sweet and sour chicken

Yum! This recipe has been on a number of blogs (I found it on Molly's)... and I can definitely see why! I wanted to get take out this weekend, but I'm glad I chose to make this instead. We'll definitely be making it again.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Chicken Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil

Sauce Ingredients
¾ cup sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
½ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt

Instructions
Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients together and pour over chicken.

Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes. If you like extra sauce, make another batch of sauce and bring it to a boil on the stovetop. Stir constantly and let cook over medium heat until thickened and reduced - about 6-8 minutes.

pork dumplings

Or are they technically called potstickers? Either way they smelled amazing and tasted pretty good, too! I was feeling a bit adventurous after my success with the paella, so I figured I'd give these a try. Okay, they were a lot of work. I'm not sure I'll be making these often, especially since my dumpling folding skills are not exactly up to par. But I did stash some in the freezer for next time.

I used this recipe from epicurious but used water chestnuts instead of the jicama - though you'd really be fine without. I thought they kind of got in the way of the tasty meat-ness of the dumpling filling. And I also used this handy website for dumpling wrapping and pan-frying instructions. I suggest making sure that the dumplings are fully browned on both sides.

Pork Dumplings
Serves 3-4

Ingredients
1/2 large egg white (sorry, I halved the recipe)
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil
1/2 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup diced (1/4 inch) peeled jicama or water chestnuts
1/4 cup minced scallion
3/4 pound ground pork (not lean)
30 wonton wrappers (from one 12- to 14-ounce packages), thawed if frozen
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds, toasted (I omitted)
2 tablespoons white sesame seeds, toasted

Special equipment: a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter.

Instructions
Lightly whisk egg white in a large bowl, then whisk in ginger, garlic, peanut oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Add jicama/water chestnut, scallion, and pork and mix together with your hands until combined well.

Separate wonton wrappers and restack in piles of 10. Cut through each stack with cookie cutter and discard trimmings. Arrange 6 rounds on a work surface (keep remaining rounds covered with plastic wrap) and mound a scant tablespoon filling in center of each. Lightly moisten edge of wrappers with a finger dipped in water. Working with 1 at a time and leaving dumpling on flat surface, gather edge of wrapper around side of filling, pleating wrapper to form a cup and pressing pleats against filling (leave dumpling open at top). Flatten filling flush with edge of wrapper with wet finger and transfer dumpling to a tray. Make more dumplings in same manner with remaining rounds and filling.

When you're ready to pan-fry, coat bottom of a large skillet with about 1 to 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Line all the dumplings in the pan, smooth side down, BEFORE placing skillet over the heat (this allows them to fry evenly.) Once the dumplings are over the heat, cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the first side starts to burn golden brown. Add about 1/2 inch of water (1.5 cm), cover with a lid, and let cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Once the water cooks off, flip the dumplings over and cook for another 3 minutes. Top with sesame seeds and serve.

restaurant review : oslo, detroit

Oslo - 1456 Woodward Avenue, Detroit

Oslo is a regular destination for Freddy and I whenever we're in the mood for sushi. It's actually one of my two favorite sushi restaurants in the area (the other being Cafe Sushi in Troy). From the outside, it seems like a bit of a hole in the wall. You would probably never be interested just walking by. The interior, however, is extremely warm and intimate. It's dark and loungy and VERY hip. Perfect for starting off your night on the town.

We were beyond upset when Oslo closed its doors a few years ago. But luckily, it made a full comeback in the last year or so - adding a full Thai menu to its sushi routine. Oh, and lets not forget the nightclub downstairs. This is what initially brought us to Oslo, but the amazing food is why we continually return.

We have never ordered anything at Oslo that we didn't love. But, there are definitely a few favorites that we must get every time, including the avocado salad (its small, but we usually share) and the pad Thai. It is literally the best pad Thai that Freddy and I have ever had.

Aside from the usuals, we also ordered a dragon roll (shrimp tempura, cucumber, avocado, and eel) and yellowtail sashimi. Just like we expected, it all was fantastic. All for $25. Not too shabby.

guest post : ponzu-glazed chicken served over bok choy

Guest Blogger : Freddy

While watching Channel 7 one day last week, I saw a video of this recipe being prepared at a local market. Since the chef explained the preparation way too fast, I decided to track down the full recipe. A few google key word queries later, and I was ready to cook. For those of you wondering what ponzu is, it's a mixture of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and citrus juice that is relatively common in Japanese cuisine. I perked up the recipe by making a couple of changes. Here is what I did:


Ponzu-Glazed Chicken Served Over Bok Choy

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
5 tablespoons ponzu sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
1/4 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
4 bok choy, sliced thin
1 cup broccoli
6 baby corn cobs, sliced long-ways
2 tablespoons of sesame oil
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 cups of jasmine rice (cooked in your preferred method)
Sea salt and pepper

Just to prove that Freddy really did the cooking.

Chicken Preparation:

While an outdoor grill or stove-top grill pan is best, the chicken can be cooked in a skillet. Heat a grill or grill pan over medium high heat. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside. The chicken breasts will be sliced in 1/4 pieces prior to combining with the cooked bok choy. This should be done at the end to avoid drying out the prepared chicken.

Ponzu-Glaze Preparation:
Combine the ponzu, lime juice, ginger, garlic, bell pepper and sugar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring, just until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes.

Bok Choy + Vegetables Preparation:
Heat sesame oil in a skillet (wok, preferably) over high heat and add the sliced bok choy, baby corn, and broccoli. Cook, stirring frequently, until the bok choy is tender but crisp and slightly browned, about 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Once the bok choy is complete, reduce heat and add the sliced chicken breasts. The ponzu glaze can now be poured over the vegetables and chicken. Stir all of the ingredients together to allow for proper glaze distribution. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.

enjoy

Serves 2.

-Freddy

And our delish dessert prepared by Busch's. Nom.

stir-fry

According to Freddy, this is the dish that won me over. He learned the correct way to make stir-fry from his college roommate, Rithy. So, I guess we owe a lot to Rithy!

Stir-fry remains a staple in our house and we love making different variations of this “recipe” throwing in whatever vegetables that we have on hand. Cattleman’s BBQ sauce also works well instead of the teriyaki/soy – you’ll have to trust me on this one! The important things to keep in mind: cut the vegetables small and similar in size so that they cook at relatively the same speed; and if you have vegetables that take longer to cook, throw them in the wok earlier than the rest, and so on and so forth.

1 lb beef, sliced thin
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 medium white onion
1 small clove garlic (mashed to a paste with salt)
1 bunch broccoli, cut into florets
5-10 asparagus spears (depending on thickness), ends removed, cut in half
½ red pepper sliced thin
½ green pepper sliced thin
1 can (drained and rinsed) baby corn sliced in half
¼ cup teriyaki sauce (House of Tsang Korean Teriyaki Stir Fry Sauce)
1 tablespoon soy sauce (we always use Kikkoman)

Salt
Pepper
Crushed red pepper
Toasted sesame seeds

2 cups (dry) jasmine rice, follow package directions. We used our rice cooker, so it’s a little bit different.

Heat oil in a large wok over medium-low heat. Add onions and garlic and sweat until onions are translucent. Start adding the vegetables that take the longest to cook, in this case broccoli. Cook broccoli for about 2 minutes. Add the beef. We like to drain a little bit of the oil off at this point. Add the asparagus (these were thin, otherwise I’d add with the broccoli), red and green pepper, and the baby corn. Cook until the beef is browned with no traces of pink. Add teriyaki sauce and soy cause. Add salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Serve over rice + eat with chopsticks (okay, that last part is just my two cents)!