Asian Glazed Chicken Drumsticks

Holy cow this recipe is so tasty and good for you too! the recipe is from Skinny Taste

8 medium chicken drumsticks, skin removed
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup water
1 tsp Sriracha hot sauce (in the Asian section- you can add more if you like things hotter)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 tsp sugar
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp ginger, grated
2 tbsp chives or scallions, chopped
1 tsp sesame seeds

In a heavy large saucepan, brown chicken on high for 3-4 minutes with a little olive oil. Add water, balsamic, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger, hot sauce and cook on high until liquid comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for about 20 minutes. Remove cover and bring heat to high, allowing sauce to reduce down, about 8-10 minutes, until it becomes a thick glaze, turning chicken occasionally.

Mine didn't get too thick so I added a little of the liquid to some cornstarch and then added it back in and it helped thicken it up. (Keep an eye on glaze, you don't want it to burn when it start becoming thick) Transfer chicken to a platter and pour glaze on top. Top with chives/scallions and sesame seeds and serve. Serve with rice.

Teriyaki Sauce

 This recipe came from Our Best Bites.

1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. cold water
½ c. white sugar
½ c. soy sauce
¼ c. cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
½ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. black pepper

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and black pepper. You can use either ground ginger as directed or about 1 1/4 tsp. of fresh ginger. Combine your ingredients in the saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. While sauce is heating, combine cornstarch and cold water. When sauce comes to a full boil, add cornstarch mixture and stir until sauce is thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat. You can store it in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to 2 weeks

Peanut Sauce Lettuce Wraps

I fell in love with lettuce wraps at PF Chang's and I also made this Peanut Sauce recipe out of the Thailand the Beautiful cookbook and so I decided I wanted to try to put them together. They are to die for. This is also the recipe that taught us that our oldest son Caleb had a peanut allergy and so we don't get to eat it as often and I would like...

Sauce:
1 ¾ c coconut milk
1 Tbsp red curry paste
¼ c fish sauce
3 Tbsp sugar
1 c peanuts, ground

Wrap insides:
1 chicken breast, minced
2 cloves garlic
¼ onion, minced
veggies
lettuce

For sauce place all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes. For the wrap insides we put the chicken, onion, and garlic through the food processor (make sure you do it after the peanuts). Add the chicken mixture and a little bit of oil to a skillet and stir-fry until chicken is done. You can also add diced carrot, broccoli, and water chestnuts to the insides to give it more flavor. Wash lettuce and then put a little rice, chicken mixture, and sauce in the lettuce to make a wrap.

Cashew Chicken

Another great recipe from Thailand the beautiful cookbook!

6 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp sugar
1 lb chicken, cubed
1/8 tsp white pepper
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1 red pepper sliced
2 Tbsp oyster sauce
½ c cashews green onions, sliced

Heat 1-3 Tbsp oil in a large skillet and add garlic, chicken, and red pepper until chicken is browned. Then add the sauces, sugar, and pepper and heat on med-hi until the sauce becomes like a glaze and chicken is done. Remove from heat and add the cashews and green onions. Serve over rice.

Baked Rice with Pineapple

This is a great side for a Thai dish but it is kind of sweet. It’s really beautiful for presentation since it is served in the pineapple. It comes from the Thailand the Beautiful cookbook too.

1 pineapple
¼ c fish sauce
1 Tbsp Maggi Seasoning
¼ c sugar
2 c coconut milk
¼ tsp white pepper
¼ c cilantro, chopped
½ c cashews
4 c jasmine rice

Cut the pineapple in half lengthwise, including the leaves and stem and remove the fruit by scraping it out so that the pineapple can be used as a container. Place ½ c of the fruit into the blender and process until fine. Heat a large skillet and add all the ingredients except the cashews, pineapple, and rice and cook until it foams. Add the cashews, pineapple, and rice and mix. Spoon the rice mixture into the pineapple shells and bake for about 15 at 350. Make sure to cover the pineapple leaves with foil so they don’t burn.

Ginger Chicken

This recipe came from the Thailand the Beautiful Cookbook and its so yummy. The fish and oyster sauce can be found in the Asian section of grocery store.

1 lb chicken, thinly sliced
1/8 tsp white pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ onion, sliced
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
½ green pepper, sliced
2 Tbsp fish sauce
½ red pepper, sliced
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp thinly sliced ginger

Heat a large skillet and add 2-3 Tbsp olive oil, garlic, chicken, onion, and peppers and stir-fry until chicken is done. Add remaining ingredients and stir-fry for 3 more minutes. Serve over rice.

Orange Chicken

This was another meal brought to me after I had my son Davis from my friend Amanda. It too has become one of our favorites!

2 pounds chicken pieces
oil
½ c cornstarch
1 tsp minced garlic
¼ c flour
1 Tbsp minced ginger
1 egg
Salt and pepper

Sauce:
1 ½ Tbsp soy sauce
1 ½ Tbsp water
5 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsp vinegar
Zest of 1 orange

Cut chicken into bite sized pieces. Mix cornstarch and flour one bowl and in a second bowl beat egg with a little salt and pepper. Heat about a cup of oil in a saucepan. Dip chicken into cornstarch, then into egg and place in the frying pan. Fry until crispy. Remove chicken from pan and put the ginger and the garlic into the pan and fry for 1 minute. Add sauce to the pan and bring to a boil. Add chicken back in and mix, serve over rice.

Beef and Broccoli

This recipe is from my good friend Amber...

1 pound top round beef steak
1/4 c soy sauce
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 c apple juice
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 cup water
2 c fresh broccoli
4 Tbsp oil
2-3 cloves garlic
2 tsp sesame oil

Cut beef steak into thin strips, set aside. Combine soy sauce, sugar, water, juice, and cornstarch in small bowl and set aside. In large skillet stir fry broccoli with 2 Tbsp oil for about 2-3 minutes. Do not overcook. Set broccoli aside in a dish. Pour remaining oil into skillet and add beef steak and cook until well browned on all sides. Add garlic and cook until fragrant but not more than 1 min. Pour soy sauce mixture over meat and cook until slightly thickened. Stir in sesame oil. Remove from heat. Stir in broccoli serve over rice.