Sweet and Spicy Hoisin Beef

So my grocery delivery company has had to take a hiatus for a couple weeks and I know it sounds incredibly spoiled but now knowing how great it is to have local, fresh produce and meat DELIVERED to your house I’m incredibly upset that I have to go back. In absolute refusal of accepting reality, I decided to research some alternatives in the meantime. This led me to discover that my local grocery store offers free delivery for first time buyers. While its not local and not entirely fresh, my laziness allowed it. Unfortunately delivery could not happen until later this evening (considerably after dinner should be made and eaten) so I decided to raid my fridge and see what I could throw together. Originally I was planning on making a Puerto Rican style beef plate but I did not have any sofrito on hand.  After digging through my cupboards and doing a little research on what I had, this beautiful plate emerged.

 

 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef (lowest fat content possible)
• 3 tbs hoisin sauce
• 3 tbs pineapple preserves
• 1 c frozen peas
• 2 tbs garlic salt
• salt/pepper to taste
• 2 tbs sriracha (or to taste)

Putting it together:

1. Over high heat, brown the meat.
2. Once browned, add hoisin sauce, preserves, garlic salt, salt and pepper. Stir together to ensure all meat is covered in the mixture. Allow to simmer for 3-4 minutes.
3. Add peas and sriracha sauce, stir together and allow to simmer 3-4 minutes more.
4. Serve over white rice and enjoy!!

 

Teriyaki Chicken

So it’s been awhile since I posted anything, but I’ve officially entered crunch time for my wedding planning and have barely had a chance to cook nonetheless post anything. I’ve also decided to take a new turn on my little food blog and post the good, the bad, and the ugly. I’m not yet an actual professional chef and as such I’m still learning how to maneuver my way through the kitchen. As such, I feel like I’m misrepresenting myself a bit if I don’t post my failures alongside my successes. Please feel free to toss in your opinions, suggestions and overall comments.

Last night’s experiment was Chicken Teriyaki! I personally love chicken teriyaki, and I am always down for a late night drive to our local Yoshinoya. However, to save some costs and some calories I figured it was about time I learned how to make this dish at home.

After my first attempt at this dish last night, I deem it a B+. All the flavors of teriyaki were there, however I made the mistake of adding all the sauce onto the chicken while it baked so I was left with a more chickeny-watery teriyaki sauce rather than the sticky sweet version I was looking for. In the future I’m going to reserve a portion of the sauce to dress the plate once its ready for serving, this will keep it thick rather than watered down with the juices of the baking chicken.

See below for my recipe, let me know what you think:

Chicken Teriyaki

Ingredients:

• 6 chicken thighs
• salt to taste
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 1/4 c cold water
• 1/2 c white sugar
• 1/2 c soy sauce
• 1/4 c red wine vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tbsp ginger, minced
• 1 tsp black pepper

Cooking:

1. Preheat oven to 425
2. In a saucepan, over medium high heat add all ingredients except salt and chicken thighs. Stir together, stirring constantly, and bring to a boil. Once at a boil, lower heat and continue stirring until the sauce is thick. (starts sticking to the whisk)
3. Place chicken thighs in a baking dish and salt to your preference. Coat the chicken thighs with the teriyaki sauce (I coated it enough so some sank underneath as well). Reserve some sauce to drizzle over the plated food before serving.
4. Bake for 40 minutes, applying a coat of sauce to the chicken every 10-15 minutes.

Serve over rice with a side of steamed veggies and drizzle with the reserved sauce and maybe some sriracha for a nice kick! Let me know what you think!

Sorry for the poor quality picture, see below for my plated dish.