Chicken and Zucchini Stir-Fry

When I do cut up a whole chicken for purposes of cooking adobo or BBQ, etc., I end up with the chicken back, which is mostly bones and very little meat. Sometimes I boil the whole thing for stock (and later on get the meat for arroz caldo or mami), but sometimes I patiently try to cut the meat off the bones for use in stir-fries.

Since this is a season to get fresh zucchini (and summer squash) from the grocery stores, it is a good time to stir-fry them together.

Ingredients:
1/4 to 1/2 cup of bite-sized chicken meat, marinated with soy sauce (enough to coat) for 30 minutes
1 small zucchini
1 small summer squash
2 tbsp oil
2 stalks celery
1 small onion
red and yellow bell peppers (I used a handful, diced)
1 cup cold chicken broth, mixed with 1 tbsp cornstarch (have extra mix of 1/4 cup broth with 1 tbsp cornstarch just in case you still need to thicken)
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Slice all veggies as shown on photo.
Heat wok or skillet on medium, add oil and let heat up. Stir fry onion and celery until translucent, add the chicken and cook until chicken is browned. Add zucchini and summer squash, and the bell peppers and stir-fry about 1 minute. Stir in chicken broth/cornstarch mixture and cook until thick (or you may have to add some more broth/cornstarch mixture). Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Summer Squash Zucchini Stir-Fry

I have been having cravings for veggies lately because I feel heavier...I need to cut down on fats and meat, and instead stuff myself up with more fiber and vitamins.

If I were in the Philippines and someone asked me what this was, I would have answered, "ginisang gulay" or "lutong bahala na," but I am posting it anyway in my blog, with a more appropriate name. Actually, both summer squash and zucchini are categorzed into "summer squash," in contrast with winter squash, where butternut squash (and other hardy varieties) would fall into, the kinds that keep good in the pantry. This is so easy and good, even my kids love it. I just got about an ounce of meat thinly sliced off a frozen steak which I later on cooked as bistek tagalog (which reminds me, I have not posted a recipe here for bistek!).

Ingredients
2 tbsp butter
1-2 oz thinly sliced beef (or whatever meat or seafood; added for flavor) - optional
1 stalk celery, cut in half longitudinally then cut into small cubes
1/2 each of red and green bell peppers (I used frozen ones), diced
1 zucchini, cut in wedges
1 summer squash, cut in wedges (the longitudinal one like zucchini, but you may want to use the sunburst?-like type)
3 tbsp Kikkoman stir-fry sauce (or to taste)
dash of pepper

Instructions
Heat wok on medium for about 5 minutes. Add butter until clarified. Stir-fry beef for 1 minute. Add celery and bell peppers and stir-fry for about 1 minute. Add the summer squash and zucchini. Stir fry for bout 2-3 minutes. Add stir-fry sauce and stir. Season with pepper.

Serve on plain rice.

No-Meat (Filipino) Chop Suey

Well, just to clarify things...I do sometimes use meat in chop suey. Also, I included the word "Filipino" in this post's title because there is such a thing as American Chop Suey, and I wanted to make the distinction that this chop suey is not American.

[At this point in time, my dough for hopia is chillin' in the fridge. I am hoping it will turn out successful. I made the yellow mung bean filling last night. And I still have some ube haleya in the fridge. While waiting, I am posting this humble entry that probably few, or none, will care to read about, but I am posting it anyway.]

I do not really know the origins of this dish. Some say it is Chinese; others say it is truly of Filipino origins. I also do not know if there is an authentic way to cook this. But this is how I typically cook mine, as I like my veggies crispy and half-cooked. This penchant for crispy veggies is shared by my boys (but hubby likes his overcooked, which is unpalatable to me); however, my boys do not like half-cooked veggies, so I had to cook them just enough so they still retain their crispiness, yet my boys would still find good. I have found out long ago (during my late teen years when I started cooking at home) that stir-frying veggies in some oil before adding broth with some cornstarch to coat the veggies good as the sauce thickens, makes this possible. As my Manong said during the first time I cooked my chop suey at home back in Pinas, "Parang lutong restaurant, ah!"

My ingredients vary a lot, depending on the availability of protein source, and veggies. This particular time, I had sayote, which I love in any veggie stir-fry. I also had a can of quail eggs and firm tofu. Instead of the usual chicken or pork (pre-marinated with soy sauce), I thought I would made use of these. And because it was quite inconvenient to add liver paste (I would have to defrost and pinch off a little), I did not bother adding it.

Probably it would be more apt to call this stir-fry veggies. But to me, chop suey is mainly that: a stir-fried mix of different veggies with some protein source. Different cooks have different versions, and even I vary in my own recipe. The only thing that does not really change is my method. As long as I end up with crispy veggies flavored with some meat, I am all set.


Ingredients:
1 pack firm tofu (I forgot to take note of weight, maybe 1/2 lb), cubed, deep fried in very hot oil and drained
3 tbsp oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 lb large shrimps, shelled
1 can quail eggs, drained
1 carrot, sliced thinly
1 sayote, peeled and sliced thinly
1 small can water chestnut, drained
1 small bag of snap peas (or about 2-3 handfuls)
1/4 head of cabbage, cut in chunks (of course, the leaves will separate)
1/4 cup sherry or Chinese cooking wine
1/2 to 1 cup chicken broth, with 1-2 tbsp cornstarch dissolved (Mix a tsp of liver paste if using)
dash of ground basil
salt and pepper (optional: oyster sauce or soy sauce)
optional: 1 tbsp sesame oil to be added after cooking

Instructions:

[AN IMPORTANT NOTE: To retain the vibrant colors of the veggies, never cover while cooking them. While the crispiness remains as long as you coat the veggies first in oil before added water or broth, the color may fade if you cover.]

After deep frying the tofu, set aside. Pour off the oil and keep 3 tbsp in the wok.
Sautee garlic for 1 minute, add onion and cook 1 minute. Add sliced carrots, cook 1 minute. Add snap beans, water chestnut and sayote, cook another minute (the tougher veggies go in first). Add shrimp and quail eggs, then the broth with cornstarch; stir about 1 minute or until sauce thickens (add some more water or plain broth if it is too thick). Add cabbage and fried tofu and stir to coat with sauce. Season with salt and pepper as needed (or oyster sauce or soy sauce). Add basil. Remove from heat once shrimps are pink/cooked. Optional to add sesame oil at the end, then stir.

Serve on a bed of plain rice.

Stir-fried Cabbage and Green Beans

No hard recipes here. I will just tell you a story of how I gave leftover meat a healthy makeover. 

I went on duty the other night with just a sandwich for "supper" to be eaten during my break. I am not really quite satisfied having something so light for "supper" to sustain me the whole 12-hr shift. So when one of my co-workers asked whether I would like to order Chinese food, I said yes. I ordered a D30 combo meal(chicken teriyaki with something ground beef dish,and fried rice, although when I made the order I thought I had veggies there). While the beef tasted good, I was quite overwhelmed with the amount of sauce that I even drained some off it. Imagine, I was using a fork to eat, yet I was still overwhelmed with the sauce. I could aptly call it brown sauce with ground beef.

Anyway, typical of ordered Chinese food, I had enough to feed me for at least two meals. So I brought home my leftovers. I had one skewer of chicken teriyaki left, which I combined with leftover chicken adobo and used for fried rice (ssee my previous post). My leftover ground beef was probably about 1/2 cup, still quite sauce-y. I have always like cooking stir-fried veggies with the sauce of some meaty dishes like adobo and the likes. So, I cooked this meager amount of beef with some frozen green beans and fresh cabbage, and ate that with chicken adobo fried rice. That was my supper the next night I went on duty. I loved it!

So if you are like me who orders Chinese food from time to time, here's some leftover ideas to toy with.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup ground beef with brown sauce (don't know what it was really called)
2 tbsp oil
1 medium onion, sliced
handful of green beans
1/4 of a whole cabbage, sliced
1/4 cup sherry
cornstarch-water mix for thickening
additional water as needed
salt and pepper to taste,
sprinkle of ground basil

Instructions:
Sautee onions until translucent. Add the green beans and cook for about 2-3 minutes (depending on how crisp you want it to be). Add cabbage and stir-fry about a minute, add the sherry and let sizzle. Add the leftover beef and sauce. Add some more water as needed for the amount of sauce you want (My green beans were frozen, my harvest from past summer gardening, so they rendered some juice). Adjust taste with salt and pepper. Gradually pour cornstarch-water mixture until the desired consistency is achieved. Sprinkle ground basil and serve hot.

(Thickening the sauce makes it cling more onto the veggies.)

Sauteed Pork with Veggies

This one is easy to make, especially when you have Filipina friends to do all the chopping.

From sauteed pork with veggies

We had a get-together last Saturday, when I brought lechon paksiw. We needed veggies and I had most ingredients on hand. But the way we Filipinos cook, we usually have protein-rich ingredient with veggies, and that means bits of either pork, chicken, beef, or shrimp. I brought the veggies, and told the hostess she needed to provide the meat. No problem! So chop they did, and I started cooking.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp oil
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 medium onion, sliced
1 lb pork, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 carrot, cut into chunks
1 small upo, cut into chunks (similar to zucchini, only tougher and more solid)
3 tomatoes, sliced
handful of green beans
half cabbage, cut into chunks
salt and pepper to taste
ground dried basil leaves

Instructions:

Sautee garlic and onion in 2 tbsp oil until translucent. Add pork and stir-fry until browned. Add tomatoes until caramelized. Sprinkle some salt and pepper. Add carrots and upo and cook for about 2 minutes then add green beans and cook for another 2 minutes. Finally add the cabbage. Sprinkle with some basil leaves. Enjoy while hot.

Note: Never cover stir-fried veggies (I was told by a friend/classmate from Medicine class). This tend (I observed it as well) to lessen the lively color of veggies that they appear like they are no longer crunchy, although they still are (if you stir-fry them first such that they get coated with oil before they steam from their own juice).

Asparagus Sautee with Shrimp Paste

My MIL recently had had enough of asparagus from her garden, so she asked me whether I would like to get the rest of them. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity! Who would not want such freshly harvested goodies?!!!

I got a grocery bag full of them, so I immediately washed them with cold water, then I set aside enough to cook for one week to set them aside in the fridge. Since I could not consume all of them and I was pretty sure I would get sick of them after a week, I set aside several to pre-cut and blanch for 3 minutes, pack in storage bags and froze them.

Once way I cook asparagus is like adobong kangkong. I did that last year when I first had my MIL's asparagus giveaway. I have not had kangkong here, but asparagus makes a good substitute for purposes of adobo.

The very first recipe I made out of them this time is stir frying them with shrimp paste. My kids loved them! Though I cooked only about 3 cups of them when sliced as in the photo (probably a bundle if bought in the grocery store), we managed to finish the whole batch! Don't bother to ask how my hubby liked it, though, as he is not a big fan of asparagus. I never saw him eat them.

Ingredients:
asparagus
1 carrot, sliced in disks
2 oz salt pork sliced thinly (optional; I use them for the flavor and the oil derived from the fat; if you do not like to use pork, you may just use 1 tbsp olive oil for greasing the pan. Wok works best (They are cheap at Asian Food Grocer.)
2 cloves of garlic, crushed and sliced thinly
pepper
2 tbsp of shrimp paste (to taste)

Procedure:
If using pork pieces, separate the fat and use it to render oil. If you don't use pork, you may use any oil of preference (e.g., olive oil or peanut oil)

Once fat is rendered, remove excess oil and leave about 1 tbsp.

Sautee garlic. Add the rest of the meat if using, and let it cook for about 2 minutes or until browned.

Add the veggies. Season with pepper and add 2 tbsp (to taste) of shrimp paste. Stir fry for about 2 minutes. You may add 1/4 cup water if you prefer (I like stir-fried veggies better if there is no added water.)

Serve with hot plain rice and enjoy!

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Stir-Fried Top Round Steak with Bell Peppers

This is a recipe from Del Monte Kitchenomics. Instead of beef sirloin, I used top round steak, which I cut into thin strips using a very sharp knife.



For such stir-fried beef recipes, I have come to favor top round steak because I did not like it when cooked the usual way -- pan-seared. I found it too tough and dry. Cooking it as strips requires just a few minutes of cooking time, hence, I can thoroughly cook it (both me and hubby like any meat well-done) and still retain its juiciness.







Ingredients:



1 lb top round steak, cut into thin strips,



Marinated in :

1 1/2 tsp soy sauce,

2/3 tsp iodized salt

2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp tomato ketchup

1 dash of crushed red (cayenne) pepper (optional)

1/4 tsp pepper for 20 minutes. Set aside.





6 cloves garlic, crushed (about 3 tbsp)

1 medium onion, cut into rings

1 tbsp ginger strips

1 can (140 g) Tomato Sauce (I used my canned tomato sauce, about 1 cup)

1/3 cup water

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 large red and green bell peppers, cut into strips

2 stalks green onions, chopped



Instructions:



Saute garlic, onion, ginger and marinated beef strips. Cook for 5 minutes.

Add tomato sauce, water and soy sauce. Simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in bell pepper and let cook until wilted (or don't if you want it crispier) and add green onions. Serve over hot rice.



This recipe has been approved by my husband and kids.