Cooking Week 2: Chinese Food

The boy and I are not really big fans of asian food in general.  We love Thai, but not much else really.  Because of this I've never made any asian food before (not counting the PF Changs in a bag stuff and my one attempt at fortune cookies) and this seemed like a hefty challenge for me this week.  After much researching of recipes I finally settled on a Weight Watchers friendly General Tso's Chicken. 

I apologize for the photo.  Even though the whole point was to cook food and photograph it for the challenge, I forgot to take a picture until we had already started eating and settled in to watch an episode of Babylon 5.  (wow big post, I've revealed myself as needing to lose weight and being a sci-fi nerd in 2 paragraphs!)  I also served it with store bought potstickers and a dipping sauce I made that we wound up not liking so I won't share the recipe. 

General Tso's Chicken, however, was a hit.  I could have gone for a bit more kick in it but it was a nice change of pace.  Here's the recipe adapted from the Weight Watcher's website with my changes. 

4 servings

3/4 cup(s) canned chicken broth, reduced-sodium    
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch   
2 Tbsp sugar    
2 Tbsp soy sauce (we like organic Kikoman)   
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar   
1/2 tsp ground ginger (I used about this amount of freshly grated ginger)
2 tsp sesame oil (original recipe called for peanut but I bought sesame when I was planning on different recipe and didn't have peanut in the house so I used this)
2 medium uncooked scallion(s), chopped
2 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 pound  boneless skinless chicken breast(s), cut into 2-inch pieces  (I used one very large one which was less than a pound)

2 cup(s) cooked white rice, kept hot   
1 bag steamed veggies kept hot (I used a broccoli and cauliflower mix)

• In a medium bowl, whisk together broth, cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and ginger; set aside.
  
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add scallions, garlic and red pepper flakes; cook, stirring frequently, 2 minutes. Add chicken; sauté until browned all over, about 5 minutes.
  
• Add sauce to pan and simmer until sauce thickens and chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes.  My sauce didn't seem to thicken much, so don't be surprised if yours doesn't either. 
  
• Serve chicken, sauce, and veggies over rice. Yields about 1 cup chicken with sauce and 1/2 cup rice per serving.

  Here is the original recipe for your reference.

Baking week is all about miniatures so check back soon!