Golden Curry Chicken with Chinese Eggplants

I love Japanese curry. I usually go for the instant ones that is already in liquid form from a pouch. I used it in my Curry Pork Cutlet recipe. However this cost less and make so much more! 

I like to try new things and was shopping at the Japanese market when I stumbled upon these sticks that is labeled "Fish Sausage."  How different can that be from the Chinese fish balls? I was so wrong! When I opened the packages, I was shocked to see that the color was bubble gum pink! They were definitely different from anything I had before, I am not so sure I will buy them again.

I cut them into bite size pieces and also added some fried tofu skin to the mix.

Ingredients

• 3 chicken breasts
• 2 Chinese eggplants
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, julienne
• 1 fish sausage (optional)
• 3 fried tofu skin (optional) 
• 1 pack Golden Curry sauce mix
• 3 cups of water
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• salt and pepper to taste.

Directions

1. Cut the chicken and eggplants into bite size pieces.
2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and sear them in batches.
3. Then add the onion, peppers and eggplants, cook for about 5 minutes.
4. Add 3 cups of water and bring to a boil and lower temperature to a simmer. 
5. Break the curry cubes into pieces before adding them to the pot. As the curry cubes dissolve, the liquid will thicken significantly. 
6. Simmer for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally,
7.  Add the fish sausage and tofu skin and simmer for another 15 minutes.

Serve this over brown rice and you have a very tasty meal! Of course most of the credit goes to the curry cubes. I will still buy the instant Golden curry from the pouch but I will definitely start buying this one instead because it is so much more cost effective.

Chicken Salad with Radishes

So I had it planned that I was going to make chicken salad with the celery in the fridge.  After putting the chicken into the food processor and adding the mayo into it, I went to the fridge to get the celery. Big disappointment because my celery was dead! I sometimes just make the chicken without the vegetable but since I had radishes I decided to add it in.  If you want the fresh crunch, I suggest add the radish right before you serve because it looses some of its crunch if you add it in and serve later. It is tasty and I love the pop of color from the radish.


Ingredients

• 2 chicken breast
• 3 radishes, diced
• 1/2 cup mayo
• a pinch of cayenne
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Sear the chicken in oil and cook until the juices runs clear.
3. When the chicken cool, dice the chicken into small pieces. Or you can put it into the food processor until the consistency you like.
4. If the dripping on the pan is too watery, keep it on the heat until the dripping is can coat the back of the spoon evenly. If you add watery dripping to the mayo, the mayo will become too watery.
5. After adding the dripping to the mayo, add paprika, cayenne, a dash of salt and  pepper to the mayo and mix.
6. Add mayo mix to the chicken and mix. Then add radishes into the chicken and mix.

Chicken Salad

Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast
• 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 cup of romaine lettuce, chopped
• 2 radishes, thinly sliced
• 2 Campari tomatoes, quartered
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Season the chicken breast with salt, pepper, smoked paprika and garlic powder.
2. Sear over high heat on both sides and cook until no longer pink, then set aside.
3. In a bowl, toss together lettuce, tomatoes and radishes.
4. Top it with chicken chunks.

For the dressing, I drizzled honey mustard over the top of the chicken salad.  Low carb, tasty and filling!

Chicken & Broccoli

 It's funny how I hated bell peppers when I was younger.  I love all of them, especially the red, orange and yellow.  Now it is a staple in my home.

 Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast & 2 boneless thighs
• 1 bell pepper, julienne 
• 1/2 onion, julienne
• 1 head of of broccoli
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/5 cup rice wine
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• salt and white pepper to taste

Directions

1. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and season it with sesame oil, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce.
2. Sprinkle the flour over the chicken and mix.
3. Saute the garlic for 5 minutes and then add the chicken.
4. Cook the chicken until it is no longer pink, then rice wine.
5. Add the peppers and onion, cook for another 6 minutes.
6. Then add the broccoli and the rest of the oyster sauce and saute until the broccoli is cooked to your liking.

Some people like their broccoli over cooked, while I like mine to still have a bite to it.  I really do not like over cook vegetables.

Stuffed Chicken

Make a cut in the breast and stuff it with spinach and cheese.

Coat the chicken with a mix of Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs.

When the chicken is done, the cheese should ooze out ...

The first time I made this chicken, I used frozen spinach.  After I thaw the spinach, I just stuffed it into the chicken with the cheese.  I did not season and saute the spinach which came out really bland.  Everything about the chicken was great but the spinach was bland and tasteless. Next time I make this again, I will season the spinach with salt, pepper, 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder and saute it with 2 tablespoon of diced onion.  This will have layers and layers of flavors instead of flavorful on the outside and bland on the inside.


Ingredients

• 2 chicken breast
• 1 cup of thawed frozen spinach
• 1 cup of Sargento cheese blend
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoon onion, diced
• 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2.  Thaw and squeeze out the excess water from the frozen spinach.
3. Mix the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.
4. Saute the onion in vegetable oil until it translucent, then add spinach and saute with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Let it cool before stuffing it into the chicken.
5. Stuff 1/2 cup spinach into each breast, then 1/2 the cheese blend into each.
6. Season the chicken with salt and pepper before covering it with the Parmesan and bread crumbs mix.
7. Bake for 35 minutes.

Roasted Italian Seasoning Chicken

For me one Cornish hen will serve as dinner and lunch the next day.  They usually come two in one package so I would make two at once but would flavor them differently.  Or sometimes I would roast one and make soup out of the other. When I make soup, I cut out most of the excess skin and fat so that the soup is not too greasy.

Ingredients

• 1 Cornish hen
• 2 carrots
• 2 celery stalks 
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Wash and pat dry the chicken.
3. Season the chicken with liberally with salt and pepper  both inside and outside.
4. Season the chicken with Italian seasoning both inside and out.
5. Cut the carrots and celery to one inch then place them around the chicken. I also stuff the chicken with some celery and carrots.
6. Rub the oil over the whole chicken.
7. Bake the chicken for about 45 minutes until the juices run clear or until the internal temperature is 180 degrees F.
8. Base the chicken after 25 minutes so that the skin do not burn.
9. Let it stand for 20 minutes before cutting into it.

Roasted Lime Chicken

I love Cornish hens, the size is just right for lunch and dinner. Since lime is 3 for $1, I had left over lime for another recipe.  For this recipe, I stuffed 3/4 of a lime, onion and garlic into the cavity of the chicken.  

Ingredients

• 1 Cornish hen
• 1 lime, quartered 
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed
• 3 slices of onion
• salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Wash and pat dry the chicken.
3. Season the chicken with liberally with salt and pepper  both inside and outside.
4. Squeeze the lime into the chicken cavity before stuffing.
5. Stuff it with onion and garlic.
6. Rub oil over the whole f chicken.
7. Roast for 45 minutes until the juices runs clear or the internal temperature is 180 degrees F. Base the chicken after 20 minutes with the chicken dripping so that the skin do not burn.
8. Squeeze the remaining quarter lime juice over the chicken and let it stand for 20 minutes before cutting into the chicken.

There is a hint of lime, not overpowering.  Sometimes I like to add more lime juice to intensify the lime flavor.  You need fresh lime for this, concentrated lime juice will not do for this recipe.

Chicken Orzo with Roasted Vegetables

 

This will filled you up without filling you out. This is easy, healthy and most importantly very tasty.  You can easily make this without the chicken and still be filled but I added protein due to a long day ahead.

This is for one serving, you can easily double or triple the recipe.

Ingredients

• Half a chicken breast
• 1 small zucchini, diced
• 6 button mushrooms, quatered
• 1/3 cup of diced red pepper
• 1/3 cup of diced onion
• 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1/4 cup orzo
• 1/4 tablespoon of butter
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Toss the mushrooms, red pepper, onion, and zucchini with oil. Spread it on a foil and bake for 30 minutes.
3. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and sear it on a pan, 6 minutes each side. Let it rest and dice into bite size pieces.
4. Cook orzo as directed by the package, when it is done, drain and add oregano, parsley, and butter.
5. Add the vegetables and chicken. If you want a little bit of heat, add some red pepper flakes.

Chicken Salad

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breast
• 2 stalk of celery, finely diced
• 1/2 cup mayo
• a pinch of cayenne
• 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Sear the chicken in oil and cook until the juices runs clear.
3. When the chicken cool, dice the chicken into small pieces. Or you can put it into the food processor until the consistency you like.
4. If the dripping on the pan is too watery, keep it on the heat until the dripping is can coat the back of the spoon evenly. If you add watery dripping to the mayo, the mayo will become too watery.
5. After adding the dripping to the mayo, add paprika, cayenne, a dash of salt and  pepper to the mayo and mix.
6. Add mayo mix to the chicken and mix. Then add celery into the chicken and mix.

 

 I served this over a toasted pita since I had some around.  I usually serve this between 2 slices of toast.

Chicken Parm

Ingredients

• chicken breast, halved
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup Italian seasoned bread crumb
• 1/3 Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup marinara sauce
• 4 slices of fresh mozzarella cheese
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Season the chicken breast lightly with salt and pepper.
3. Dip each piece of chicken breast into egg and then bread crumb mixture. Coat evenly.
4. Pan fry the chicken until both sides are golden brown.
5. Bake chicken for about 15 minutes, spoon about two tablespoon of marinara sauce on the chicken then place two slices of mozzarella cheese on top.
6. Bake for another 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
7. Serve with extra sauce on the side.

I usually serve this with rice, but today I served it with spaghetti.  The chicken breast are huge given the fact that the chickens are pumped with steroids to fatten them up.  Therefore I halve the breast by butterflying it making it a two portion serving and it is also faster to cook when it is thinner.

Panko Crusted Nuggets

Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup panko 
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions

1. Cut chicken into one inch chunks and season with salt.
2. Dip each piece of chicken into egg wash.
3. Coat in panko and fry in oil. Do not over crowd the pan because you want the crust to be crispy.
4. Fry for about 3 minutes each side and place on paper towels to absolve the excess oil.

The nuggets were amazing by themselves with honey mustard sauce.  They were still moist and so tasty. They made a great meal on top of a salad.  I am trying to go low carb 2 days out of the week because I am no longer in my early twenties and I can no longer eat the way I use to eat and lose the weight.

Chicken Soup

Ingredients

• 1/2 chicken breast, cut into one inch chunk
• 2 cups Latin Blend Mix 
• 1/2 can diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Bring water and stock to a boil.
2. Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil.
3. Simmer for 40 minutes.

I served this with brown rice to make it more hearty.

Chicken & Mushrooms w/ Wine Sauce

This recipe tasted a lot like Chicken Marsala...


Ingredients

• 8 chicken drumsticks and thighs 
• 8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup water or chicken stock
• salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions

1. Season the chicken with half of the dried oregano, salt and pepper.
2. Place the flour in a plastic bag and place the chicken in bag of flour and coat evenly.
3. Heat oil in a large pan and brown chicken on both side.
4. Add mushrooms, oregano and garlic to brown with chicken.
5. When the mushroom is browned, add wine and bring to a simmer for 40 minutes.
6. Add water, when the sauce is too thick to thin it out.
7. Season with salt and pepper, simmer for another 20 minutes.

I made the mistake of getting boned in chicken.  I will try this again with boneless chicken and will re-post.



I made this recipe again using chicken breast. It is definitely leaner and less greasy, plus it cooked in half the time!

Cast Iron Cilantro Chicken

Cilantro Chicken

Served with brown rice.

When ever I buy cilantro, I always end up throwing half of it away because I can never finish it. So I decided to put it in whatever I was cooking.  I had boneless chicken and after I seared both sides I sprinkled a hand full of cilantro on top.  It was great!

Ingredients

• 4 pieces of boneless chicken
• few sprigs of cilantro
• 1/8 teaspoon smoke paprika
• 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Season chicken with paprika, salt and pepper.
3. Sear chicken on both side in a cast iron pan.
4. Sprinkle cilantro over chicken and bake for half an hour or when the chicken is done.

I will definitely put more cilantro next time, I was not sure how it will taste but it would have been better with more cilantro.

Chicken Enchiladas

My second batch of chicken enchiladas and it is not looking so good but it was definitely tasty.  I used the green sauce instead of the red sauce. 

Ingredients

• 1 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup Mexican blend cheese
• 1 teaspoons dried parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 can of Enchilada sauce
• 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/3 bell pepper
• 1/2 clove garlic, minced
• 4 flour tortillas
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Half the chicken breast and season it with chili powder, salt and pepper.
3. Sear the chicken and garlic in vegetable oil until the juices runs clear.
4. Remove chicken from heat and cube it.
5. Return the chicken to the pan, add 1/2 of the sour cram, 1/4 cup of cheese, bell pepper slices, parsley and oregano. Heat until everything is combined.
6. Spoon equal amount of chicken mixture into four flour tortillas and tightly wrap it.
7. Spoon some of the enchilada sauce into the baking dish before placing the tortillas seam side down.
8. Pour the rest of the sauce over the tortillas, make sure the sauce are between the pan and the tortillas and between the tortillas themselves. 
9. Cover the tortillas with the rest of the cheese and bake for 30 minutes. Serve with the rest of the sour cream.

Chicken Wrap

NYC had about 2 weeks of unbearable heat during this July.  I have never seen New Yorkers so subdue, the usual quick pace and nastiness was replaced with a look of defeat.  The heat was so intense that the mechanical clocks in the underground train stations stopped working. My method of surviving was keeping myself hydrated with semi frozen Gatorade.  Then during the hottest hours when I am out, I have a frozen bottle of water place against my skin.  Yes, people have stared at me and their eyes brightened with my method of trying to stay cool.  Usually this would have been met with strange condescending looks but it have been truly brutal because of this heat. 

So cooking in the heat is out of the question.  But one have to eat and take out is not an option when you do not feel like greasy food.  This wrap is so easy and pair it with chips makes it a satisfying meal! I did not think that a wrap filled with veggies and a chicken breast will fill me up but I was fulled! Let me tell you, I am a very big eater and it surprises people when I eat.  I am always asked "Where do you put it all?"

Recipe for each wrap:

Ingredients

• 1 boneless chicken breast
• 2 romaine lettuce leaves
• Half Roma tomatoes
• 1/2 tbsp Mayo
• 2 tsp Vegetable oil
• Salt & pepper
• Spinach Wrap (or whatever flavor you prefer) 

Directions

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper then sear it in a pan. Sear both side until it is slightly brown.  Put a lid and cook until juices runs clear.
2. In the mean time, cut the lettuce and tomato into small chunks.
3. Spread 1/2 tbsp of mayo on the wrap and disperse the vegetables over half the wrap.
4. After the chicken is cook through, let it stand for 5 minutes so the juices will be disperse. If  you cut it right away, the chicken will come out dry.
5. Add chicken to the vegetable mixture and wrap.

If I have bacon on hand, I would add 2 strips of it because it makes it tastier.  I always pair it with kettle cooked  Utz Potato Chips, they are much crispier and less greasy.  You can season the chicken however you wish, like cayenne, garlic powder, cumin, etc.  Instead of plain mayo, you can add chipotle mayo or even miracle whip. Like I always say, play around with your food.  I have made many mistakes and some of my food actually came out disgusting but I learned from my mistakes and can only improve upon it.

Ginger Chicken, Fungus and Mushroom Stir Fry

Taste of home!  I love this ginger chicken and mushroom dish.  This dish has everything dried mushroom, the chicken, ginger, and I like the combination of all makes this dish really scrumptious. Of course I can never replicate the exactness of my mother's cooking but this comes very close to it.  That is because I do not cook with a wok, tons of oil, and boned in chicken.  I do cook it with a lot of ginger because I love ginger in every bite. I use a combination of boneless skinless chicken breast and thighs.

Ingredients

• 2 chicken thighs and 1 chicken breast
• 10 dried mushroom
• 10 pieces of fungus
• 1/4 cup julienne ginger
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar 
• 2 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon flour
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• salt and white pepper to taste

Directions

1. Soak the fungus and mushroom for 1 hour, drain and cut into pieces.
2. Cut chicken into bite size chunks and season with salt and pepper.
3. In medium high heat, sauté the ginger for about 5 minutes.
4. Add garlic and sauté another 2 minutes.
5. Sprinkle flour over chicken and toss to coat evenly, and then add chicken to the pan.
6. After 5 minutes of cooking the chicken, add soy sauce, oyster sauce and rice wine vinegar.  
7. Cook for another 5 minutes before adding mushroom.
8. Sauté for another 20 minutes until everything is cook through and the flavors are incorporated.

You can reduce the amount of ginger or add more to your taste.

Stewed Chicken

My chicken stew is made with dice white and dark skinless boneless chicken.  Before cooking the chicken, I sauteed the mushroom and onion until it is browned then set aside.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper then coat it with flour in a bag, brown the chicken in batches then add chicken stock, water, fresh thyme, white wine, salt and pepper to taste and stew for 1 hour.  Add 1 or 2 potatoes and mushroom and continue to stew for another 40 mins or until the potatoes is tender.  I like to break break up some potatoes to make the stew thicker.  If you don't like mushroom, omit it.  This is cooking add, whatever you like. 

Chicken Congee

Congee was a poor Chinese dish.  During the time of famine, the Chinese people had to make a lot of food with very little ingredients.  Now everyone eats congee because it is just delicious.  My favorite is the Thousand year old egg (no the eggs are not really that old!) with pork but I am not even going to attempt to make that.  My chicken congee is so easy to make that anyone can do it.  I am a fan of Jasmine rice and it is what I always have at home.  In my 3 1/2 quart pot, I add about 1/4 cup of rice, 1/2 tablespoon of salt and water up to 2/3 the way.  Add about 3 tablespoon of julienne ginger (depending on how spicy you want it) and chicken.  Bowl about 1 1/2 hours, until the rice is broken up and the water is all starch.  Serve with green onion and soy sauce.

Hint: Ginger is so expensive in non-Asian stores.  Therefore when I am in a Chinese store, I stock up on ginger.  It is 1/3 the price and much fresher than the ginger in the American supermarkets.  After you julienne it, put it into the freezer bag and freeze.  It is good for a few months in the freezer.  I do the same for the green onion because I always use so little and always have excess.  With the green onion, you have to first put it into a bag then into a container to contain the smell of onion.

Parmesan Chicken Tenders

These chicken tenders are so good and tender.  I serve this with marinara dipping sauce. If you add mozzarella cheese on top, this recipe will turn into chicken parm. 

Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/5 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper 
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Cut chicken breast into small strips and season with salt and pepper.
3. Mix Italian seasoning, cheese and bread crumbs.
4. Evenly coat the chicken in the bread crumbs mixture.
5. Fry both side until the coating is golden brown.
6. bake for 10 minutes in the oven.

I like to bake the chicken to ensure that it is cooked through.