YEAR OF THE OX
January 26th is the Chinese New Year, also called spring festival. This is the biggest holiday of the year and the celebration goes on for two weeks. Since foods play a major role during the holiday, we've chosen a Cooking Light recipe from the January 2007 issue to share. According to Grace Young, author of Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen, sweet and sour pork is popular with families wanting a lot of grandchildren. The Cantonese word for sour sounds like the word for grandchild.
I tested the recipe for Pork and Vegetable Stir Fry with Cashew Rice on a miserable winter day when none of my friends cared to venture out for a taste-testing session. Stir-fry anything is better eaten at one sitting but I found the leftovers pretty good even if the sugar snap peas were no longer bright green and cashews not as crunchy as first time around. The best preparation strategy is to assemble all the ingredients prior to cooking. Once that's done it takes only a short time to go from stove to table.
Get the family involved measuring and chopping and it won't seem as labor-intensive to make.
PORK AND VEGETABLE STIR FRY WITH CASHEW RICE
- 3/4 cup uncooked long-grain rice
- 1/3 cup chopped scallions
- 1/4 cup dry roasted salted cashews, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2/3 cup fat-free chicken broth with no MSG
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch, divided
- 3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce, divided
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon canola oil, divided
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon grated peeled ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (my addition for added "kick")
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups sugar snap peas, trimmed (about 6 ounces)
- 1 cup chopped red bell pepper (about 1)
Cook rice according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Stir in chopped scallions, chopped cashews and salt; set aside and keep warm. Combine chicken broth, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 2 tablespoons soy sauce and honey in a small bowl and set aside. Combine pork, remaining tablespoon cornstarch and soy sauce in a bowl, tossing well to coat. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork; saute 4 minutes until browned on both sides. Remove from pan. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to pan. Add mushrooms and 1 cup onion; saute 2 minutes. Stir in ginger, garlic and crushed red pepper; saute 30 seconds. Add peas and bell pepper to pan; saute 1 minute. Stir in pork; saute 1 minute. Ad reserved broth mixture to pan. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Serve over Cashew Rice. Recipe makes 4 servings.
Source: Adapted from Cooking Light recipe.
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I can't resist including Microwave Honey-Glazed Chicken Wings for the Chinese New Year. I made these for many a microwave class in the 70s and 80s and the recipe is in the appetizer section of my cookbook.
MICROWAVE HONEY-GLAZED CHICKEN WINGS
- 3 pounds chicken wings
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Cut through each chicken wing at 2 joints. Discard tip section (or freeze to make chicken broth later). Arrange other sections in 8x12-inch glass baking dish. Set aside. Combine remaining ingredients in 2-cup glass measuring container. Microwave on high, uncovered, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, or until mixture boils, stirring once. Spoon evenly over chicken wings. Cover with wax paper. Microwave on high 10 minutes. Rearrange and turn chicken pieces. Recover with wax paper and microwave on high 10 to 12 minutes more or until wings are tender and glazed.
Source: Thank You, I'm Glad You Liked It.
CUTTING EXPENSES
We're trying to be green and one way to do that is to make cleaners do double duty. Spray and Wash is great to have on hand for taking out spots but a squirt of liquid dish detergent rubbed into a spot will also remove the stain before laundering. Milli Simerl, who some of you remember as a Defiance area Toledo Edison home economist, shared this tip years ago.
When you think something might fade and damage other clothing being washed, try Shout Color Catcher available at Chief and Rays. Shout Color Catcher cloths are specially designed to work like a sponge and they'll absorb and trap loose dyes in the wash thus preventing unwanted dye to damage other things in the wash. I've used Shout Color Catcher cloths and they work. Send them with your college students who usually wash everything in one load regardless of color.
NEW EQUIPMENT IN MY LIFE
I received a gift card to Williams Sonoma for Christmas and with it I bought Taylor Mini Grilling Thermometers. Whether you're grilling indoors or outside, this set of 4 mini thermometers will make it easy to monitor the internal temperature of chicken breasts or thighs, also pork chops, steaks and burgers ensuring the perfect level of doneness. As far as I'm concerned, overcooking meat spoils it for me. I may eat it not to be wasteful but as Daddy always said, "Why do it wrong when you can get it right the first Time?" The Taylor Mini Grilling Thermometers make it possible to get it right the first time. |
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