Sesame Soy Noodles
1 cup sesame oil
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup worchestershire sauce
1/4 cup molasses
1 Tablespoon crushed red pepper
Whisk all ingredients together and set aside.
Cook rice vermicelli noodles according to package directions and shock in cold water.
Drain well then add the noodles to the marinade and allow to marinade for at leas tone hour.These noodles are good cold but also delicious fried in a pan to reheat.
Sesame Soy Sauce
tahini
tamarind soy sauce
Whisk together until smooth and season to taste - adding more of either or a pinch of salt or sugar. This hardly seems like a recipe at all it is so simple, but to be honest, it is a cheating version of a sesame sauce. Add sesame seeds for some crunch, if desired.
Spicy Noodles
one pound Asian noodles (such as rice vermicelli)
hot water
2 Tablespoons sesame oil
1/4 cup tamari soy sauce
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon chili oil
crushed red pepper, to taste
sweet chili sauce, to taste
thinly sliced green onions, for garnish
toasted black sesame seeds, for garnish
Soak the noodles in the hot water until soft.
Whisk together the oil, soy sauce, vinegar, chili oil, red pepper, and chili sauce. Stir into the hot noodles. Garnish with onion and sesame seeds.
Galloping Horses
1 ripe pineapple, peeled and cubed
oil
3 shallots, thinly sliced
2 Tablespoons peanut butter
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon pure cane sugar
In a large frying pan, heat the oil then sauté the shallots until browned. Stir in the peanut butter, soy sauce, and sugar. Allow to cool slightly. Place a spoonful on each pineapple cube.
I am not sure exactly why this concoction is called galloping horses but it is, and it is different and tasty.
I went a step further and added to my galloping horses. The base is a piece of mung been cake, followed by banana erccherry, the galloping horses, and a crumble of homemade paneer cheese.
This was the second, perfected trial for Mom's pineapple chicken recipe, which may become a new family favorite. The first attempt at this recipe was featured on March 20th. A few tweaks were made, and we now have a yummy new chicken recipe. My mother doubled the amount of chicken (because she wanted to make more), but kept the sauce ingredients the same, as we found it was too sweet last time. She did however increase the amount of soya sauce in order to further counter the overwhelming sweetness, which was evident by the change in sauce color. She also used fresh chicken breasts, and cooked them and diced them the day before, but was sure not to overcook them and to cool them properly. One problem we still seem to have is the viscosity of the sauce. She tried to make it thicker this time by stirring in some cornstarch and boiling it, but it didn't seem to work. Maybe there was not enough cornstarch or maybe the mixture was not boiled long enough. Then she transferred the sauce to a slow cooker and added the chicken, then heated the chicken in the sauce, and kept it warm until it was time to eat. This did not help thicken the sauce either. So this dish was best served with a slotted spoon, but the chicken still absorbs enough of the sauce to be moist, flavorful, and sweet. The only problem now is a lot of leftover liquid. It is tasty over rice, I suppose!
Tonight my mother decided to try a different recipe for supper. As usual, she looked at several recipes online for pineapple chicken, decided she didn't like any of them entirely, and took the parts she liked from each of them and made her own recipe. This was really just an experiment and the first trial run, so she wanted all of our feedback; good and bad. She plans to try again and perfect the recipe. She is certainly off to a good start, as it turned out quite tasty.
Here is basically what she did:
In a large pot or saucepan melt a little butter or margarine.
Add 1/2 cup light brown sugar, 1/4 cup liquid honey, and one Tablespoon soya sauce.
Cook over medium heat for a few minutes to make a nice sauce.
Add in two cooked, chopped chicken breasts and one can (398mL) pineapple chunks with the juice. Cook until warmed through and chicken absorbs the sauce.
Feedback
Most of the original recipes call for cooking the chunks of chicken breast in a little oil beforehand but my mother used precooked chicken because she had it on hand. Because the chicken came form the freezer, when it was cut, it turned out more like a shredded consistency. Personally, I liken this consistency, and it would be especially good over a bed of rice or even on a bun. But chunks of chicken would probably look nicer and work better with the sauce.
The sauce was not much of a sauce. This is because my mother omitted the cornstarch from the recipe to boil in and thicken the sauce. So, once the chicken was added, it absorbed all of the sweetener and pineapple juice. It also absorbed more because it was shredded rather than chopped. This certainly made the chicken moist and juicy, but there was no separate sauce. Maybe crushed pineapple instead of pineapple chunks would work better too, and fit better with chunks of chicken.
The dish was very sweet. A little too sweet for a chicken supper. There is 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup honey, and the sweetness of the pineapple juice. Next time, my mother may cut back on the sugar a little, and add some more soya sauce or a little lemon juice or vinegar to cut the sugar a little.
The dish was fine as is, and none of the feedback was really negative. But there is room for a few improvements. We will keep experiementing, and see what we can come up with!
When we say brown rice in our house, we are not referring to the whole grain, healthier version of the popular grain. Rather, we are actually referring to white rice that looks brown due to the addition of flavorings and spices. Does this make a healthier side dish? No, probably not, but does it taste good? Definitely! It is a recipe my mother has been making for a long time. It goes well with a variety of main courses, and makes a good-sized amount to feed the whole family. It also makes good leftovers, and is good for potlucks.
This dish is flavored with dry onion soup mix and soya sauce. Sometimes we add sliced mushrooms and/or chopped green pepper to this dish for added color and flavor. The dish is very easy to make. You simply mix dry rice with the flavoring ingredients directly in the casserole dish, pour boiling water over it, and place it in the oven. The temperature and cooking times can vary, depending on if you want to bake something else along with the rice at the same time.
