Kenny's Orange Chicken

If you like the Orange Chicken that is served at Panda Express restaurants, you are bound to like this recipe.  When I was given this recipe, I was told that it made much more sauce than what was needed for the amount of chicken called for.  Therefore, I doubled the amount of chicken when I prepared it and my recipe below reflects those amounts.  I was assured it was very good, so leftovers were not going to be a problem.

My nephew, Kenny, has taken up cooking and this recipe came from him.  I told him that if we thought it was really good, I would add it to my blog.  We loved it, giving it straight 9's on the Melnarik rating scale!  His sister and her husband call this savory chicken Crazy Uncle Kenny's Orange Chicken, and told me I was free to call it that here, but I don't think he's crazy and he's not yet an uncle, so I'm just calling it Kenny's Orange Chicken (sorry Jessica and Arland!). Thank you, Kenny, for sharing this recipe with me!

To begin, I began heating about 1-inch of vegetable oil in my largest skillet to 375°F.  Then, I beat the eggs in a bowl using a fork and mixed the flour and salt and pepper in a shallow dish.  I started with 1 cup of the flour to which I added 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.  When I was about half way through dredging the chicken pieces, I added the other cup of flour with the same amount of seasonings.

I then began cutting the chicken into 3/4- to 1-inch cubes.

As I cut about a handful of chicken cubes, I dipped them in the egg,

then I dredged them in the flour mixture.  

I would only add enough chicken to almost cover the bottom of the frying pan.  This allowed them to cook evenly and gave me a bit of room to turn them as needed so they were golden brown on all sides.

  

As each batch was finished, I would drain it on paper towels for a few minutes, then place in in a large bowl and set it aside.

During the time I was cooking the chicken, I was making the sauce.  To begin, I combined 1 1/2 cups of the water with the orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce.  Hint:  Before juicing the orange, wash the rind and zest it (remove very thin strips from the outer part of the skin) and set aside for later use.  I stirred the ingredients together and began cooking the sauce over medium heat for 4 minutes.

To this mixture, I added the orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and green onions, stirring to combine.  I increased the heat to high and brought the sauce to a boil.

Once boiling, I reduced the heat to medium and stirred in the Mirin Sweet Cooking Sake and red pepper flakes.  In a separate bowl, I whisked together the cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and slowly added it to the sauce while continuously stirring.  I continued cooking and stirring the sauce for a couple of minutes until it was nicely thickened.

I added the sauce to the cooked chicken I had set aside in the bowl and tossed to coat all the pieces of chicken.

I served this delectable chicken with some with rice and stir fry vegetables.  It did take a bit of time to put this dish together, because of the amount, but it was so worth the time!  If you like Asian flavors, this dish is for you!  Enjoy!

Kenny’s Orange Chicken

2 packages (16 oz. each) boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 extra large or 3 small eggs, beaten

2 cups flour

salt and pepper to taste

Oil for frying

1 ¾ cups water, divided

1 tablespoon orange zest

juice of 1 large orange

¼ cup lemon juice

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon garlic, minced

2 tablespoons finely chopped green onions

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons Mirin Sweet Cooking Sake

3 tablespoons cornstarch

Heat oil in large frying pan or Dutch oven to 375°F.  Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes.  In a shallow dish, combine flour, salt, and pepper for breading.  In small batches, coat chicken pieces in egg, then dredge in flour mixture.  Fry chicken in batches, turning as necessary, until golden brown and fully cooked.  Drain on paper towels and set aside in a large bowl.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine 1 ½ cups water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce, stirring to combine.  Cook over medium heat for 4 minutes.  To the sauce, add orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and green onions, stirring to combine.  Increase heat to high and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and stir in Mirin and red pepper; continue cooking.  In a cup, combine cornstarch with remaining ¼ cup water; mix well.  While stirring the sauce, slowly add cornstarch mixture; continue stirring until thickened.  Pour sauce over chicken and toss to coat; serve with rice.

Teriyaki Finger Steaks

It had been a while since I had made this tasty and tender dish, and with it being hot outside, I thought now was the perfect time to make these easy Asian-flavored steaks.

I tore this recipe out of a Country magazine way back in 1998 and they have received all 9's on the Melnarik rating scale every time I have made them!

I began by trimming any excess fat from the steaks and cutting them into 3/4-inch wide strips.

I then placed them in a gallon size zip lock bag.

In a 2-cup measuring cup (I find it easier to pour into the bag this way) I combined the soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, dried minced onion, vegetable oil, garlic, ground ginger and pepper; whisking to combine.

I poured this marinade over the beef and closed the bag.

Using my hands, I manipulated the beef strips in the marinade until I could see that all of them had been covered in the liquid.  I then placed the bag in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

About 10 minutes before I was ready to grill, I removed the strips from the refrigerator and loosely threaded them on metal skewers, and discarded the marinade.  If you are going to use bamboo skewers, soak them in water while the beef is in the refrigerator to prevent them from burning on the grill.

 

I then grilled them on a table-top gas grill over medium-hot heat, turning once, for about 10 minutes.

I put all of the skewers on a platter to be served family style, but the meat can be removed from the skewers before serving.  I served them with some white rice and a Crunchy Asian Salad (see post below), which was the perfect accompaniment to these tender steaks.  I've also served this dish as an appetizer at a party where all of the food was grilled.  Enjoy!

Teriyaki Finger Steaks

2 pounds boneless sirloin steak

½ cup soy sauce

¼ cup vinegar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons minced onion

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 garlic clove, minced

½ teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Tim fat from steak and slice length-wise into 3/4-inch strips; place in a zip lock plastic bag. Combine all remaining ingredients; pour over meat, seal bag and manipulate meat so every piece is covered in the marinade.  Refrigerate for 2 – 3 hours.  Drain, discarding the marinade.  Loosely thread meat strips onto skewers.  Grill over medium-hot heat, turning often, for 7 – 10 minutes or until meat reaches desired doneness.

Crunchy Asian Salad

I was grilling some Teriyaki Finger Steaks (see post above) and wanted an Asian-flavored side dish to accompany them.  I went to Pinterest to see if there was a salad I'd like to try and discovered this tasty sounding salad.  I will tell you that not all recipes I find on Pinterest are good, but this one was certainly "blog worthy!"

This salad is easy to prepare and assemble, plus it's crunch is somehow satisfying!  Although I found the recipe through Pinterest, it originated at kraftrecipies.com.  This Asian salad got one 8 and three 9's on the Melnarik rating scale!

As I didn't want the almonds to be added to the salad warm, I decided the first step would be to toast them.  I put them in a small, dry saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally at first.  I had to keep my eye on them, because once they burn, they have to be discarded.

When I began to really smell the almonds (toasting them really brings out the almond aroma) I began stirring constantly until I was satisfied with the amount of toasting.  If you compare the two pictures above, you can see that they have become more opaque and some have actually browned.  This is the perfect blend.  I removed them from the heat and spread them out on a paper towel to cool.

In a small bowl, I combined 1/4 cup vinegar, 3 tablespoons water and the salad dressing mix as directed  on the envelope of the Good Seasons Italian salad dressing mix.

To that, I added the sugar and soy sauce, mixing well.

In a large bowl, I placed the coleslaw mix and added the toasted almonds, the sunflower seeds and green onions.  Using salad tongs, I tossed these ingredients to combine them.  At this point, the majority of the nuts ended up on the bottom of the bowl, but I knew they would be distributed evenly once I added the dressing.

Next, I discarded the seasoning packets from the ramen noodle packages and broke up the noodles.  Then I added them to the cole slaw mix, tossing to combine.

Before adding the dressing, I gave it another quick whisk, as some of the ingredients had separated a bit, and tossed it into the salad.

This was the perfect side dish for my Teriyaki Finger Steaks, but would make a great dish to take to a potluck meal.  My son took leftovers to work the next day and said it was still crunchy!  Also, the ingredients can be prepared the day before and tossed the day you serve it to save you time!  Enjoy!

Crunchy Asian Salad

1 envelope (.7 oz.) Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix

½ cup sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 packages (3 oz. each) ramen noodle soup mix

1 package (16 oz.) coleslaw blend (cabbage slaw mix)

4 green onions, sliced

½ cup dry roasted or unsalted sunflower kernels

½ cup sliced almonds

Place almonds in a small saucepan and toast over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until almonds are lightly browned and the almond aroma is more pronounced.

In a small bowl, prepare dressing mix according to package directions.  Stir in sugar and soy sauce.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, place coleslaw mix, onions, sunflower kernels, and almonds.  Discard seasoning packets from ramen noodle packages and break up noodles; add to coleslaw mix.  Add dressing; toss to coat.

How to make ahead:

Prepare dressing; refrigerate up to 24 hours before using.  Noodles can be broken and placed in a zip lock bag with the sunflower kernels and almonds and stored at room temperature.  Everything is ready to toss together!