Sesame Chicken & Vegetable Rice

Last night I made Sesame Chicken & Vegetable Rice, also from Melissa's blog. This girl has got some great recipes. My changes are in red. I served the chicken and rice with vegetable potstickers and edamame. It was a hit with everyone!

Baked Sesame Chicken

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (I cut mine into strips)
2 tablespoons butter, melted (I used sesame oil)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I used Nanami Togarashi, a Japanese red pepper mix)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Place soy sauce in a 9x13 inch baking dish. On a piece of wax paper, mix together the sesame seeds, flour, salt and pepper (and red pepper). Dip the chicken pieces in the soy sauce to coat, then dredge in the sesame seed mixture.
3. Place in medium/hot pan on stove top and flip after a minute or two, add a little sesame oil and soy sauce to keep the chicken moist. Remove and arrange in baking dish in a single layer, then drizzle with sesame oil and some more soy sauce.
4. Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for approximately 40 minutes (mine took about 20 minutes because it was pre-cooked on the stove and cut into strips), or until chicken is cooked through and tender and juices run clear. Baste with drippings once during cooking time. Garnish with extra sesame seeds if desired, and serve.

Vegetable Rice

INGREDIENTS

1 cup of long grain white rice
2 cups chicken stock (I used vegetable broth so my veggie roommate could eat it)
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (I used minced garlic)
Dash of soy sauce
1 carrot grated (cook with a little water to make tender, drain water)
1 1/2 cups cooked broccoli-cut up small
Soy Sauce to your taste
oil (I used sesame oil)

DIRECTIONS

Combine first 5 ingredients, bring to boil, cover and reduce to simmer. Cook about 20 minutes or until rice is fluffy and liquid if gone. Transfer rice to stir-fry pan add carrots and broccoli. Mix together and add some oil and soy sauce to your taste.

Udon Soup

I have yet to try this one, but it sounds good. I couldn't find the Dashi though, so I think I'm just going to use chicken broth. It might also work if you boil the water with those seaweed sheets in it.

Nabeyaki Udon

(Japanese noodle soup with egg and vegetable)

• 1/2 pound udon noodles ((futonaga--fat and long)
• 2 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in 1 cups of warm water for about an hour, reserving liquid
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/2 Tablespoon sugar
• 3 cups dashi, seasoned with 3 Tablespoons soy sauce and 1 1/2 Tablespoons mirin
• 2 leaves fresh spinach with stems
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1 leeks
• 1/2 chicken breast
• salt
• sake (just a sprinkle--you can substitute beer or mirin in a pinch)
• 2 eggs

Garnish: sprinklings of shichimi (a 7-spice mixture with inactive marijuana seeds in it!) or crushed red pepper.

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Cook the udon noodles. Drain, rinse, and let sit til you're ready to assemble the soup.)

3. Cut a deep cross into the tops of the hydrated mushroom caps (throw out the stems) and cook them uncovered in a small pot with the reserved mushroom liquid, the soy sauce, and the sugar on medium heat until tender and the liquid is absorbed--about 10-15 minutes.

4. Bring the stock to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer.

5. Bring water to a boil in a small pan, then blanch the spinach leaves for 30 seconds, remove, and let drain.

6. Cut the spinach into 2-inch pieces; the leeks into 1-inch diagonal slices; and the chicken breast into 4 equal slices, sprinkling with salt and sake.

To assemble the soup:

1. Divide noodles into the 4 large bowls (preheated in the oven).
2. Arrange the spinach, leeks, carrots, chicken, and mushrooms on top of the noodles, around the sides (leaving the center clear for the eggs).
3. Pour the boiling stock equally into the bowls.
4. Cover and put in the oven for 2-3 minutes.

Serve immediately. Pass the shichimi or red pepper separately.

Edamame Fried Rice

Edamame Fried Rice

The other night I made some Korean Spicy Beef, and I figured that Fried Rice would be the perfect accompaniment. I found a recipe on allrecipes.com and altered it to my liking.

To keep the rice texture firm, it is recommended to rinse the cold cooked rice and drain it well before adding it to the stir fry. (I didn't do this though, and it turned out okay.)

Ingredients:
1 T canola oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 C minced yellow onion
4 C cooked long-grain rice, chilled - BE SURE TO COOK AND CHILL THE RICE BEFORE STARTING ANYTHING ELSE!
3 T low-sodium soy sauce
1-2 C shredded lettuce (can also use Asian style coleslaw)
1/2 C (or more) shelled edamame (if frozen, be sure to thaw first)
1/4 t salt
1/8 t white pepper
1/2 C minced green onions
1 t dark sesame oil
additional soy sauce to taste

Preparation:
Heat canola oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add eggs; stir-fry for 1 minute or until done. Remove from pan.

Add yellow onion to pan; saute 2 minutes or until translucent. Add rice and soy sauce; stir-fry 2 minutes. Return eggs to pan; cook 1 minute. Stir in lettuce, green peas, salt, and white pepper; stir-fry 1 minute. Sprinkle with green onions, and drizzle with sesame oil and soy sauce.

Yield:
6 servings - I was able to get 2 1/2 good-size meals out of this recipe.