pork stir-fry w/ clementines & chili sauce

What motivates to choose what we eat can be very interesting. Tonight it was anything that doesn't include chicken, shrimp, tomatoes, pasta or salad. This can be a mighty challenge if you follow the blog lately. Though all delicious, my recent half dozen recipes have all include at least two items off that list. So tonight I chose a pork stir-fry. It was great - very different than my usual. I also learned that you can cook and eat clementines with the rind on! Who knew? It's actually pretty good. Give it a try. Here's what you'll need:

• 1/2 lb boneless pork loin center cut, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds, then cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 2 small unpeeled clementines (or you could use tangerines), cut (with peel) into 3/4-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup Asian sweet chili sauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 baby bok choy, chopped
• 3 green onions, sliced

szechwan shrimp stir-fry

It's been awhile since I'd made a stir-fry (see here and here), but they're so delicious and almost impossible to screw up, I figured why not try another? It's all in the sauce. You'll have to trust me on this one. The ingredients sound a little gross together, and they don't even smell that great when you mix them (I'm really selling this one, huh?), but something happens when you put it all together and it comes out great. You can throw in whatever vegetables you want. I had red and white onions, broccoli and mushrooms laying around. Snow peas and baby corn or carrots would work great as well. Here's what you'll need:

• 8 tablespoons water
• 4 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 3 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup sliced onions
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup chopped broccoli
• 1/2 cup mushrooms
• 12 ounces cooked shrimp, tails removed

beef, shiitake & snow pea stir-fry

If you follow the blog regularly, you know that there's nothing that pleases me more than a delicious meal that takes less than no time to prepare. This evening I decided to go for an Asian stir-fry dish that I haven't tried before. Here's what you'll need:

• 1 1/2 lb. top sirloin steak, cut into 2"x1/4" thick slices
• 1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 8 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, thickly sliced
• 8 ounces snow peas
• 1 bunch green onions, sliced, divided
• 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, divided
• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce

Sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper. Heat the sesame oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the ginger and mushrooms and stir-fry until the mushrooms are tender, about 3 minutes. Add the beef to the skillet and stir-fry until the beef browns but is still a little pink in center, about a minute or so. Toss in the snow peas, green onions and cilantro and stir-fry another minute. Stir in the hoisin and chili-garlic sauce and sauté until peas are crisp-tender, another 1 to 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Bon chappétit!

chicken, asparagus & broccoli stir-fry

Last night I was in the mood for something different. I haven't done an Asian dish for quite sometime, so I decided to try a new stir-fry recipe that I've had saved for awhile. It's pretty simple, and unlike most stir-fry dishes I've had, it doesn't have rice or noodles. This one uses a hoisin sauce, which I haven't used before, but has a sweet, smokey taste to it that I enjoyed a lot. Here's what you'll need:

• 2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil, divided
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 cups asparagus, chopped
• 2 cups broccoli
• 6 tablespoons chicken broth, divided
• 1 pound skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

Heat 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and stir for about 30 seconds. Add the asparagus, broccoli, and 4 tablespoons of chicken broth. Cover and cook until the vegetables are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Set vegetables aside in a bowl.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of sesame oil to the same skillet. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Then add the chicken and onion to skillet. Stir-fry until the chicken is just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Mix in the hoisin sauce, vegetables and remaining 2 tablespoons of chicken broth. Toss until heated through and sauce coats evenly, about 1 minute, and serve.

Bon chappétit!