Orange Chicken

So, Panda Express. You clearly have NOTHING on this!
This is so good, good. Good. :3c

Orange Chicken (adapted from Blogchef.net) serves 6

Chicken

• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1-1/2” cubes
• 1 ½ cups flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• Oil (for frying)

Orange Sauce

• 1 ½ cups water
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 2 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon orange zest, grated
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon ginger root, minced
• ½ teaspoon garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons green onion, chopped
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water

Combine flour, salt, and pepper.  Prepare a bowl with beaten eggs. Dip chicken in egg mixture, and dredge in the flour.  Heat pan with vegetable oil to 375 degrees, fry chicken in batches until completely cooked.

In a large saucepan combine 1 ½ cups water, orange juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. Blend well over medium heat for a few minutes. Stir in brown sugar, orange zest, ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil.

Combine 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and mix thoroughly. Slowly stir cornstarch mixture into sauce until it thickens. Pour sauce over breaded chicken, and if desired garnish with green onions.

Cream Rolls.

So, my mom's friend requested cream rolls.
They're good. c:

Shells brushed with an egg wash, ready to go into the oven.

Afghan Mantu and other stuffs.

We had a few friends over today, and made great food! Here are just a few things.

Afghan dumplings, "Mantu"
Filled with ground beef and spices, topped with a hearty lentil sauce, sour cream, and mint.

 Some hamburgers. c:

There was a lot more, but my camera's battery died. :D

Red Velvet Cupcakes

My friend's birthday was today, so I whipped up some red velvet cupcakes for him! c: Head over to
cocinamarie's blog for the recipe ~

Cardamom Kissed Macarons.

I've made macarons from time to time, trying to perfect these delicate French yummies. But..There's always that time where there is something wrong. I've had trouble with air pockets. Everytime.

I would adjust the oven temperature from 275 degress, to 320 degrees. No luck..

These babies are kissed with freshly grounded cardamom. They taste amazing. AND filled with vanilla cream cheese frosting? You can't pass this up.. The recipe is from Cakejournal. I just added about 1/2 teaspoon of the cardamom powder. It's pretty strong. 













But I won't stop until I get it right ! No matter how much this air pocket taunts me..

 

Chocolate Cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting.

These are cupcakes for a birthday party. Double dose of chocolate!

Perfectly Chocolate Cupcakes

(makes 24-27 standard sized cupcakes) recipe from Glorious Treats

2 cups sugar

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (best quality available)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract (best quality available)

1 cup boiling water

Directions-

Line muffin tin with paper liners.  Heat oven to 350*F.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla.  Beat on medium speed for one minute.

Stir in boiling water (the batter will be thin, don't worry, this is right).

Fill liners 2/3 full with batter.  (I usually put the batter into a large measuring cup with a pour spout, and then pour the batter into the liners.)

Bake cupcakes for aproximately 22-24 minutes.

Cool completely on wire rack before frosting.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting  from The Church Cook

Recipe adapted from Cook's Country. Com

4 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar (7 oz)

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch of table salt

1 pound unsalted butter (16 0z)

8 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted

1. Combine eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt in bowl of standing mixer; place bowl over pan of simmering water. Whisking gently and constantly. Heat mixture until thin and foamy and registers 160 degrees F. on instant-read thermometer.

2. beat egg mixture on medium-high speed with whisk attachment until light and airy. Cooled to room temperature, then add slightly softened butter, one piece at a time.

3. Finish adding the butter until smooth. Increase speed to high and beat 1 minutes until light and fluffy.

4. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Take off the heat and let sit for 1-2 minutes before stirring into butter mixture.

Frosting can be covered and refrigerated up to 5 days. Bring to room temperature and quickly whisk in a standing mixer before frosting.

Stir Fried Tofu

I get weird looks when I tell my friends I'm making tofu for dinner.

They have no idea how yummy and delicious it is ! It just depends on how you really prepare this lovely soft white block of goodness. Yeah? Yeah..

Stir Fried Tofu adapted from torviewtoronto.

2 tbsp oil

1 pkt (about 400g) tofu cut into 1" cubes

4 to 6 green onions chopped

1/2 tsp grated garlic
1/2 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp peppercorns

1 tsp sugar ( I used Turbinado ) 

1/2 tsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce 

Using a mortar and pestle grind the peppercorns and sugar, keep aside.

Heat oil fry the tofu until all sides are golden. Add the green onion, ginger and garlic and toss it with the tofu. Then add the pepper, sugar, oyster sauce, and soy sauce. Coat the tofu and serve hot. This can be eaten on its own, as a side, mixed with rice or noodles or used as a filling for savories like spring rolls.