Chinese, or not?

On every Chinese restaurant menu in the US, you're almost guaranteed to find Chicken with Broccoli. I have to confess that growing up, this was not a dish that was served in my family. Its one of those dishes that doesn't really exist in China but has become ubiquitous in the Western world - much like fortune cookies which you'll never see in  China.

Regardless of its authenticity or lack there-of, it is a dish that I do enjoy so I have no problems serving it up in my kitchen. Its relatively light and healthy, and broccoli is, by far, one of my favourite veggies - I have no idea why it gets such a bad rep. Serve this dish with a generous portion of steamed rice. 

Sliced Chicken with Broccoli

Adapted from Shun Lee Cookbook

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 large egg white

2 tbsp cornstarch

3/4 tsp salt

4 cups plus 1/3 cup chicken stock

10 ounces broccoli florets

1 tsp sugar

 2 tbsp rice wine

Vegetable oil

2 scallions, white part only, trimmed and minced

3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

Slice chicken breasts in half horizontally. Flatten the chicken breasts by pounding them on both sides with the flat side of a cleaver or a flat meat mallet until 1/8 inch thick. Slice the meat on a shallow diagonal to make 1-inch wide strips. Cut the strips into 1 1/2-inch pieces.

Mix the chicken, egg white, 1 tbsp of the cornstarch, and 1/4 tsp of the salt in a medium bowl. Set it aside.

Bring the 4 cups chicken stock to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the broccoli, and cook it is crisp-tender, about 1 1/2 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to a strainer to drain, and discard the broth.

Mix the remaining 1/3 cup chicken stock with the remaining 1/2 tsp salt, the sugar and the rice wine in a small bowl. Dissolve the remaining 1 tbsp corn starch in 3 tbsp cold water in a small bowl. Set the bowls aside.

Heat a large wok over high heat. Add enough oil to come about 1 inch up the sides of the wok, add heat it to 300F. Add the chicken pieces, a few at a time, and stir gently, so the pieces don't stick to each other, until the chicken turns white, about 1 minute. Using a wide wire-mesh strainer, transfer the chicken to a colander to drain. Discard all but 2 tbsp of the oil from the wok.

Return the wok with the oil to high heat. Add the scallions and garlic, and stir fry until the garlic is fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add the stock mixture and the cornstarch-mixture, and bring to a boil. Return the chicken and broccoli to the wok, and stir-fry until the sauce has thickened, about 30 seconds. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings

What's cooking?

For the longest time, nothing! I've mentioned before my dislike of cooking for one and since M has been away in Paris on a project, there have been virtually no home-cooked dinners in this household for a long time. Tonight, I decided to break out of this rut and stopped by Whole Foods, which I absolutely adore, to pick up some fresh, albeit over-priced, groceries. 

In the spirit of carbo-loading in advance of our long run tomorrow, I decided to go with Chicken, asparagus and shiitake mushroom risotto. Now, risotto, in my mind, gets a bad rep for being time-consuming to make. While it is true that you do have to constantly stir the pot, you really only need to do so for half an hour or so. This may be 30 minutes more than one can spare on a weekday, but for a Friday night, its easy as pie. And when the rewards are as sumptuous and creamy  as this is, that's 30 minutes well spent.

Chicken, asparagus and shiitake mushroom risotto

Adapted from Gourmet

5 cups chicken broth

1 cup water

1 lb thin to medium asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 stick unsalted butter

3/4 lb fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps cut into 1/4-inch thick slices

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Bring broth and water to a boil in a 4-quart pot. Add asparagus and cook, uncovered, until crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer asparagus with a slotted spoon to a large bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking, then drain and pat dry. Keep broth at a bare simmer, covered.

Poach chicken breasts in broth until done, about 7-8 minutes. Remove chicken from the broth and set aside to rest for 10 minutes before cutting into 1/4 inch slices.

Heat oil with 1 tsp butter in a 4-quart heavy saucepan over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then saute mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then transfer to a bowl.

Cook onion in 2 tbsp butter in saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add wine and cook, stirring, until absorbed, about 1 minute.

Ladle in 1 cup simmering broth and cook at a strong simmer, stirring, until absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue simmering and adding broth, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently and letting each addition be absorbed before adding next, until rice is just tender and looks creamy, 18 to 20 minutes. Save any leftover broth for thinning.

Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup cheese, remaining tbsp butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Gently stir in asparagus and mushrooms, then cover pan and let stand 1 minute. If desired, thin risotto with some of remaining broth. Serve immediately with remaining cheese on the side.

Makes 4 main-course servings

Another Tuesday with Dorie

Its amazing how quickly times flies when you are having fun. This past weekend, I was up in Paris again for a short trip with M. In addition to the usual shopping and eating that typically accompanies a trip to the city of lights, M and I also took part in the Paris half marathon on Sunday.

It was my first experience doing a race with 19,000 competitors and of such a distance, and it was absolutely FANTASTIC! First, since we've been logging many 20+km runs in the run-up to the marathon, we weren't at all nervous about this race. Second, seeing that many people run en masse makes you feel like you should run harder and faster. Third, the spectators and bands all along the course yelling out encouragement was even more motivation to do your best. I was extremely happy with my time, coming in almost 10 minutes faster than I had hoped.

It was tough to top the high of the race, but after getting back to London, I got the chance to tackle the next TWD challenge - Snickery Squares! Now, I've had my eye on this recipe for a while but never had an excuse to make it. I wasn't able to find dulce de leche in my neighbourhood grocery store so I ended up making my own. The squares were absolutely delicious and just like Dorie described - sophisticated Snickers bars. If you're a peanut fan, this one's for you!

Snickery Squares

For the Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup sugar

2 tbsp powdered sugar

¼ tsp salt1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled

1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten

For the Filling:
½ cup sugar

3 tbsp water

1 ½ cups salted peanuts

About 1 ½ cups store-bought dulce de leche

For the Topping:
7 ounces bittersweet, coarsely chopped

½ stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces, at room temperature

Getting Ready:
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 8 inch square pan and put it on a baking sheet.

To Make the Crust:
Toss the flour, sugar, powdered sugar and salt into a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Toss in the pieces of cold butter and pulse about 12 times, until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Pour the yolk over the ingredients and pulse until the dough forms clumps and curds-stop before the dough comes together in a ball.

Turn the dough into the buttered pan and gently press it evenly across the bottom of the pan. Prick the dough with a fork and slide the sheet into the oven.Bake the crust for 15-20 minutes, or until it takes on just a little color around the edges. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool to room temperature before filling.

To Make the Filling:
Have a parchment or silicone mat-lined baking sheet at the ready, as well as a long-handled wooden spoon and a medium heavy bottomed saucepan.Put the sugar and water in the saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Keeping the heat fairly high, continue to cook the sugar, without stirring, until it just starts to color. Toss the peanuts and immediately start stirring. Keep stirring, to coat the peanuts with sugar. Within a few minutes, they will be covered with sugar and turn white—keep stirring until the sugar turns back into caramel. When the peanuts are coated with a nice deep amber caramel, remove the pan from the heat and turn the nuts out onto the baking sheet., using the wooden spoon to spread them out as best you can. Cool the nuts to room temperature.

When they are cool enough to handle, separate the nuts or break them into small pieces. Divide the nuts in half. Keep half of the nuts whole or in biggish pieces for the filling, and finely chop the other half for the topping.Spread the dulce de leche over the shortbread base and sprinkle over the whole candied nuts.

To Make the Topping:
Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Remove chocolate from the heat and gently stir in the butter, stirring until it is fully blended into the chocolate.Pour the chocolate over the dulce de leche, smoothing it with a long metal icing spatula, then sprinkle over the rest of the peanuts. Slide the pan into the fridge to set the topping, about 20 minutes; if you’d like to serve the squares cold, keep them refrigerated for at least 3 hours before cutting.

Cut into 16 bars.

Makes 16 squares

They've done it again!

Each and every time, the Daring Bakers group, of which I am fortunate to be a part, has has pushed me to try something new and unfamiliar. This month's challenge - French bread - was no different. I suppose there are several reasons why I don't bake bread very often. First, although I like bread very much, I try not to eat so much of it. These last 3 months or so have been an exception as I've found myself craving carbs after my insane running schedule. Second, it always feels like such a hassle to have to plan your day around the extended rest periods that yeasted dough often requires. So when I first read about this month's recipe, I was looking forward to the trying this out as there's nothing I love better than a crusty baguette with a dollop of salted French butter.

I must admit that the first time I read the recipe, I was a little taken aback. Together with all the notes that were included, the recipe spanned 11 pages long! I was also a little dismayed to find that the dough required between 7-9 hours of resting time! I guess there's a reason they call this the Daring Bakers' group.

Undeterred, I embarked on this recipe bright and early last Saturday. Following the instructions, I put the ingredients in my trusty KitchenAid and in no time, the dough was all prepped for its first rise. Since I was planning a long run that day (30km!), I left the dough to proof and headed out to the park for my run.

Upon returning, the dough was nice and springy, so I proceeded to the next step and prepared the dough for its second rise. Since we were both feeling slightly drained after our respective long runs, I had no problem sitting at home and chilling for a couple of hours. Now those of you who know me will know that this is not my preferred modus operandi on a weekend. After having to sit at work all week, I like to make the most of my weekends and usually have an action-packed schedule of activities planned. Things, however, are certainly a little different after a 3 hour jog.

At the end of the second rise, I decided to shape the dough into two medium round loaves, or pain de miches. This time, M and I decided to head out for a movie. Third resting time also easily taken care of!


I finally put the bread into the oven at 8pm that evening and was very pleased with the way it looked coming out of the oven. The crust had turned a nice dark brown and save for the missing slashes on the top of the bread (they sealed up after baking in the oven), I thought the breads looked great. Given the suggestion to let the dough rest for 3 hours before eating, it wasn’t until Sunday morning that I finally got to taste the fruits of my labour.

Unfortunately, despite all my efforts and best intentions, the bread, which was nice and crispy on the outside, tasted way too ‘yeasty’ for me. I’m not sure if I may have over-proofed the bread or maybe used too much yeast?? In any case, this month’s challenge wasn’t a slam dunk success so I’ll have to find the time (and the courage!) to try this again.

For recipe, click here

Chasing away the Monday blues...

Its Tuesday and around here, that can only mean one thing -  time for Tuesdays with Dorie! This time, we got a break from the cake making and were tasked with making biscuits, a recipe chosen by Ashley from eat me, delicious. Given that at the time I heard what the recipe for this week was going to be I still had three quarters of a cheesecake sitting in my fridge, I was thankful to be making something that had a chance to be finished in this household of two.

Rather than leave this to the last minute, I decided to wake up early on Sunday morning to make these biscuits as an accompaniment to breakfast. Note I said "accompaniment" and not actually breakfast itself. You see, M's favourite meal of the day is breakfast. He often tells me in fact that he goes to bed looking forward to his bowl of cereal / granola / muesli in the morning. So you can imagine that replacing his cereal with biscuits would not have won me any popularity contests here.

In hindsight, I needed have worried. Contrary to some of the earl responses I read on the TWD blog, I thought the biscuits turned out beautifully. Whether eaten plain or with a generous helping of creamy French butter, the biscuits were divine. I had halved the recipe in order to minimize the amount of wastage, and all 7 biscuits were quickly devoured by M and myself. For those of you must know, M had 5 and I had just 2.

Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits

From Baking: From my home to yours

2 cups all-purpose flour (or 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour and 1/3 cup cake flour)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar

5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces

1/2 cup cold sour cream

1/4 cold whole milk

1/3 cup finely chopped pecans, preferably toasted

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Get out a sharp 2-inch-diameter biscuit cutter and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.

Whisk the flour(s), baking powder, salt, and baking soda together in a bow. Stir in the brown sugar, making certain there are no lumps. Drop in the butter and, using your fingers, toss to coat the pieces of butter with flour. Quickly, working with your fingertips (my favorite method) or a pastry blender, cut and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is pebbly. You'll have pea-size pieces, pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pieces the size of everything in between-- and that's just right.

Stir the sour cream and milk together and pour over the dry ingredients. Grab a fork and gently toss and turn the ingredients together until you've got a nice soft dough. Now reach into the bowl with your hands and give the dough a quick gentle kneading-- 3 or 4 turns should be just enough to bring everything together. Toss in the pecans and knead 2 to 3 times to incorporate them.

Lightly dust a work surface with flour and turn out the dough. Dust the top of the dough very lightly with flour, pat the dough out with your hands or toll it with a pin until it is about 1/2 inch high. Don't worry if the dough isn't completely even-- a quick, light touch is more important than accuracy. 

Use the biscuit cutter to cut out as many biscuits as you can. Try to cut the biscuits close to one another so you get the most you can out of the first round. By hand or with a small spatula, transfer the biscuits to the baking sheet. Gather together the scraps, working with them as little as possible, pat out to a 1/2-inch thickness and cut as many additional biscuits as you can; transfer these to the sheet. (The biscuits ca be made to this point and frozen on the baking sheet, then wrapped airtight and kept for up to 2 months. Bake without defrosting-- just add a couple more minutes to the oven time.)

Bake the biscuits for 14-18 minutes, or until they are tall, puffed and golden brown. Transfer them to a serving basket.

Makes about 12 biscuits