Chinese Take-Out's Sweet Chili Shrimp

This is a great, easy shrimp recipe from Chinese Take Out, and like all shrimp recipes, it comes together in a flash.  I doubled the sauce, since I always get the complaint that there isn't enough sauce, and this was a solid 8 for us.  Aaron wanted it sweeter, but I don't love super sweet meats, so this was fine for me.  There were five servings for us, and each serving was 175 calories with the sauce doubled.  Here's what to do:

1 lb shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 t cornstarch
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper

2 T soy sauce
2 T honey
2 T cider vinegar
1 T chili sauce

1 T vegetable oil
2 t minced garlic
1 t minced fresh ginger
1 shallot, finely chopped

Toss the shrimp with the cornstarch, salt and pepper.  Stir together the soy sauce, honey, cider vinegar and chili sauce.  Set aside.  Heat the oil over high heat, then cook the garlic, ginger and shallot for a few seconds.  Toss in the shrimp, cook for about two minutes, then pour in the sauce and serve.

 Everyone had rice except for me, I was out of rice, sigh :)  Anyway, this was a great dish, and so fast and easy.

Chinese Take-Out's Mongolian Beef

I am a red meat kind of girl, so when I get to have beef rather than chicken for Chinese food, I am all in :).  Aaron prefers chicken most of the time, but I love me some steak/beef/what ever.  This Mongolian beef has such great flavor, and we all gave it a 9, except Aaron who gave it an 8.  Like all the recipes in Chinese Take-Out cookbook, this is relatively low in calories, but we always wish we had more sauce.  Each of the five servings was 256 calories, not including the rice, but it would be more if we made more sauce, which I plan on doing next time.  In fact, I will just post the doubled sauce recipe here, so I won't even try to make it the other way :).  Here's what to do:

Marinade:
1 T soy sauce
1 T mirin
2 t cornstarch

1 lb flank steak, sliced thinly against the grain

Sauce:
1/4 c soy sauce
4 t hoisin sauce
4 t chili paste
4 t mirin
2 t oyster sauce
2 t sesame oil
1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes

1 T oil
2 leeks, white part only sliced thinly
1 t minced fresh ginger
1 scallion, chopped

Marinate the beef in the marinade for about 10 minutes.
Mix the sauce ingredients together, then set aside.
Heat the oil in your pan, then add in the beef to stir fry for a few minutes.  Add the leeks, and ginger and stir fry for another few minutes.  Add the sauce, and stir, cooking until the beef is cooked to desired doneness.  Garnish with scallions and serve.

Chinese Take Out's Barbecue Pork

So although this recipe called for pork belly, which I didn't have but would've been amazing, this still received a 9 from us because it was really delicious.  We found the recipe in The Chinese Take Out cookbook, and each serving was 235.  Here's what to do:
1 lb pork loin
2 T mirin
2 T soy sauce
1 T sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 t hoisin sauce
1/2 t Chinese five spice powder
2 T honey

Mix together all the ingredients except the honey, and marinate the meat for 2-3 hours.
Preheat the oven to 325.
Remove the pork from the marinade, brush 1 T of the honey on the pork, then bake for about 25 minutes.  Turn the pork over, brush with another 1 T of the honey, and then roast for another 20 minutes, or until pork is done.  Slice and serve.

Chinese Take-Out's Cashew Chicken

This was such a tasty dinner, and like all the recipes in Chinese Take Out, super easy, taking only about 30 minutes to complete.  The boys and I gave this a perfect 10, and Aaron gave this a 9 because although he loved the flavor and the cashews, he said he wanted more flavor.  I used chicken thighs in this, and I love how great the flavor is with thighs.  Without rice, each serving is 225 calories, when you divide it into six.

1 T soy sauce
1 T mirin
1 t cornstarch
1 lb chicken thighs, chopped into bite size pieces

2 T soy sauce
1 T mirin
1 T oyster sauce
2 t sesame chili oil

2 T vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, chopped
1/2 jalapeno, chopped
1/2 c salted, roasted cashews

Marinate the chicken in the first three ingredients.  Set the chicken aside for 10-15 minutes.
Whisk together the soy sauce, mirin, oyster sauce and sesame chili oil, and set aside.
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat, then add the oil and swirl.  Add the garlic and stir fry about 20 seconds.  Add in the chicken, cook about 2 minutes, then add in the onions and jalapeno.  Cook for another 1-2 minutes.  Pour in the sauce and stir to coat the chicken.  Allow the sauce to warm and thicken, then add in the cashews and serve.

Chinese Take-Out's Orange Chicken

This was a great recipe!  While I don't love frying, this was really good, and worth the deep fryer time :).  Even with the marinating and the deep frying, this didn't take more than about 30 minutes, so a quick dinner that is also delicious.  Each serving, and we split it into 6, was 542, so high in calories, but since that is including a cup of oil, I don't know how accurate my calculations are.  We all gave this a 9, so winner!  Here's what I did

1 T soy sauce
1 T mirin
2 egg whites

1 lb chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch cubes

1/3 c orange juice
1/4 c chicken stock
1 T cider vinegar
1 1/2 T soy sauce
1 t sesame chili oil
2 T light brown sugar
1 t grated fresh orange peel

Frying oil

1 t oil
1 garlic clove
1 t cornstarch dissolved in 1 T water

1 c cornstarch

Marinate the chicken:  Combine the soy sauce, mirin, and egg whites.  Add the chicken, and stir gently to coat.  Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes.

Prepare the sauce:  Combine the orange juice, chicken stock, cider vinegar, soy sauce, sesame chili oil, brown sugar, and orange zest.  Set aside.

Heat the 1 t oil in a pan and saute the garlic until fragrant, about 1 minutes.  Add the reserved sauce and bring the mixture to a boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and allow the sauce to simmer until it is reduced by 3/4, about 15 minutes.  Stir in the slurry and let the sauce thicken.  Season with salt to taste.

Spread the 1 c of cornstarch on a plate, and cover each chicken chunk with the corn starch, shaking off the excess.  Fry until lightly golden brown, then remove the chicken to a paper towel lined plate.  Add the chicken to the orange sauce and mix until well coated.

We served ours with rice, and we loved it :)

Chinese Take Out's Stir Fried Sesame Chicken

This was a good, simple dish, but I made it a little spicier than I needed to, and Jonah wasn't happy about it :).  Owen gave this a perfect 10, Noah gave it a 9, and Aaron and I gave it an 8. We made this into six servings, and each serving was 225 calories, relatively painless, right? :)

Here's the simple recipe:

1 T sesame chili oil

1 1/2 t soy sauce

1 1/2 t mirin

1 t grated fresh ginger

1 t cornstarch

1 lb chicken breasts, chopped into chunks

1 t toasted white sesame seeds

1/4 c chicken stock

1 T soy sauce

1 T sesame chili oil

1 T honey

1 t white rice vinegar

2 t cornstarch

1 T vegetable oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 c frozen peas

Marinate the chicken:  Stir together the sesame chili oil, soy sauce, mirin, ginger, and cornstarch until the cornstarch is dissolved.  Add the chicken and stir gently to coat.  Let stand at room temperature 15-20 minutes.

Prepare the sauce:  Stir together the chicken stock, soy sauce, sesame chili oil, honey, rice vinegar, and cornstarch until the cornstarch is dissolved.  Set aside.

Heat the oil over high heat, then add the garlic and stir-fry about 30 seconds.  Add the chicken and stir-fry about 2 minutes, then add the frozen peas and cook for 1 minute.  Stir in the sauce and let it simmer for 1-2 minutes to thicken.  Top with the toasted sesame seeds.

Chinese Take Out's Mapo Tofu

So I had this amazing roommate in college whose family was from China, and she made me something that will forever be my favorite Chinese food--Mapo Tofu.  This is so spicy and delicious, and I LOVE having it, and I have tried making it before, but couldn't ever find the correct ingredients.  Well, I ordered the ingredients from amazon.com, and I tried this recipe out, hoping it would match Jen's (my roommate) deliciousness :).  Success was mine!  Or this recipe's, since I followed it almost exactly.

Aaron loves Chinese food, and I like it okay, but I am never in the mood to eat it out, I would rather eat at some other restaurant.  Anyway, I bought this cookbook called The Chinese Takeout Cookbook for Aaron, and it looked promising and received great reviews, so we bought it and have loved everything we have tried in it.  This dish was exactly what I hoped for, it tasted just like at a restaurant, it was 322 calories a serving, and so here's the recipe:

1 T fermented black beans

1 c chicken stock

2 1/2 T chili bean paste

1 T  rice vinegar

2 t soy sauce

2 t sesame chili oil

2 t sugar

1/2 t Sichuan pepper

1 T vegetable oil

1/2 lb ground pork

5 green onions, sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 t minced fresh ginger

1 lb soft tofu, drained and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 T cornstarch, dissolved in 2 T water

1 scallion, for garnish

Rinse the black beans to remove any grit.  Mash the black beans, then combine them with the chicken stock, chili bean paste, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame chili oil, sugar, and pepper.  Set aside.

Heat the oil over high heat, then add the pork and stir fry until crispy.  Add the green onions, garlic, and ginger.

Pour in the sauce and bring the liquid to a boil.  Reduce the heat to simmer.  Gently add the tofu cubes, and then add in the cornstarch slurry and mix until thickened.  Top with the scallion, and serve with steamed rice.

Be careful, this is spicy, but soooo delicious!