Chinese Chicken Recipes for Busy People

Rush rush rush… I rushed home after a long day, and got about 45 mins to cook and eat dinner before my conference call with my school mates at 8pm.  I could have been lazy and got pizza or take-out on the way home, but I talked myself out of it.  I really want to eat something healthy.  Actually, I was pretty of proud of myself today because I also talked myself out of having burgers and fries for lunch.  Instead, I got sushi at the cafeteria.  Despite that it was yucky (ya, what do you expect from a cafeteria??!!), it was still much healthier than greasy fries.   Tonight, I made Steamed Chilean Sea Bass.  It was sooooo good.  I’m not a big fish fan.  My mom made steamed fish for every meal when I was a kid, and I was sick of it.  She couldn’t go without fish.  Now that I realized how healthy it is and how easy to make it, I started to like it.  It took me about 20 mins to make the dish tonight!  I remember I asked one of my coworkers once how he keeps himself so lean.  He said he runs 6 miles per day, he eats fish and veggies , and no meat.  I can’t do the no-meat thing nor run 6 miles a day, but I could try eating more steamed fish.

Put ginger strips on the fish first

Add scallion after the fish is cooked for 10 mins

Steamed Chilean Sea Bass

Ingredients (Serves 2):

• Chilean Sea Bass, about 1 pound (or you can use whatever white fish)
• Ginger, 5-6 slices
• Scallion, 3 steams
• Soy sauce, 2 teaspoons
• Dark soy sauce (optional), a few drops

Steps:

1. You need to defrost the fish first if it is frozen.  I usually leave it out at the kitchen sink and let it defrost naturally a few hours before cooking.
2. Prepare a steamer.  Add enough water to the steamer.  Boil the water with high heat.
3. While you are waiting for the water to boil, put the fish on a plate/container that fits into the steamer.  Put it aside.
4. Cut ginger slices into thin strips.  Put the ginger strips on the fish.
5. When the water boils, put the fish in the steamer.  Use high heat.  Cover it and steam it for 10 minutes with the lid on.  Set your timer.
6. Now the fish is in the steamer,  you can cut the scallion into thin strips.  Put it aside.
7. When the time is up (ie, the fish is cooked for 10 minutes), put the scallion on top of the fish (see picture).  Put the lid back on.  Count 30 seconds.  Open the lid. Turn off the heat.  Take the fish out from the steamer. The 30 seconds is good enough for cooking the scallion.
8. There may be a lot of water coming out from the fish in the plate.  Disgard most of it and leave a little bit (like 2 or 3 Tbsp) left.  That could dilute the soy sauce that we are going to add in the next step.
9. Put fish on a serving plate if you prefer a different plate (whatever you like).  Then drizzle 2 teaspoons of soy sauce on the fish.  You can put less soy sauce if you prefer. Or you can mix 1 tsp soy sauce with 1 tsp of dark soy sauce, too.  Dark soy sauce gives a nice darker color.

MUST serve HOT!

It was nice to have a guest speaker in class today. I just wished she could have speeded up the pace.  I was sitting in class and thinking I would not be able to get out in daylight. It was so slow and boring.  I couldn’t help thinking of something else.  I started to write down a shopping list, things that I needed to get from a Chinese grocery store nearby.  I didn’t really make anything special to celebrate the Chinese New Year other than the Chinese Drunken Chicken dish.  I felt like I needed to make up somehow.  I made Steamed Garlic Shrimp tonight.  This is my sister’s signature dish.  She always make this whenever we have guests over for dinner.  One time I helped her prepared this dish while she made something else.  Instead of chopped garlic, I put a bunch of chopped ginger.   Of course, you can imagine how surprised and not happy she was when the dish was cooked.  I screwed up big time!  She didn’t trust me in preparing any dish for her after that

Butterfly the Shrimp

Lay shrimp on a foil

Put garlic and scallion mixture on top

Steamed Garlic Shrimp is so yummy

Ingredients (Serves 2):

• Big shrimp with shell (pawn would be even better) 3/4 pound
• Garlic, 2 cloves
• Scallion, 1 stem
• Salt, a pinch

Steps:

1. Finely chop the garlic and scallion.  Put the mixture in a small bowl.  Add a pinch of salt. Mix it well.  Put it aside.
2. Keep the shell on.  Devein the shrimp by cutting a small slit at the back of the shrimp, and pull out the vein with the tip of a small pairing knife or a tooth pick.
3. Use a pair of scissors.  Trim off the legs of the shrimp.  To butterfly the shrimp, cut a slit in the center of the shrimp.  See picture. 
4. If you have a steamer and a plate that can fit into the steamer, you are fine. You can put the uncooked shrimp on that plate.  Otherwise, you can try what I did.  Use a piece of aluminum foil, put the shrimps in one layer on the foil. 
5. Use a small spoon, put a little bit of the garlic and scallion mixture on the shrimp. 
6. Foil the edges up to make a rectangular container.  Add a second layer of the foil make the container more sturdy.
7. Add enough water in the steamer.  Let the water boil first.
8. When water boils, add the shrimp to the steamer.  Cover it with a lid and steam for 10 mins.  Check after 10 mins if it is cooked.  If not, cook it for another 2 mins.  Turn off the heat. Remove the shrimp from the steamer immediately cos you don’t want to overcook it and have rubber shrimp instead.

Serve hot.  Enjoy.

I couldn’t think of a better way to start off the new year with friends or family for a Chinese Hot Pot dinner.  I did it with my coworkers last year. They never had Chinese hot pot before.  It was so much fun.  All you need is a portable stove, a big shallow pot filled with water.  That’s it.  You can have whatever meat, seafood or veggies as you like. You just need to slice the meat or fish, wash the veggie and that’s all for the prepartion.  When the pot of water is boiled. Everyone cooks his own food in the pot.  Since the water doesn’t have any seasoning, everyone needs to make his own dipping sauce. You can imagine this is a super healthy meal, no oil, no fuzz. 

Oh, I need to mention the rules:

1. You don’t put all the ingredients in the pot.  You cook what you want to eat yourself (ya, don’t worry about your bf or gf) a little bit at a time.  You eat it, you chat more, then you go back to cook more food.  Got it?
2. Use serving utensils/chopsticks to cook the food. No sticking your own fork or chopsticks in the pot unless no one cares about it.
3. When you put the food in the pot, you are responsible for keeping an eye on it.  If not, any food left in the pot is in shared pool.  Anyone can eat it. That’s right, you snooze you lose!
4. Make your own dipping  sauce.  Everyone has different likings. Don’t expect someone will serve you.

Chinese Hot Pot

Uncooked Ingredients Serves 5-6 (This is only a suggestion, you can really prepare whatever you like):

• Thinly sliced beef, 3/4 pound
• Sliced chicken, 1/2 pound
• Shrimp, peeled and devined, 3/4 pound
• Fish filet, 1/2 pound (can be any white fish like tile fish, tilapia, or even salmon)
• Oyster, 1/2 pound
• Squid, cleaned, 1/2 pound
• Dumplings or wontons, a dozen
• Tofu, 1 pack
• Fish balls, 1 bag (about a dozen)
• Japanese Enoki mushrooms, 1 bag
• Fresh Shaiitake mushrooms, 1 bag
• Noodles, 2 bag (could use udon noodles, ramen noodles, clear cellphane noodles or  shirataki miracle noodles)
• Leafy vegetables, a big bunch, washed (can be Chinese bok choy or others, or even regular lettuce)

Preparation (prepare each of them and put them aside):

1. For all the meat, slice them thinly.
2. For seafood such as fish or squid, cut them into big chuncks about 3 x 1.5 inches
3. Wash all the vegetable.
4. Cut Tofu into big cubes: 2×2 inches
5. For the enoki mushroom. Cut off the bottom root part of the bunch of mushroom.  For the shaiitake mushrooms, just wash them and keep them as whole pieces.

Setting the table for dinner:

1. Put the portable cooker (could be gas or electric) in the middle of the table.
2. Use a shallow pot and fill it up with 70% of water.  Put it on the portable cooker.
3. Put the food around the portable cooker.
4. For each person, place a plate and a small bowl (for dipping sauce), two pairs of chopsticks or forks (one for cooking, one for eating, see Rules#2).
5. Prepare a few ladles for scoping off the food. 

Setting the sauce station on a side table or in the kitchen(These are suggested sauce. You can use whatever). You can have:

• Soy sauce
• Oyster sauce
• Chinese BBQ sauce (very different from western BBQ sauce)
• Sesame oil
• Chilli sauce or hot oil
• Chopped garlic
• Chopped onion

Dinner time:

1. Everyone prepare his own dipping sauce first.
2. Put the tofu and a few fish balls in the pot.  These could be common food that are sharable to start with.  Use high heat of the portable cooker. Boil the water.
3. When the water boils, that means the fish balls are ready. Everyone can start making his own food. 
4. Have fun. Remember, you snooze you lose. Keep an eye on your own food!

Nope.   This is my signature dish .  Super easy to make, and very yummy IMHO.

I invited friends over for dinner at my place, and I made this once.  Everyone said it was yummy, and would like to know what was in the sauce. I told them it was ketchup. No one believed me… LOL.  This is one of the dishes that you spend little effort and it guarantees good result.

This reminds me that I’ll post another shrimp recipe for Garlic Shrimp. That’s my sister’s signature dish.

Ketchup Shrimp

Ingredients:

• Shrimp, 1 pound (shelled, deveined). Prefer medium or large shrimp.
• Cornstach, 1/2 Tbsp
• Garlic, 1 clove, chopped
• Lemon juice, a few drops
• Chinese cooking wine or white wine, 1/2 Tbsp
• Ketcup, 2 Tbsp

Steps:

1. Add cornstarch to the shrimps. Mix well. Put aside.
2. In a pan, add a tablespoon of oil.  Use high heat. Add garlic. Cook it for about 10 seconds.
3. Add shrimps to the pan, distribute them evenly so that they don’t overlap with each other.  Let them cook on one side for a couple of minutes.  Don’t stir.
4. Flip over the shrimps to another side and cook for another 2 mins or so.
5. Add cooking wine and ketcup to the pan.  Mix them well with the shrimps (now you can stir )  Cook it for another minute or so.  The sauce should be thickened up and just enough to cover the shrimps.
6. Add a few drops of lemon juice. Mix it well. Done.

Remember to eat it while it’s hot!!

I made Pan Fried Fish for tonight. It took me just 20 minutes to make this dinner. I made it right in time before American Idol started   I am trying to be healthier these days. I need to eat more fish instead of meat.  Instead of getting fresh fish that could be expensive, I went to Trader Joe to get frozen fish. They are just as good.  I got a bag of frozen white fish for $7.  It has 3 big filets in a bag. All I needed to do was to leave the frozen fish in the kitchen sink in the morning before I left for work, and let it defrost during the day.  Then when I got home after work, it would be totally defrost, and ready to be cooked.  Fish cooks fast, and it makes it a super fast and yet healthy dinner.  If you are worried about the fishy taste, you would love this dish.

Pan Fried Fish - No fishy taste

Ingredients:

• Frozen fish, 1 bag, about 1 pound per bag
• Scallion, 3 stems
• Corn starch, 2 Tbsp
• Soy sauce, 1 Tbsp
• Chinese cooking wine, 1 Tbsp
• Teriyaki sauce, 1 Tbsp
• Oyster sauce, 1 Tbsp
• Sugar, 1 tsp
• Water, 5 Tbsp

Steps:

1. Cut the scallions into small strips.  Put it aside.
2. Make sure the fish is defrosted. Pat dry the filets with paper towel
3. Add 1 Tbsp of cornstarch to the fish.  Rub it evenly on the surface of all the filets.
4. To prepare for the sauce, add the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. Mix it well.  Put it aside.
5. Use a large non-stop frying pan. Spray enough non-stick cooking oil to the pan.
6. Use medium high heat.  Let the pan heat up for a minute.  Add the fish fillets to the pan.  Let it cook for 3 or 4 minutes.  Do not touch!
7. Spray non-stick cooking oil on the uncooked side of the fish.
8. Flip the fish fillets over so that the uncooked side is on the pan.  Let it cook for another 3 or 4 minutes.  Do not touch.
9. Make sure the fish is fully cooked.  The meat should be white in color instead of translucent.  Dish the fish onto a serving plate.

10.  Rinse the frying pan to make sure the surface is cleaned.

11.  Use medium heat.  Add the sauce to the pan.  Let it cook until it thickens.  Stir occasionally to make sure it is nice and smooth.  When the sauce thickens, add the scallions to the sauce.  Mix it well. Cook it for 30 seconds.  Turn off the heat.

12.  Pour the sauce over the fish fillet.

Note: Must serve hot!

I didn’t really feel like making anything fancy for tonight.  I wanted to make a simple meal, non-fattening, and yet fill me up.  And the most important thing, I didn’t want to wash a lot of dishes and utensils. LOL.  American Idol was on tonight, I had to make sure I got dinner and finished cleaning before the show started.  Plus, I have to do school work after that.  My assignment is due tomorrow and I haven’t even started.  I got some frozen shrimps that I cleaned the other day, udon noodles, veggies and some dried mushrooms. I could pull off a simple meal.

Japanese Dried Seaweed

Seafood Udon Noodle Soup

Ingredients (serves 2-3):

1. Shrimp, shelled and devined, 1 pound
2. Chinese bok choy, 4 leaves
3. Dried (or fresh) Shaiitake mushrooms, whole or pre-sliced, a handful
4. Udon noodles 3 packs (1 pack for regular serving. Guys may need 1.5-2 packs each).  Each pack of udon should come with a seasoning pack. 
5. Dried seaweed, a handful.
6. Scallion, 2 stems
7. Water, 9 cups

Steps:

1. Shell, devine shrimp. Put it aside.
2. If you are using whole dried shaiitaki mushroom, soak it in warm water for 20 minutes or so. Then slice it thinly.  If you are using pre-sliced dried mushroom, no soaking is needed as it is pretty thinly sliced.  If you are using whole fresh mushroom, slice it in thin pieces.
3. Cut bok choy into bite size pieces.  Put it aside.
4. Cut scallion into small pieces. Put it aside.
5. Squash or squeeze each pack of udon noodle while it is in its package. This could help to separate the noodle before you cook it.
6. Use a  big pot, boil 8 cups of water. Use high heat.
7. When the water boils, put the shrimp in.  Cook it for 2 mins or until it is cook.  Don’t over cook the shrimp, or it would get rubbery.  Remove the shrimp from the pot.  Leave the water in the pot. This would be great stock for the soup.
8. If you are using dried mushrooms, add them to the pot and let them cook for 5 mins.
9. Add noodles to the pot.  When the water boils, let it cook for another 2 mins.  Turn off the heat.
10. Remove the noodles from the pot. Distribute them into serving bowls. 
11. Put scallion pieces into each serving bowl.
12. Turn the heat back on to high, bring it back to a boil.  Add bok choy, seaweed and the seasoning pack that come with the udon.  Cook it for another 2 minutes. 
13. Taste it. Add a dash of salt if needed. Or add more water if it is too salty for your taste.

I mentioned I wanted to eat more healthy food. I’ve been pretty good for the last two days.  I did my Cardio X last night. I talked myself out of getting Doritos at work.  I had Chicken white meat for lunch.  So far, so good.  I decided to keep the good spirit up, I made a Chinese Salmon dish tonight.  Apart from eating healthy, I do need a good brain food to keep up with school.  I used to make salmon for my sister when she was in college. I told her salmon can help her be smarter cos she wasn’t smart enough. LOL… Well.. I wasn’t totally joking. Salmon is a great brain food. Everyone knows it has tons of Omega-3. But do you know it helps you to improve brain matter and your memory?  Now that school starts again, I certainly need that! 

Salmon with Teriyaki Glaze

Ingredients (Serves 2)

1. Salmon with skin on, 1 pound (you can use the one without skin, but the skin really has a lot of nutrients and collagen)
2. Salt, a dash
3. Pepper, a dash
4. Teriyaki Sauce, 2 Tbsp
5. Oyster Sauce, 1 tsp
6. Water, 1 Tbsp
7. Sugar, 1/2 tsp

Note: This is a pan fry dish. Make sure you have your windows open to allow enough air into your house.  You would not want to deal with the smoke alarm in the middle of it.

Steps:

1. Spray non-stick cooking oil onto a frying pan.  Sprinkle a dash of salt and pepper to the pan. 
2. Use high heat.  Put the salmon with meat down (skin up) in the pan.  Cover the pan with a lid or a piece of aluminium foil.  Cook it for 5-6 minutes for a thick cut of meat (like what I had in the picture), or 3-4 minutes for a thinner cut.
3. Flip the fish so that the skin is at the bottom.  With high heat, cook it with a lid on for 2 minutes or so.  Turn down the heat to medium.  Cook it with the lid on for another 3 minutes.
4. The salmon should be done by now.  Use a knife, cut a slit on the meat to check if it is fully cooked.  The uncooked meat is darker orange in color.  Turn off the heat and serve when it is done.
5. To make the glaze, add Teriyaki sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and water in a small bowl.  Mix it well.  It’s ready to serve  
6. Drizzle a few drops of glaze to the fish according to your liking.

Remember to serve it hot.

It’s all my coworker’s fault, he got me thinking about comfort food for two days now.  I really miss my mom’s cooking.  Besides Steamed Chinese Chicken, she also makes super expensive stuff like Shark Fin Soup, Fish Maw and Bird Nest Soup.  My mom has her funny philosophy. She could be feeding us cheap meals most of the time while we were kids, and yet once in a while (a very long while) we would have an expensive meal.  If you have ever been invited to a Chinese banquet, you probably have tried Shark Fin soup there.   If you order the soup at some fancy Chinese restaurant, it is very expensive.  I may have tried it less than a handful of times in some Chinese banquets when I was a kid.  I have never ordered it in a restaurant myself.  I know it would never be anything as good as or even close to mom’s.  Besides, I’m cheap, I’m not going to pay US$300 or so for a bowl of soup.  It’s expensive because it is rare, and the process of making the soup is complicated.  In mom’s version, she put Shark Fin, shredded Chicken and sometimes fish maw in it. It is high protein, and high collagen.  Last time I visited her, she fed me Shark Fin soup and Bird Nest Soup for breakfast. I couldn’t even tell you how expensive this two would be if you order them at a restaurant.  That was the most expensive breakfast I ever had in my whole life.  It was like a one time experience. 

Shark Fin Soup

Bird Nest Soup