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Asian Aromatic Chicken
I made this one about a week ago it was very good and the flavour was wonderful. I do not have a bamboo steamer so I just did mine in the pan and then boiled the marinade and thickened it with a little cornflour and drizzled over the chicken. I made an extra breast to have on hand for my son’s dinner the next night and even reheated he said it was gorgeous. I served mine and my hubbies over stir-fried vegetables as we are watching our carb intake but I served my son’s with egg fried rice to fill up his appetite, both ways were great. If you want to see the original recipe click here.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons minced green onions
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 1/2 teaspoons hoisin sauce (I used a little more than this but it does depend on brands as some a so much stronger than others.)
1 teaspoon minced garlic (I did 3 Garlic cloves)
1/2 teaspoon sambal oelek (I also added more, just personal preference.)
1 cinnamon stick, broken
1 star anise
4 bone in skinless chicken breast halves
1 cup chicken broth

Method

1. Combine first 9 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add chicken to bag; seal and marinate in refrigerator at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours, turning bag occasionally.

2. Remove chicken from bag, reserving marinade. Pour marinade into a large skillet; stir in broth. Arrange chicken in a bamboo steamer coated with cooking spray; cover with steamer lid.

3. Place bamboo steamer in pan; bring marinade mixture to a boil. Steam the chicken 18 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in center of breasts registers 165°F Transfer chicken to a platter.

4. Remove steamer from pan. Strain marinade mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl; discard solids. Return marinade mixture to pan; bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup; about 2 minutes. Serve sauce with chicken.

If you do not have a bamboo steamer like me read how I dd mine above in my introduction. When I mention boiling marinade, I still strained solids first.

All photos taken by me unless otherwise stated.

Ginger Plum Chicken Stir Fry
As you will have seen from my previous post I am trying to throw in a few quick easy and budget friendly recipes into the mix. I cook a lot of Asian meals so I always have certain spices and sauces on hand if you are not big on that then these would not be cheaper for you to prepare as you would have to buy all the sauces.

I served this as is, it is enough for 3 generous portions or 4 smaller ones, if you want to make it a definite hearty meal for 4 just add about 300-400g noodles, my hubby and I are watching our carb intake at the moment so I do not serve a lot of meals with rice or noodles. It also makes it harder for me to cook super cheap as the most economical cooking is good old fashioned pasta’s, not only are these quick and easy to prepare, but cost so much less and are very satisfying. I have to think of alternative ideas that still give you a satisfying, filling meal without loads of carbs and not very expensive.

Hence I cook a lot stir fry’s as these are quick and easy to make and I have most of the ingredients on hand. This is a yummy stir fry of chicken with plum and chili sauces, if you want to make this even quicker you could just buy a big bag of mixed asain stir fry veg to add, I had vegetables I needed to use up, I think that is the beauty of a stir fry they are so versatile and you can add any veg you like.

Ingredients

Olive oil
700g Chicken breasts, sliced thinly
1 Onion, sliced thinly
3 Cloves garlic, crushed
2 Teaspoons fresh ginger, grated
2 Red chilis, chopped finely or sliced thinly (add as many or few seeds as you want.)
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
200g Green cabbage, shredded (I used and Asian cabbage.)
2 Small carrots, cut into matchsticks
5 Broccoli florets, chopped
50g Snow peas, trimmed
120g Bean sprouts
8 Dried whole shiitake mushrooms, soaked, sliced thinly
3 Tablespoons sweet chili sauce
3 Tablespoons plum sauce
2 Green onions, sliced thinly

Method

1. Heat some oil in a wok stir fry chicken in batches until browned all over, adding oil as needed, set to one side, wipe wok clean.

2. Add about 1 tablespoon more of oil add onion, garlic, ginger and chili to wok stir fry until onion softens, add soy sauce, stir fry 1 minute.

3. Add broccoli and return chicken to pan, stir fry 2 minutes, add both sauces, cabbage, carrots and mushrooms, stir fry a few minutes more.

4. Finally add snow peas and sprouts, stir fry until vegetables are tender and chicken is cooked through.

To Serve: Place in bowls or on plates and garnish with green onions.