Leftovers #68 - Chicken Teriyaki

 

Leftover roasted chicken can lend itself to so many reincarnated meals and teriyaki chicken is one of them. Since the meat is already cooked it gets added after the veggies, broccoli and snow peas have been lightly stir-fried, then add whatever teriyaki sauce or any stir-fry sauce you wish to use, whether it be a homemade one or a ready-made one. Allow to simmer until heated through then serve over rice. Either way this is another tasty meal that uses up leftovers.  

Stir-fry Sauce

 

This is quite simply the easiest stir-fry sauce you will make. You can adjust the crushed red pepper flakes depending on your level of heat or leave them out all together and replace them with a good dose of sriracha sauce or sweet chilli sauce. It has that combination of elements... sweet, salty, sour and spicy which delivers a flavourful stir-fry.  

Stir-fry Sauce

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1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/2 cup low sodium chicken or vegetable broth

1 - 2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1 tablespoon dark brown sugar or honey

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1 - 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and whisk together until fully combined.

Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

To use stir-fry sauce:

Heat one tablespoon of oil in a large skillet or wok.

Add your protein of choice (cubed chicken, slices of beef, tofu or shrimp) and cook until browned and almost cooked through. 

Transfer the protein to a clean plate. Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok or skillet and approximately 4 to 6 cups of chopped vegetables of your choice (onion, carrots, snow peas, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, edamame beans). Stir-fry until tender and crisp. Return the protein to the pan with the vegetables and add the stir-fry sauce and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened, stirring to evenly distribute the sauce. Serve over cooked rice or noodles and sprinkled with sesame seeds. 

Food Photo of the Day ~ Tofu Noodle Rice Bowl

 

Wanting to change things up however still remain familiar, our stir-fry dinner became something of a combination of ingredients and leftovers. Tofu was panfried and then cooked in a rich hoisin sauce, noodles were cooked and panfried, leftover rice was transformed into sticky soy rice, slices of fresh green onion and cucumber, delicately diced mini peppers, handful of crisp lettuce, a few prepackaged spring rolls and a couple shakes of sesame seeds all created this enjoyable flavourful dinner.  

Food Photo of the Day ~ Tofu Stir-fry Bowl

 

Dinner may be as simple or complex as you like and at times it doesn't have to be pretty, just delicious. I do enjoy in creating quick pulled together nutritious meals and this tofu stir-fry is just that. Panfrying the tofu and then sautéing it in a sticky sauce, add some grated carrots and sautéed kale in sesame oil with a dash of rice vinegar, topped with a hard boiled egg and served in a bowl with with rice that's sprinkled with chopped green onions and dried shredded coconut. Delicious!    

Food Photo of the Day ~ Chicken Stir-Fry

 

With a few ingredients my daughter created this chicken stir-fry for dinner. I helped wash and chop some of the vegetables and prep the chicken, totally being under her direction. It was an exceptionally tasty meal and we wish we could have this every night. An enjoyable, relaxing time well spent in the kitchen with her. - JD 

   

Food Photo of the Day ~ Tofu Stirfry

 

Sometimes leftovers become lunch and whatever one can forage around to create the occasional a midday meal. No foraging here, although if there wasn't any leftover rice then the tofu stirfry would be added to mixed greens or draped across a piece of toast. At times it is the simple things that keep us going and the ability to not waste a morsel. Leftovers, at the best of times, can truly become something so unique you can not wait until the next round leftovers appear.  

Have a nice weekend and stay safe everyone! - JD 

Food Photo of the Day ~ Stir-fry Vegetables

Bright, vibrant, and crisp. Lightly tossed in sesame oil and a dash of low sodium soy sauce; a great way to get your veg on and increase those vitamins and nutrients. Simplicity has it advantages.

Hope everyone had a great weekend, we did! - JD  

Food Photo of the Day ~ Stir-fry with Spiced Coffee Glaze

Just in case you were wondering about the stir-fry recipe, I posted about yesterday, here it is. The taste was dark and rich and full of flavour. I did tweak the recipe... rather than marinate the meat in the ginger, garlic, five spice and half oil...  I mixed all the ingredients together in a bowl excluding the meat, green onions and veggies... covered the bowl and let the sauce it created mellow in the refrigerator for a few hours. Then I added the sauce/glaze after I had seared/cooked the meat and added the veggies of choice. Allowing everything to simmer nicely. Topping with the green onions. The aroma throughout the house was very enticing and a delicious one.   

Have a good weekend everyone! - JD 

Coffee

From time to time enjoying a morning, afternoon or evening coffee is a must. We cook and bake with so many different ingredients from around the world that coffee should not be over looked as an ingredient. Cooking and baking with coffee, as with tea, is simple because it is found in most, if not all pantries and can easily be overlooked. Both may add the subtlest or a robust flavour to a recipe.  

This mini coffee table cookbook has 208 pages, 100 recipes to get you inspired and make one enjoy a bit more coffee. There are coffee based beverages both hot and cold, an array of the infamous coffee cakes, cookies, sweets, desserts and a few savoury dishes. This book is perfect for coffee lovers and home cooks and priced at $2.00, it is a bargain!

I have already started my holiday baking however I do want to try a few recipes like... the Coffee Fruitcake, Coffee & Hazelnut Biscotti and the Mocha Coconut Clusters. However for tonights dinner I will be attempting the Turkey Stir-fry with Spiced Coffee Glaze. I do not have any turkey so I will substitute with chicken. Therefore that is the recipe I will share with you now. 

Turkey Stir-fry with Spiced Coffee Glaze

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1 pound turkey breast, sliced into thin strips

1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 teaspoon five-spice seasoning

4 teaspoons sesame oil

1/4 cup strong black coffee, cooled

1/4 cup teriyaki sauce

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons rice - wine vinegar

2 teaspoons cornstarch

6 scallions, trimmed and sliced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

salt and pepper

boiled egg noodles, to serve

Method:

1) Place the turkey in a shallow, nonmetallic bowl and add the ginger, garlic, five-spice seasoning and half the oil. Stir well, then cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

2) Mix the coffee, teriyaki sauce, honey, vinegar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Cover and set aside.

3) Heat the remaining oil in a large wok until almost smoking. Remove the turkey from the marinade, add to the wok, and stir-fry over high heat for 3 to 4 minutes, until brown. Add the scallions, red pepper, and yellow pepper and stir-fry for an additional 1 to 2 minutes.

4) Pour in the coffee mixture and continue stir-frying for 1 to 2 minutes, until the sauce has thickened and coated the turkey and vegetables. Season with salt and pepper and serve with noodles.

Notes: Although this recipes calls for turkey try chicken, beef or tofu. I will be serving this with brown rice not noodles as suggested in the recipe. Grate some orange rind to give the sauce a hint of citrus. This recipe would be great to use up some of those holiday leftovers, like turkey.  

Hope everyone has had a good week, so far. - JD

Stir - Fried Watercress

Found some more watercress and wanted to try this recipe. A bit of spicy heat mixed with a nutritious green. You can quite possibly add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, if you like, however I think this recipe is all about keeping it simple and clean.  

Stir - Fried Watercress

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3 bunches of watercress

3 red hot peppers, seeds removed

3 packages of firm tofu

1/2 teaspoon salt

chopped garlic

In a large saucepan take 3 cups of water and 1/2 teaspoon oil and watercress, then bring to a boil. Immediately remove watercress and excess water.

Shred red peppers into thin strips.

In a wok add 3 tablespoons of oil into the pan, over high heat, pan fry the red hot peppers and chopped garlic until the garlic turns to a deep golden colour. Then add in the watercress and fermented bean curd. Add in salt. Pan fry over high heat until soft and mixed well. Remove and serve.

Notes: If you do not like too much spice then use only 1 red hot pepper and 1 to 2 sweet red bell peppers. 

Hope everyone had a great weekend, we did! Also the past two days have been busy ones.  - JD