Older Bolder Life

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stir fry

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: General Tso’s Chicken

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We had an interesting food planning issue arise a few weeks back; friends popped in to spend an afternoon on very short notice. They were travelling through, wanted to stop and chat for a bit, with that “chat” burning through an entire afternoon and then creeping into early evening.

The husband of the couple visiting tried to make the case that we should order out Chinese, something made nigh on impossible given our location “out in the sticks” on the edge of the sprawling DFW metro.

After a bit of hemming and hawing, I convinced the crowd to let me stir up a batch of this General Tso’s Chicken at home, sacrificing a little on our strictest Primal framework by using potato starch as a crisping agent for the chicken, and a bit of sugar in the sauce. [Sometimes when entertaining such compromises end up being made to suit guest’s more conventional palates, though I’ve found over the years that with a bit of common sense and moderation applied, these comprises aren’t problematic at all in the bigger picture of things.]

Using potato starch as a crisping agent for the chicken works remarkably well, as well as the more classic cornstarch used in Chinese cooking for years, at least IMHO, and the flavors imparted by the garlic, ginger, Shaoxing wine, and Chinkiang vinegar are amazingly good, allowing you to cook toe-to-toe with very good take-out food you might have enjoyed in the past.

Besides the great taste and wonderful presentation this recipe affords, another real plus is the easy prep and quick final cook when you’ve got everything lined up and ready.

Tipping our hat to our non-Primal / non-Paleo guests I cooked up a batch of conventional rice to go along with the delicious sauce produced, and a big tub of steamed broccoli florets. Hot damn, this one’s really good.

1.5 pounds boneless skinless thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 T + 1 t avocado or other mild tasting oil
1 large egg, beaten
1 scant t good salt
1/2 to 3/4 cup (scant) potato starch

2/3 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
1/4 cup Chinkiang vinegar
1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
6 T sugar
2 T cornstarch

4-5 T avocado or mild, healthy oil of choice
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 and 1/2 T minced fresh ginger
7-8 Chinese chili peppers

Prep the chicken, place in a small bowl with the oil and salt; set aside for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl, set aside. Meanwhile, mince the garlic and ginger.

When ready to cook, preheat a heavy, large skillet over medium-high heat. While the skillet is heating, stir the beaten egg into the chicken mixture, then stir in the cornstarch until it’s evenly coating the chicken.

Heat the oil in the preheated pan until just smoking, then add the chicken all at once in a single layer (separate if needed with tongs or a fork). Cook for 3 minutes or so until the bottom is golden, then turn and cook another 3 minutes or so. Remove the pan from the heat for 3 minutes.

Now place your skillet back over medium heat and add the chilies, ginger, and garlic to the oil remaining in the pan; cook for 1-2 minutes. Now add the stirred sauce to the skillet; stir now again as it cooks and thickens.

When the sauce has sufficiently thickened, add the chicken, stirring well to coat everything with the sauce. Remove from the heat and serve RIGHT NOW!

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Quick Kung Pao Shrimp

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For the past several weeks we’ve been on somewhat of a stir fry kick; like many of you now and again we get stuck on a particular cuisine or preparation method and ride that horse for a few weeks just to change up the routine and menu.

My wife in particular has been craving some of the traditional Americanized Chinese food that we’ve eaten over the years; recently she’s been pestering me to craft a dish akin to a wonderful Kung Pao Shrimp we used to eat at a now defunct eatery in Salt Lake City back in the day.

It was spicy but not too hot, incredibly well balanced with the classic Chinkiang vinegar flavor followed by a just a hint of sweetness, and packed with tasty cashews and tender shrimp.

After a bit of trial and error, and digging around a bit, we’ve settled on this recipe using an incredibly easy homemade Kung Pao sauce (you can as always control the quality of your ingredients and cut back on the typical sugar/sweetener load), though a commercially prepared sauce could work in a pinch (read those ingredients!). By the way, I’ll post the recipe for the Kung Pao sauce down the road a few weeks from now…

With a minimum of prep, you can have this dish ready for the table in about twenty minutes, along with a big pile of steamed broccoli florets just like you’d receive in a classic restaurant setting.

As tempting as it is to throw in several handfuls of other vegetables, every time I’ve done that we (my wife especially) feel that the overall flavor impact of the dish is diminished by too many competing flavors. And it’s great over a spoonful of garlic cauliflower rice….

1 pound shrimp, prepped (peeled and deveined)
1 T Shaoxing wine
1 T cornstarch
1 tsp avocado oil
¼ t good salt

1 T avocado oil
6 green onions, white and green parts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 bell pepper, ¾-inch dice
1/3 cup (perhaps a T or two more) homemade Kung Pao sauce
1/3 cup roasted cashews or peanuts

Combine the prepped shrimp, Shaoxing wine, cornstarch, and the salt; set aside for 10 minutes. Prep the vegetables and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large flat skillet until just smoking; add the shrimp in a single layer and cook for thirty seconds undisturbed, then stir occasionally for the next three minutes or so until the shrimp are just opaque.

Add the green onions and bell pepper, stirring to combine and heat the vegetables thoroughly. Now add the Kung Pao sauce, stirring to coat everything in the pan evenly.

Add the cashews (or peanuts), stir to distribute evenly, the remove from the heat and serve immediately.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Spicy Cashew Chicken Stir Fry

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As the weather begins to cool even the slightest bit (dammit, it was 98 last Sunday here in North Texas) with the arrival of the early fall season, my lovely wife has begun to pester me a bit to queue up some of our favorite stir fry recipes in the upcoming meal plan.

This Spicy Cashew Chicken Stir Fry, easily made with toasted hazelnuts if you’d rather, is one that we’ve been cooking as a family for over two decades now, it’s quick, simple, and once you have some elemental oriental sauces in the pantry and fridge, doesn’t require a special trip to hunt down any rare or unusual ingredients.

Granted, this is very much not an authentic Chinese stir fry recipe; it’s very much Americanized, and offered without apology otherwise.

We love to load this one up with lots of fresh mushrooms and the spicy peppers, which impart so much more flavor to the dish if you stir fry them alone for a few minutes before adding in the mushrooms and green onions.

The fresh juice adds an impressive flavor boost and a burst of needed acidity; unless you’re running insanely tight on your carb intake, by all means don’t think twice about juicing that tangerine or orange for the recipe. And by the way, Nom Nom Paleo has a nice compliant hoisin sauce if you’re concerned about that ingredient as well.

We’ve taken this recipe all around the Northern Rockies camping with the family; just pack up the marinated chicken in a container, the wok sauce in another, and the fresh vegetables in a third. Easy peasy, and you’ll impress the hell out of your fellow campers / river runners / cross-country skiers / picnic buddies on the road.

Make as big a batch as you dare, it’s great left over and reheated too.

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp dark sesame oil
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup roasted hazelnuts or cashews
14-15 medium button mushrooms
6-8 green onions, trimmed
12-15 dried Chile de Arbol chiles
1/4 cup avocado oil

Wok Sauce
1/3 cup freshly squeezed tangerine or orange juice
1/4 cup Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp dark sesame oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp tangerine/orange zest, minced

Cut the chicken into thin strips in bitesized lengths and add to a bowl with the hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, wine or sherry, and minced garlic. Stir to mix well, cover and marinate for up to 8 hours.

Toast the nuts in a 325 oven; watch carefully so they don’t burn.

When ready to cook, clean, trim, and quarter the mushrooms, and slice the green onions into 1-inch long pieces on a sharp diagonal.

Heat your trusty wok over high heat, add 1/2 the oil, and just when beginning to give off a little smoke, stir fry the chicken until it changes color; remove to a plate when done.

Reheat the wok, add the rest of the oil, and add the chiles, stirring for a minute before adding the remainder of the vegetables. Stir fry until the mushrooms just begin to soften and the green onions brighten in color (2-3 minutes).

Now stir in the wok sauce, the chicken, and the nuts, keeping things moving until all ingredients are well coated and the sauce has thickened a bit. Taste and adjust the seasonings, then serve hot on heated plates, platters, or bowls.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Spicy Ginger Celery Chicken Stir Fry

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I don’t know about you, but during these rather bizarre coronavirus-impacted days I find myself toggling back and forth between impersonating the most innovative, inquisitive chefs in the world and not really wanting to cook a damn thing that takes longer than ten minutes in the kitchen.

For the past six weeks or so we’ve leaned more to the “tackle the complicated new recipe” side of the ledger, though as we move more toward the heat of summer (we’ve already seen some temps in the high 90s here in North Texas), I’ve been seeking out meal preps that maximize interest and flavor with the least commitment of kitchen time and effort.

There are a number of great-tasting avenues to travel to accomplish those objectives, and one of our favorites happens to be crafting a tasty stir fry using flavor combinations we’ve come to appreciate over the years.

Sometime in the past few weeks a recipe similar to this one flew through my inbox; I was intrigued by the spice profile (ginger and sambal oleck always run high on my list) and the inclusion of just a few chopped dates to add an hint of earthy sweetness to the dish.

Celery quickly cooked in a hot wok preserves its tasty crunch, the peanuts (or nut of your choice adds flavor and texture interest), and I often throw in some chopped white onion and red bell pepper too.

With average knife skills you’re looking at a 15 minute-ish prep window before cooking here (OK, maybe 20 minutes) and like all stir fries, this one cooks up in a flash, particularly if you’ve been smart and followed the principle of mise en place to get everything lined up and ready to go.

(For the Paleo hardliners out there, I have included a tiny bit of cornstarch as a thickener; at least in my kitchen, cornstarch outperforms arrowroot and other thickeners in stir fries every time, and my wife really doesn’t like arrowroot’s taste. Make your substitutions as you wish.)

I happen to be writing this while helping my wife at her work place this afternoon, and we brought leftovers from last night’s stir fry for a quick lunch; it might have even been better today.

Chicken and marinade
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into ½-inch pieces
1 tbsp + 1 tsp tamari, coconut aminos, or soy sauce
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp salt
Optional: 1 tsp sugar

Sauce Ingredients
6 tbsp sambal oelek or chili garlic sauce
¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
½ cup tamari, coconut aminos, or soy sauce
1/3 cup water
2 tsp cornstarch

The rest of the goods
6-8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3-inches fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 large bunch scallions, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
6 celery stalks, timed, cut into ½-inch pieces (Split lengthwise if large first)
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded, cut into ½-inch pieces
Optional: 6-8 ounces medjool dates, pitted, cut into ½-inch pieces
Optional: 3-4 dried red peppers
1 and ½ cups cilantro leaves and tender stems
1/3 cup avocado or olive oil
¾ to 1 cup roasted, salted peanuts or cashews

Prep the chicken first. Combine the chicken marinade ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine; now stir in the chicken until well coated, cover, and throw in the fridge.

Stir the sauce together. Stir together the sauce ingredients, set aside. Remember the sauce will need to be well stirred again before adding to suspend the corn starch.

Prep the rest of the goods. Finely chopped the garlic and ginger and set aside in a small bowl or ramekin.
Trim and cut the scallions/green onions, celery, bell pepper, and the dried peppers and dates if using; combine in a small bowl. Prep the cilantro.

Now it’s time to cook. Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat, add the nuts and cook, stirring frequently, until they’re toasted brown. Remove the skillet/wok from the heat and transfer the nuts (using a slotted spoon) to a small bowl, leaving the oil behind.

Now with your skillet/wok back on the heat, add the ginger/garlic mixture and stir constantly for 30 seconds. Quickly add the chicken mixture and cook, stir frequently, until no longer pink on the outside (and broken apart with no pieces clinging together). Note the chicken isn’t cooked through and will finish cooking with the rest of the vegetables.

Now stir in the scallion, celery, bell pepper, date, and dried pepper mixture; continue to cook and stir for 2-4 minutes until the scallions are bright and the celery and peppers are just beginning to tenderize (taste to be sure, you don’t want them too soft!).
Stir the sauce once more and then pour it into the wok/skillet; cook, stirring fairly often, until the sauce thickens and turns glossy. Remove from the heat, stir in the cilantro and toasted nuts and go to it.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Miso Curry Chicken and Snap Pea Stir Fry

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Even though the interval between the feast of Thanksgiving and the revelry of the Christmas and New Years week is shorter this year, that’s no reason to not keep slinging some varied and interesting dishes out of your kitchen the next few weeks.

One of my fly fishing buddies sent in a version of this Miso Curry Chicken and Snap Pea Stir Fry a few weeks ago, the week before Thanksgiving in fact, and we’ve just gotten around to fiddling with the recipe this past week here in our own kitchen.

While I’m a big curry fan, my wife typically isn’t, objecting to some curry dishes’ overpowering curry-ness (to the point sometimes of being bitter). The addition of a bit of miso and fresh ginger here seems to soften the curry a bit, and makes for a very interesting, almost subtle, and damned tasty variation that we’d never enjoyed at home before.

Fresh sugar snap peas happened to be piled high in the bin as I shopped a few days back, though this dish plays very well with snow peas or haricots verts (the thin French-style green beans) too.

Don’t skimp on the garlic or ginger, and I think this one’s better with a little more heat as well…

3 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
2 and 1/2 tbsp tamari
2 tbsp white miso
1 tbsp good fresh curry powder
2-3 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated
1-2 tsp red pepper flakes, optional
4 tbsp avocado oil, divided
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or mixed with thighs) in 1/2-inch slices
Kosher salt, see notes
3/4 pound prepped and trimmed sugar snap peas, snow peas, or green beans
1/2 cup frozen or fresh (not canned) baby peas
3 green onions, thinly sliced

Combine together the garlic, tamari, miso, curry powder, ginger, red pepper flakes if using, and 2 tbsp oil in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat a tbsp or so oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and then sauté the chicken in a single layer until browned, turn and cook for another minute. You just want the second side of the chicken to become opaque; it won’t be cooked all the way through but remove to a plate anyway-there’s more cooking to come.

Now add the final tbsp of oil to the pan and cook the prepped beans (still on medium-high heat) until they brighten in color and begin to char in spots, 2-3 minutes. Remove to the plate with the chicken.

Reduce the heat to medium, and pour the curry-miso mixture into the same pan, and cook for another couple of minutes, stirring constantly. Look for the garlic to soften a bit and the curry to darken in color. Now add the peas and 1/2 cup of water, then return the chicken and beans to the skillet and toss to coat.

Cook another 3-4 minutes until the sauce has reduced by about half and thickens, tossing occasionally to coat the chicken and beans. Serve hot sprinkled with the chopped green onions/scallions.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Texican Skirt Steak Stir Fry

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This past week I’ve been chatting now and again with new friend Lucia about some of the great fusion cuisine we’ve both enjoyed lately down here in Texas.

Lucia hails originally from the Northeast, though recently lived in Houston while attending Rice University and she grew to love the amazing food culture in Houston during her years there. Her stories of enjoying some of the hole in the wall places serving up Korean and Tex Mex fusion dishes particularly resonated with my wife and I, as we’ve spent time in Houston as well enjoying some of the same foods. To be perfectly honest, my wife and I have enjoyed the Asian influence on Texas cuisine for years now, including the Vietnamese and Thai influences that have been simmering under the Long Star for decades.

That said, we’re big fans of skirt steak, given its deep beefy flavor, quick cook whether grilled or sautéed, attractive price point, and the fact it is most often used to make the classic fajita / taco of choice in these parts.

We’ve been playing around with several quick stir fries using skirt, and have finally settled this one, weaving together an Asian-inspired spice and seasoning array with classic Texas-styled fajitas, including sweet onions (1015s in these parts), poblanos, and a couple of red jalapeños for pop and color.

Slicing the skirt (against the grain of course) thinly makes for a quick cook; use high heat, cook quickly, and get a nice sear on the skirt before removing it to give the vegetables time to soften and gain some color.

As always, consider this a base recipe to work from, and throw in whatever suits you – red bells or Mediterraneo Dulce peppers for instance – and there’s plenty of room to adjust the spices as well, though the combination below is amazingly tasty.

1 and 1/2 lb. skirt steak, trimmed, sliced across the grain into 1/4-inch (or less) thick strips
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 and 1/2 tsp + 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1 and 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 and 1/2 tsp granulated sugar (optional)

2 medium sweet onions, trimmed, sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds
1-2 medium poblanos, stemmed, seeded, sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds
1-2 jalapeños, stemmed, seeded, sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds (optional)
3-inch piece of ginger, peeled, sliced into thin rounds

1 tbsp avocado oil (perhaps just a bit more)
2-4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
3 tbsp grass-fed unsalted butter (in several pieces
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Combine the sliced skirt steak with the sesame oil, 1.5 tsp tamari or soy sauce, salt, and sugar; stir to combine well, cover and set aside for 30 minutes or so (if longer, throw it in the fridge).

Meanwhile, prep the vegetables and gather (mise en place) the rest of the ingredients.

Heat your large skillet over high heat, add the oil, then spread the marinated meat in a single layer and sauté undisturbed (DON’T turn the meat!) for 2-3 minutes until it begins to brown around the edges. Now stir the steak, turning to brown the uncooked side for another minutes. Now remove the steak to a plate.

Reduce the heat to medium-high and add the sliced onions and poblanos, tossing now and again until they being to soften (5-6 minutes or more); add the sliced jalapeños and ginger and cook another 2 minutes.

Now return the meat to the pan, add 1/3 cup water and the fresh ground pepper, stir well, and cook another 2-3 minutes until the vegetables are as soft as you’d like and the ingredients have a glossy coating.

Remove from the heat, stir in the butter pieces, lemon juice, and remaining tamari or soy sauce until all ingredients are well-coated. Taste and adjust for salt, then serve hot and go to it.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Vegetable Monday: Garlic Bomb Cauliflower Rice

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Of all the cauliflower rice recipes we’ve cooked over the years (they’re all listed here), this Garlic Bomb Cauliflower Rice recipe is hands down my lovely wife’s current favorite.

The biggest complaint about the recipe she’s had lately is that the single/standard recipe probably actually doesn’t make enough for us both to enjoy, and unless I’m really quick on my feet, she’s been beating me back to the skillet to scoop up whatever’s left every single time.

The 10-12 garlic cloves sounds like a lot, but once you’ve converted those thin slices into crispy little garlic chips (which is shockingly easy by the way), you’ll be looking for more, and like us, probably planning to slice up an extra clove or two for the next batch.

And I suppose while not absolutely essential, the thinly sliced green onions and chopped cilantro or basil (we lean to the cilantro version, and feel free to try any herb that suits your fancy here) really make the dish. As we’re typically serving this with a separate protein, I most often don’t throw in the egg, though it does add taste and texture, and makes the dish much more “fried rice like”.

Finally, if you occasionally enjoy white rice in your food plan, cooking and cooling a batch of rice (playing the resistant starch game) and then frying it up via this recipe will be doubly delicious, as it’ll be much easier to crisp up the traditional rice…

1 medium cauliflower or approximately 1 pound pre-riced cauliflower
10-12 garlic cloves, peeled, thinly sliced
1/3 cup + 2 tbsp avocado oil
2-3 inch piece of ginger, peeled, trimmed, finely chopped
2-3 tsp toasted sesame oil
4-5 green onions, thinly sliced on a steep diagonal
1/2 to 1 cup cilantro (or basil) coarsely chopped
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Optional
1 large egg, beaten to blend
2-3 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Prep and rice the medium cauliflower if using. Preheat 2 tbsp of avocado oil in a large skillet, then sauté the fresh or frozen cauliflower over medium heat until it begins to release some of its liquid. Remove to a (paper) towel-lined bowl and set aside.

Heat the 1/3 cup of oil over medium heat in the same skillet (wipe to remove any moisture), then add the sliced garlic in a single layer, and cook, shaking the pan now and again, until the garlic is crispy and beginning to develop a golden color (5-6 minutes). Using a slotted spoon, carefully transfer the garlic to a a paper towel-lined plate to drain, season with salt and a grind of fresh ground pepper.

Up the heat to medium-high, add the ginger and sauté for 1-2 minutes until fragrant and just beginning to soften. If using the egg, and stir quickly to break it up – this will take just a few seconds.

Now add the cauliflower and sesame oil and smooth it into an even layer; let it cook undisturbed for 2-3 minutes until it begins to crisp and brown around a few of the edges. Now toss the rice, pat down smooth, and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Remove from the heat, stir in half the garlic chips and the green onions. You can either transfer to a platter or finish in the skillet – artfully top with the rest of the garlic chips, the sesame seeds if using, and the cilantro.

Go to it, and enjoy. (You’ll shortly be wishing you’d doubled this recipe).