Chinese Recipes

Prepare any of these recipes in honor of the Chinese New Year, which begins on February 3 this year. Notice the use of red food coloring in the marinade in the Barbecued Pork; in China, the color red signifies happiness.

Chinese Barbecued Pork

1-1/2 pounds pork tenderloin - trimmed of any fat or silver-skin
For the Marinade:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup hoisin sauce
1/3 cup dry sherry or Chinese wine
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon honey
3 cloves garlic - (minced)
1 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder
3 drops red food coloring - (optional)
For the Glaze:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey - warmed
2 teaspoons sesame oil
Put the pork in a zip-top type plastic bag. In a small mixing bowl, combine the marinade ingredients and whisk until blended. Add to the meat and refrigerate several hours or overnight, turning several times to distribute marinade evenly.
Combine the ingredients for the glaze and set aside.
When ready to cook, start your grill until the fire is established. Set the temperature to 375 degrees F and preheat, lid closed, for 10 to 15 minutes.
Drain the pork and discard the marinade. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees when read on an instant-read meat thermometer. Brush the glaze on all sides of the tenderloin, and continue roasting, turning frequently, until the glaze is set. Transfer the pork to a platter or plates. Let rest for 5 minutes before carving into thin slices.
Serve hot, warm, or cold. Leftovers make great fried rice.

Lemon Chicken

2 whole chicken breasts - skinned, boned and cut into quarters
Marinade
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 egg
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. pepper
To cook chicken
2 c. vegetable oil - or enough to cover bottom of frying pan 11/2” deep
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. water
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
Lemon sauce
1/2 c. chicken broth
1/4 c. honey
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
2 Tbsp. vinegar
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. catsup
1 clove garlic - finely chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
dash pepper
peel of 1/2 lemon
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. cold water
For marinade: In a small bowl, combine vegetable oil, egg, cornstarch, salt, soy sauce and pepper. Pour over chicken. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.
Remove chicken; reserve marinade.
To cook chicken: Heat vegetable oil to 350 degrees. Combine reserved marinade, flour, water and cornstarch, 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil, baking soda and salt.
Dip chicken, one piece at a time, into batter. Fry 2 pieces at a time until light brown, about 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels. After all chicken is done, increase oil temperature to 375 degrees. This time, fry all chicken at once until golden brown turning once.
Drain on paper towels. Cut each piece crosswise into 5 or 6 pieces.
For sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat chicken broth, honey, lemon juice, corn syrup, vinegar, vegetable oil, catsup, garlic, salt, pepper and lemon peel to boiling.
Mix 1 Tbsp. cornstarch and water in a separate small bowl. Add to sauce. Cook, stirring constantly until thickened - about 10 seconds. Remove lemon peel. Garnish with lemon slices.

Kung-Pao Chicken

1 1/4 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken breast - cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 egg white
1 T. plus 1 t. cornstarch
4 t. Szechwan chili paste with garlic
8 T. soy sauce
4 t. dry sherry
4 t. red wine vinegar
1 c. chicken broth
4 t. Oriental sesame oil
3 T. vegetable oil
1/2 c. raw peanuts
4 scallions - cut into 1/2-inch lengths
2 garlic cloves - chopped
1/2 to 1 t. crushed hot pepper, to taste
1 pkg chopped stir fry veggies
1. In a small bowl, combine chicken pieces with egg white and 1 T. cornstarch. Toss to coat and set aside.
2. In another small bowl, blend chili paste with soy sauce, sherry, vinegar, broth, 1 t. cornstarch, and sesame oil. Set sauce aside.
3. Heat oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and stir-fry until it separates and turns white, about 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Deep-fry peanuts in oil over medium heat until they are golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove and drain.
4. Remove all but 2 T. oil from the wok. Stir-fry scallion, garlic, and hot pepper for 30 seconds. Add chicken. Stir-fry over high heat for 1 minute.
5. Add sauce. Stir-fry until heated through and thickened. Add stir-fry veggies. Cook until tender/crisp. Add peanuts, stir to mix. Serve over rice.

Moo Goo Gai Pan

1 lg Whole chicken breast, skinned and boned
1 teaspoon Instant chicken granules
1 (8 oz.) can water chestnuts halved lengthwise - and drained
1 cup Fresh pea pods - Snow Peas
3/4 cup Water
1/2 cup Fresh mushrooms
3 tablespoon Soy sauce
4 green onions - (4 to 6)
2 tablespoon Dry sherry
Ginger root
4 teaspoon Cornstarch
2 tablespoon Cooking oil
1 tablespoon Honey
Partially freeze chicken; thinly slice into bite-sized strips. In small mixing bowl stir together the water, soy sauce, dry sherry, cornstarch, honey, and instant chicken bouillon granules; mix well. Slice the drained water chestnuts; set aside. Halve the pea pods crosswise; set aside. Slice the mushrooms and the green onion; set aside. Grate 2 teaspoon ginger root; set aside.
 Heat the oil in wok over high heat. Add the chicken to wok and stir-fry 3 to 4 minutes. Remove chicken.
Add more oil, if necessary. Stir-fry water chestnuts, pea pods, mushrooms, green onions, and ginger for 3 to 4 minutes. Return chicken to wok. Stir the bouillon mixture and stir into chicken. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cover and cook 2 minutes more or until heated through. This ought to serve 4 to 6.

 Chinese Egg Rolls

1 lbs Package egg roll skins
Egg beaten
Enough oil to deep-fry
1 cup Diced roast pork
1/2 cup Cooked and diced shrimp
1/4 cup Water chestnuts
1/4 cup Shredded bamboo shoots canned
2 cup Chopped bean sprouts fresh
2 Green onion - finely chopped
4 Fresh mushroom chopped
1/2 tsp Sugar
2 tbsp Soy sauce
1 tbsp Sesame oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet. Quickly cook the bean sprouts over high heat stirring constantly. Add mushrooms, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots and cook approximately 2 minutes. Add meat, shrimp, green onion, salt & pepper, soy sauce, sugar. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Place 2 tablespoons of the mixture in center of egg roll skin. Take the 2 opposite ends and fold in.
Moisten other 2 edges with beaten egg. Roll into a log shape.
Pre-heat oil in a deep wide pot or skillet. Fry the egg rolls until golden brown turning often to get an even browning. Remove from oil and drain on absorbent paper. Serve very hot. Makes 16 egg rolls.

Spiced Raspberry Tea

 1 to 1 1/2 T Spiced Raspberry Tea Mix - (recipe follows)
6 oz. boiling water
Fresh raspberries - (optional)
Fresh orange slices - (optional)
Fresh mint sprigs - (optional)
Combine jar mix with boiling water. Adjust amount of mix to your taste. Stir to dissolve mix. Serve hot or cold. Garnish with fresh raspberries, orange slices and mint sprigs, if desired.
Spiced Raspberry Tea Mix
3/4 c. instant tea - unsweetened
4 packets (.23 ounces each) raspberry-flavored unsweetened drink mix
2 T lemonade drink mix
1 c. sugar
1 t. ground cardamom
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. allspice
Stir all ingredients in mixing bowl with wire whisk. Transfer mixture to 1-pint wide-mouth jar. (If jar is full, gently tap bottom of jar on palm of hand to settle mix.) Seal jar. Store in cool, dry place until ready to use. Print this post