Weekend Round-Up

Start your week with a tasty popular Chinese meal that tastes just like take-out. 

General Tso's Chicken with Jasmine Rice

Cook's Notes: A dish I could have eaten the batch all by myself, it was that good. General Tso Chicken is a favorite pick at many Chinese restaurants. This recipe is healthier as it's stir fried rather than deep fried. You will love the depth of flavor, a rich hoisin sauce with the freshness of garlic and ginger and textures that make this dish a stand out.  A spoonful of Sriracha gives the flavor an added punch. Cooked noodles can be substituted for the rice. Taste test to adjust ingredients. 
Recipe serves two.

General Tso's Chicken may be named after a 19th century Hunanese general, but he certainly never ate anything resembling the sticky-sweet meal. The dish as most Americans know it today was invented by Peng Chang-kuei, a chef from the Hunan province. A well-known and talented chef, Peng orchestrated and supervised the grand banquets of the Chinese Nationalist government from the end of World War II until they were toppled by Mao Zedong’s Communists in 1949. Peng fled the country and found refuge in Taiwan alongside the Nationalist leadership. He left this dish as part of his legacy. 

Ingredients:

• 2 TB. olive oil
• 2 large chicken breasts, cut in small pieces 
• 3/4 cup sweet onion, diced 
• 3/4 cup sweet mini peppers (yellow, orange and red) diced 
• 1/2 cup chicken broth, low sodium 
• 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 TB. rice vinegar
• 1 TB. sriracha sauce
• 1-2  TB. hoisin sauce
• 2 TB. soy sauce, low sodium
• 1 TB. honey
• 1 TB. ketchup
• 1 tsp. quick cooking tapioca, crushed
• 8 oz. egg noodles cooked or 2-3 cups cooked jasmine rice
• Optional garnish green onions and chopped peanuts

Directions:

• Heat oil and saute chicken until browned on both sides. Add in onions and peppers, cook until  slightly limp. Add in garlic and ginger  saute 2-3 minutes more.  
• Add in rice vinegar, hoisin, sriracha, soy sauce, honey, ketchup and tapioca.
• Cook on low heat uncovered 20-30 minutes, stirring frequently until sauce is thickened and meat is coated. 
• Serve over cooked egg noddles or rice. Garnish with bits of green onion and crushed peanuts. 

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Start your holiday entertaining with a festive drink
Saint Nickarita Cocktail 

https://delightfulemade.com/2015/12/08/saint-nickarita-the-perfect-holiday-cocktail/

Holiday Baking