Hoisin-Honey Glazed Cocktail Size Meatballs

 

 We're in the midst of the holiday season and festive parties are sure to in everyone's future. I thought these little Hoisin-Honey Glazed Cocktail Meatballs would be a perfect little bite. They are quick and easy and you can make the meatballs ahead of time and freeze them so you're ready at anytime for unexpected guests.  I love the addition of some toasted sesame seeds because they give the perfect little crunch and "nutty" flavor that compliments these sweet, savory and spicy little appetizers.  

Ingredients: 
For the meatballs:
2lbs lean ground meat **I used a combo of chicken and pork
2Tbs of ginger/garlic paste (or 1Tbs of each separately grated)
2Tbs of Soy Sauce
1 Tbs of Chinese Rice Wine (or sherry)
1 tsp of Sesame Oil
 Red Chili Flakes to taste
 Black Pepper to taste
minced green onions (scallions)

For the Glaze:
1/4 cup of Hoisin Sauce
1/8 of  a cup of honey
2 Tbs soy sauce

 Garnish:
toasted Sesame Seeds (optional)

 Directions:

 Mix all the meatball ingredients together and make into walnut size meatballs.

In a frying pan with some canola oik, brown meatballs until cooked through on medium heat.

Add your glaze/sauce and cook the meatballs for a few minutes. 

Toast your sesame seeds in a dry pan until fragrant and sprinkle over the meatballs.  Place a toothpick into each meatball and serve hot.  Enjoy.







Serve hot and enjoy.  Makes enough for a party. :)
 
Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

Asian Shrimp and Spinach Stir Fry

Last night, I really was in no mood to cook.  So, I looked around for something I could throw together quickly with minimum effort.  A stir fry is always quick, but they usually have a ton of chopping and prep work.  Then I saw a bag of ready to use cleaned spinach.  I don't usually add spinach to a stir fry, but why not give it a try.  I also turned to some cans of Chinese water chestnuts and straw mushrooms to help make this stir fry substantial.  Opening a few cans was just my speed last night too. : )  I was so happy how quick, easy, light, healthy and delicious it turned out.  This is what I call a perfect busy weeknight meal or at least the perfect "I'm in no mood to cook" meal.

Ingredients:

1lb cleaned shrimp (See Note)
1 medium onion sliced
1 can of water chestnuts (sliced or diced)
1 can of straw mushrooms (or fresh button mushrooms)
1 bell pepper, or some sweet chilies sliced into strips
1-2 green chilies (jalapenos or serranos) sliced
2-3 large handfuls of cleaned spinach leaves
1-2 Tbs of ginger-garlic-paste or 2 cloves of garlic and 1 inch of ginger
1Tbs of cornstarch mixed with 2 Tbs of cold water

Note:  To make this shrimp stir fry come together even faster, use shelled and cleaned shrimp.   I used frozen shrimp and the best way to defrost them quickly is to put them in a colander under cold running water for a few minutes.  

The Stir Fry Sauce:
1/2 cup of chicken stock or water/bullion equivalent
2-3 Tbs of soy sauce
1 Tbs of oyster sauce
1 Tbs of Chinese Rice Wine or Dry Sherry
1 tsp of sesame oil
1 tsp of brown sugar
red chili flake to taste

 Directions:
Note:  Prep all your food first and make the sauce.  You want everything ready to go because the stir fry takes about 5 minutes and it goes quickly.

Heat 1Tbs of canola oil in a large wok pan on high heat.  Then add your sliced onions and cook for 1 minute.  Next add your ginger/garlic and saute for another 30 seconds.

Next add your peppers and chiles and stir fry for another 30-45 seconds.


Add your drained cans of water chestnuts and straw mushrooms now and stir fry for another 30-45 seconds. 

Now add your cleaned shrimp and stir fry for 1 minute.


Then add your prepared stir fry sauce and stir fry for another minute.

Add your cornstarch and water slurry (that's the two mixed together into a water paste).  Allow the gravy to boil and thicken for 1 minute. Your shrimp should be cooked now.  Finally add your fresh spinach and toss with the hot stir fry for a few seconds to wilt.  Turn stove off.

 Serve over steam brown or white rice.  Enjoy.  Serves 4.

Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

Savory Asian Egg Rolls

 I enjoy getting Chinese take out when I am in no mood to cook, but the one thing I never order are egg rolls.  I find by the time they get home the egg rolls are soggy, oily and usually too bland for my taste.  So I wanted to find a good egg roll recipe and I came across this food blog called Steamy Kitchen, by Jaden Hair.  Her blog is amazing and full of gorgeous Asian recipes.  I found her Mother's Famous Chinese Rolls and I knew I had to give them a try.  I did make a few changes, but I was so very pleased at the end result.  These were some amazing egg rolls.  

You will need:
One bunch green onions chopped
2 carrots finely grated
2 cups shredded cabbage ** see note below
1 tbs of grated ginger
2 cloves of garlic minced

** here is a quick tip for the cabbage: get help from the store by buying a bag of pre-cut coleslaw

 

 Egg Roll wrappers. This was the only kind of egg roll wrappers available in my local grocery store.

Next time I will go to the Asian Market and get the frozen wrappers that are thinner and crispier that Jaden recommends.  But these are still good in my opinion.

One pound of lean ground pork.  You will need to marinated the pork for 10 minutes in:
1 Tbs of soy sauce
1 tsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp sugar
black pepper

 Heat a wok or large saute pan over high heat. In one Tbs of oil saute' pork until no longer pink

For the filling you will need to prepare the following sauce:

1Tbs Chinese rice wine
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
1/4 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbs soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
pepper

 Add vegetables and sauce. Stir fry for a few minutes until vegetables are tender.

You must cool the filling before proceeding to make the egg rolls. A great tip Jaden gives is to put it on a baking sheet and spread it out then tilted the cookie sheet so if there was any liquid in the filling it would drain out. I luckily had no liquid in my filling. But if you do, discard the liquid because you don't want liquid to make the egg rolls soggy.

Step one: fill wrapper with one teaspoon of filling.

Step 2:  fold corner over and roll tightly












Step 3: Fold sides over  

Step 4:  Roll tightly and seal the edge with water.

Have all egg rolls done before frying.  Do not lay on top of each other so they don't stick together.

 

Fry each egg roll until golden brown. You want your oil hot (about 350 degrees), but not scorching hot.

Serve and Enjoy.  

To see Jaden's Recipe please visit: My mothers-famous-chinese-egg-rolls-

Copyright: All content (otherwise mentioned), photos and text are property of Curry and Comfort and cannot be used without permission

Chinese Vegetable Fried Brown Rice

I made this Chinese Vegetable Fried Rice for a Chinese Menu themed party over the weekend.  I decided to make it vegetarian so anyone could enjoy it.  This flavorful rice comes together very quickly with minimal effort.  I call this kind of dish, "clean out your fridge fried rice", because it's a great way to use that leftover cooked rice and vegetables that need to be used up soon. 

Ingredients:
4-5 cups of cooked Brown rice
2 cloves of garlic grated
2 tsp of grated fresh ginger
2-3 Tbs of soy sauce (or more to taste)
1 tsp dried red chili flakes (or to taste)
1 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbs hoisin sauce
1 Tbs of canola oil
1 Tbs of butter or margarine
1 cup grated carrot
1 bunch of scallions sliced
1 medium onion chopped
Optional veggies:  peas, zucchini, peppers, chilies, cabbage etc...
Optional garnish:   Chopped roasted salted peanuts

Note:  If you would like to bump up the protein in the dish you can fry a scrambled egg and add it to the rice.

Directions:

Add your butter and canola oil to a large wok.  Then stir fry your chopped onion and carrots for 1-2 minutes. 

*Note if you decide to add other vegetables throw it in here but make sure you add little more oil.

Then add your grated ginger, garlic and scallions and  stir fry for another minute. 

Now add your red chili flakes, soy sauce, hoisin sauce and sesame oil.  Stir fry for 1-2 minutes.







Then add your cooked brown rice and mix well with all the seasoned ingredients.  I prefer to use cooled or cold rice for best results.  So again this fried rice is perfect for using up that leftover rice.   Taste for seasoning and add more soy sauce if salt is needed.

Serve 4 people.  Enjoy with chopped peanuts as a garnish.

Chinese Chicken Curry

Many years ago I went to a Chinese restaurant and saw a dish called Chinese Chicken Curry.  I was immediately intrigued because I never thought of curry being a part of Chinese cuisine.  The restaurant brought out this lovely mildly curried chicken dish with pieces of potato, carrots and peas.  I was fascinated because the curry flavor was familiar yet very different to the curry flavor used in Indian/Sri Lankan cooking. So yesterday I was browsing in the international aisle of my grocery store when I saw "oriental curry powder".  I had to buy it and try to make that Chinese curried chicken.  I threw it together with the spices and flavors I thought suited a Chinese chicken curry and it turned out as fantastic as the dish I had at the restaurant all those years ago.  Next time you're in the international food aisle take a look and see if you can spot some new spices to play around with. I'm looking forward to the next dish I can try with this curry powder.


    Ingredients:
1lb of boneless/skinless chicken (I used thighs)
1 can (15oz) coconut milk
2 Tbs of ginger/garlic paste (or 1 Tbs of garlic and 1 Tbs of ginger grated)
1/4 cup of soy sauce
2Tbs of your Chinese curry powder
1/4 tsp of Chinese five spice powder
1 tsp of red chili flakes (or to taste)
1 medium onion chopped (large)
2 medium potatoes cubed into bite size pieces
1 bunch of broccoli florets (or frozen peas)
1 cup of carrots sliced
1 cup of chicken broth or water/bullion equivalent

Note: If you cannot find a Chinese curry powder try to add 1 1/2 Tbs of McCormick brand curry powder or Madras curry powder and 1/2 a tsp of Chinese five spice.

Edited note:  I wanted to further elaborate about the spices in the Chinese curry powder.  The bottle's ingredients states the following:   turmeric, coriander, cumin fenugreek, black pepper, garlic, star anise, cloves, allspice and other spices.  So the curry powder is similar to the ingredients of Indian curry powder.   Chinese Five Spice is a combination of  fennel, cloves, cinnamon, star anise and Szechuan peppercorns.  I think combining regular curry powder and Chinese Five spice powder together would give you a very close taste to the Chinese curry powder. 

Directions:

Heat a large pan with 2Tbs of canola oil. When oil is very hot add your chicken and fry for a minute.  Then add your ginger/garlic paste and stir fry for another 1-2 minutes.

Next add your diced potatoes and stir fry for another minute.

Then add your curry powder, chili flakes, five spice powder and fry for another minute.

Next add your soy sauce, chicken broth and coconut milk.  Bring to a simmer and allow the potatoes to be almost fully cooked.

Note:  Taste for seasoning. If you require more salt flavor, add a little more soy sauce.

Finally add your broccoli (or peas) and carrots. Cook for another few minutes until the broccoli and carrots are tender crisp.


Note: Your "gravy" should thicken up on it's own, mine did.  If you need to thicken up your gravy, just take 1Tbs of cornstarch to 2Tbs of water and mix well then add it to the gravy and allow to boil until the gravy thickens up.

Serve with rice and chow mien noodles.  Enjoy. Serves 4-6 people.

Copyright: All content, photos and text are property of Curry and Comfort and cannot be used without permission