-3 Tbs Mr. Yoshidas sauce (I buy it at Costco)
1 Tbs soy sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray and scramble eggs. Remove scrambled eggs and increase heat to medium-high. Heat oil and add rice. Cook for 1 or 2 minutes, stirring frequently to fry rice. Add eggs and the rest of the ingredients back to skillet. Continue stirring to heat through. Add sauce and seasonings as needed. If you don't have Mr. Yoshida's, I'm sure soy sauce mixed with maybe a bit of brown sugar would be good. I do love my Yoshida's, though.

Orange Chicken

I like this because it tastes awesome but it doesn't involve deep-frying, which makes my house stink like oil and is also bad for me. One important thing to remember: buy real oranges for the juice. I didn't read the recipe very thoroughly and bought orange juice, then started cooking and realized I was supposed to use the zest from real oranges. Oops! It turned out well but I wish I would've had orange zest to add more orange flavor. We really liked this dish!

Orange Chicken

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2″ cubes
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons oil or butter

1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon finely minced ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons green onion
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Heat oven to 350. In a shallow dish combine the flour, garlic powder and pepper. Dip each piece of chicken in flour mixture and coat evenly.

Pour oil (or melt butter and pour) in a shallow baking dish, large enough to accommodate chicken in a single layer. Arrange chicken in pan and bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan combine water, fresh orange juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, orange zest and whisk over medium heat for a few minutes. Then stir in brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and green onion and let it come to a boil. Combine cornstarch with water and let it dissolve and add it to the sauce until thickened.

After chicken has baked the 30 minutes, turn each piece over and pour 1/2 sauce mixture evenly over chicken. Bake another 30 to 40 minutes basting frequently.

Serve chicken over rice with sliced green onions on top and extra sauce on the side.

Recipe from My Kitchen Cafe.

Lettuce Wraps

I love the lettuce wraps at P.F. Chang's. This recipe jumped out at me the other week as something yummy, light and fresh to make for a summer meal. These turned out really great! I don't know if they're exactly like P.F. Chang's (I haven't been there for a while), but they were really good. Sweet with a little spice. And who knew they would be so easy?

Lettuce Wraps

1 lb. ground chicken
1 small can water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
3 green onions, finely chopped
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Soy sauce, to taste
2 Tbs. hoisin sauce {can be left out if you don't have it}
3 Tbs. Mr. Yoshida's sauce {found at Costco, not necessary but it's so good}
1 Tbs. ground ginger
2 tsp. red pepper flakes {less if you like less spicy}
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 packet of rice noodles {white, in asian section, can be left out if you can't find them}
one head of iceberg or butter lettuce, separated as carefully as possible into leaves

Cook the ground meat in a frying pan over medium heat. While it is cooking, break it up as small as possible with a spatula. Once the chicken is cooked, turn the heat down to medium and add the water chestnuts, green onions, garlic and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Add soy sauce, hoisin, Yoshida's, ginger, red pepper flakes, brown sugar, stir and heat through.

Serve family style in a big bowl with lettuce leaves on the side. To eat, scoop some of the mixture into a lettuce leaf, wrap it up and enjoy.

I don't remember where I got this recipe. It was a long time ago before I had a good system of cataloging recipes, including the original source. We attempted to copy another P.F. Chang's appetizers to go with them, their crispy green beans (tempura fried), but they didn't turn out as stellar. Maybe when I perfect that recipe I'll pass it along too.

Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir-fry

This sweet and sour chicken was really tasty and colorful. It was a little intense to make because it's thrown together so quickly and cooked at such high heat. But it was exciting and fun! Just make sure you have everything chopped and prepped before you start cooking, then everything will run smoothly and come together in just a couple minutes. I'd definitely make this yummy stir fry again.

Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir-Fry

2 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into uniform pieces
1 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs rice vinegar
2 to 3 Tbs vegetable oil
1/2 medium red onion, peeled and cut into thin strips
1/2 sweet red pepper, cut into strips
1 20 oz. can pineapple chunks
3 medium scallions, green parts cut into ¼-inch lengths and white parts minced
1 Tbs minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger

Stir Fry Sauce:
3 Tbs red wine vinegar
3 Tbs sugar
1 ½ Tbs tomato sauce
1 ½ Tbs pineapple juice from the can
¼ tsp salt

Toss the chicken with the soy sauce and vinegar in a medium bowl; set aside for 15 minutes while you chop vegetables, tossing once or twice.

Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Chop vegetables and measure out ingredients.

Heat a 12- or 14-inch skillet over high heat for 3 to 4 minutes (the pan should be so hot you can hold an outstretched hand 1 inch over the pan for only 3 seconds.) Add 1 tablespoon oil and swirl it so the oil evenly coats the bottom of the pan. Heat the oil until it just starts to shimmer and smoke. Check the heat with your hand as before.

Drain the chicken and add it to the pan. Stir-fry until seared and about three-quarters cooked, 2 ½ to 3 minutes. Scrape the cooked chicken and all of the liquid into a bowl. Cover and keep warm.

Let the pan come back up to temperature, 1 to 2 minutes. When it is hot, drizzle in 2 teaspoons oil. When the oil just starts to smoke, add the onions and peppers and stir-fry until just tender-crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the pineapple and cook 1 minute. Add the scallion greens and cook 15 to 30 seconds.

Clear the center of the pan and add the white parts of the scallions, garlic, and ginger. Drizzle with ½ teaspoon oil. Mash into the pan with the back of a spatula. Cook until fragrant but not colored, about 10 seconds. Remove the pan from heat and stir the scallions, garlic, and ginger into the vegetables for 20 seconds.

Return the pan to the heat and add the cooked chicken. Stir in the sauce and stir-fry until the ingredients are well coated with sauce and sizzling hot, about 1 minute. Serve immediately with rice.

Recipe adapted from My Kitchen Cafe.

Hoisin Chicken with Rice

I kept seeing hoisin sauce in recipes and had never used it, so gave this one a try. It was yummy and came together very easily and quickly. We were in a hurry to get to the temple so there wasn't time to take a good photo. I snapped this and we ate and ran. Now that I'm posting it I noticed these huge red pepper strips taking over the entire shot. Oh well. It may not look like a magazine but it tasted good.

Hoisin Chicken Rice Bowls

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large red pepper, sliced
1 10-ounce package baby portebello mushrooms, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 green onions, cut into 1 inch pieces, white and green parts separated
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 lb), diced
1 8-ounce can water chestnuts, drained, diced
2 teaspoons teriyaki sauce
4 tablespoons hoisin sauce
3 cups hot cooked rice
sesame seeds (optional)
romaine lettuce leaves (optional)

Heat oil over medium high heat in a large saute pan. Add red pepper and mushrooms and saute for 5 - 6 minutes until tender. Add garlic and saute an additional minute. Add chicken and white parts of onions to pan and cook for 6 - 8 minutes or until cooked through. Stir chicken and red pepper mixture occasionally while it cooks. Add water chestnuts, teriyaki sauce and hoisin sauce and stir to coat the chicken and vegetables. Continue cooking until heated through. Stir in scallion greens and sesame seeds (if desired).

To serve, line a single serving size bowl with romaine leaves. Top with a large scoop of rice and hoisin chicken.

Alternately, you can serve the hoisin chicken mixture wrapped in lettuce leaves or omit the lettuce leaves completely and serve the chicken over rice.

Makes 4 servings.

Recipe adapted from My Kitchen Cafe.

Sweet n' Spicy Asian Chicken

The sauce on this chicken is so delicious. Mostly sweet, with a tiny kick. The recipe I used called this 'Bourbon Chicken'. It doesn't have any bourbon so I tried to come up with a more appropriate name. Either way it was very delicious, and of course, fast and easy! The sauce and chicken would go great with a veggie stir fry.

Sweet n' Spicy Asian Chicken

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 tablespoons oil (for pan-frying)
cornstarch (for dusting)

Sauce:
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ teaspoon ginger (I used ground ginger)
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¼ cup apple juice
⅓ cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
½ cup water
⅓ cup soy sauce

Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces, and lightly dust with cornstarch. Heat oil in your wok and fry chicken bits in batches until lightly browned. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

In a bowl combine all sauce ingredients. Pour into wok and bring to a boil. Add chicken bits back to the pan, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve over rice, or by its self. Would also be great mixed with vegetable stir fry.

Recipe from my new favorite food blog, My Kitchen Cafe.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

1 lb. ground beef
1 egg
1/2 onion, chopped finely
1 cup dry bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup water
½ cup cider vinegar (i used rice vinegar, it was fine)
½ cup ketchup
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce

In a large bowl, combine beef, egg, onion, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Roll into meatballs about 1 to 1 1/2 inches in size.
In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the meatballs until browned on all sides.
In a separate medium bowl, mix together the water, vinegar, ketchup, cornstarch, sugar and soy sauce. Pour over the meatballs, and allow sauce to thicken. Continue to heat until the sauce just starts to bubble. Serve over rice. Makes 12-14 meatballs.

When I reheated the leftovers, I added sauteed green pepper strips, sliced red onions and pineapple. I definitely recommend this!

Beef Bulgogi

Korean stir fry. Didn’t have ginger. Still tasted good!

1 1/2 lbs ribeye steak, excess fat trimmed
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tbs hot chile sesame oil
2 Tbs brown sugar
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs finely grated ginger
2 medium red onions, cut into wedges
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch strips
4 tsp oil
1 small head Boston lettuce

Whisk soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, garlic and ginger. Cut steak into 1/8 inch strips (easier if frozen for 20 minutes first). Toss half the marinade with steak and half with peppers and onions, set steak aside. Heat 2 tsp oil in skillet over med-high heat. Cook onions and peppers until softened, transfer to plate. Cook the meat (half at a time if needed) until browned. Return everything to pan and heat through. To serve, roll up the stir fry in lettuce leaves.

If you can’t find hot chile sesame oil, add a dash of red pepper flakes to 1 Tbs toasted sesame oil. Thanks to Dishing Up Delights for the photo.