Shrimp and Tofu Pad Thai

Hey everyone! I know its been a  like a month since my last post and I apologize it has been a crazy few weeks! First of all I had finals and then graduated!! Then about a week after I graduated by Brother-in-law got married and I helped my mother-in-law put that on. Then a week after that we went to Hawaii!! We got home about a week ago and I have been settling in to my new life :) It has been tons of fun! I am back now and back to a schedule and back to the blogging! 

Ok so at the end of June for one of my classes I had to throw a international dinner party. I went all out using my best china I got for my wedding a few years ago and decorated the tables and my awesome friend Lindsey took so beautiful photography for me! She did an amazing job, I was grateful to have her there because I had no time to take pictures with all the cooking an I wouldn't have even thought to do it! 

Over the next few days and weeks I will be sharing all six dishes and the drink I made. All Thai food so I hope you love Thai food because I do!! The first dish I want to share with you is Shrimp and Tofu Pad Thai. One of the best things about Pad Thai is how adaptable it is. You can change your meat, take out the tofu, or go meatless. It is all up to you!

P.S. for all of you that live in remote, tiny parts of the country and think you can't get these ingredients think about this: I live in Idaho and bought everything I needed at WinCo Foods!! If I can get it, so can you and sometimes you just have to make a substitution (easy pesy).  

Shrimp and Tofu Pad Thai

Recipe adapted from RasaMalaysia.com

Serves 4-6 people

Ingredients:

 Pad Thai Sauce:

4 tablespoons store-bought Pad Thai paste

2 teaspoons tamarind paste/concentrate ( I couldn't find this, so because Tamarind is a sweet and tangy flavor I used half brown sugar ad half lime juice There was still something missing, but I did the best I could)

3 tablespoons fish sauce

3 teaspoons sugar

2/3 cup water

1-2 teaspoons chili powder

Other Ingredients:

8 oz packaged Pad Thai noodles

3 tablespoons cooking oil

2 eggs

1 lb. peeled and deveined raw shrimp

1 tablespoon minced garlic

A small bunch of chives (cut lengths)

1 cup bean sprouts

1 lime, cut into 8 wedges

1/2 cup coarsely chopped unsalted roasted peanuts

2 blocks pan-fried Tofu

Method:

Soak the rice noodles in hot water for about 15 minutes or until they soften. Drain and set aside.

Combine the ingredients for the Pad Thai sauce in a bowl.

Heat up a wok and add oil. When the oil is very hot, add the minced garlic and do a few quick stirs. Add shrimp into the wok and stir until half cooked and then add the fried tofu pieces, noodles and Pad Thai sauce into the wok and stir continuously. Push the noodles to one side and crack the eggs into the wok, break it up by stirring and wait for 10-15 seconds, and then stir in the noodles. Add bean sprouts and chives into the wok, stir for 1 minute, dish out, sprinkle some peanuts on top and serve with a wedge (or two wedges) of lime. 

                                                                     Done!!

Here are more pictures of the final product! One of the greatest things about thai food is that they have (for the most part) very simple and quick cooking methods. Of course this is a trade off for having lots of different ingredients which gives Thai food its flavors. Thai food is known for having many flavors being brought together and harnessed in a beautiful way and maybe thats why I love it so much!  

                                                                Happy Eating!!!

Panda Express Orange Chicken Copy Cat Recipe

As I promised here is my recipe for Panda Express Orange chicken!! I have been dying to post this recipe and have finally perfected it I think!! I hope you all love it and try it. This recipe took me about 45 minutes from start to finish!! Not quite 30 minutes, sorry, but I do have some some quick 30 minute recipes coming up this week! By the way my husband LOVES  this recipe, he said it was better than Panda, I'm not quite sure about that (I am a HUGE Panda fan), but I'll let you decide!

Copy Cat Panda Express Orange Chicken

Ingredients:

  

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken, chopped into bite sized pieces
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
pepper
oil (for frying)
1/2 cup cornstarch, plus
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tablespoon ground ginger (or fresh; ground is sometimes easier to find)
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (I use the dried flakes; more or less depending on how spicy you want it)
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1 tablespoon rice vinegar

Slurry

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Orange Sauce:

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons of brown sugar
5 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon orange juice concentrate

1 tablespoon Orange zest (optional) plus some for garnish  

Directions:

1. Place chicken pieces in large bowl. Then (in a separate bowl) stir in egg, salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon oil and mix well.

2. In a separate bowl mix cornstarch and flour together.

3. Stir flour mixture into egg mixture. Then, add chicken pieces, stirring to coat. Stir until all the chicken is coated well. Some pieces will stick together. Pull them apart so that each piece is covered well and not attached to any other pieces of chicken. This will make them easier to fry and better to eat. 

                                                

4. Heat oil for deep frying in a sauce pan so that you have enough oil to cover the chicken completely. I usually use about 4 inches of oil in the pan. Heat the oil to about 375 degrees or until it reacts to chicken when the chicken is put in.

Don’t let the oil smoke, the oil is too hot if the chicken browns on the outside and it isn’t cooked inside. This step take a little trial and error, you have to get a feel for the heat of the oil. You want the inside and the outside of the chicken to cook at the same rate. I recommend trying a piece when you think your oil is hot enough, when the test piece looks cooked take it out and cut it open. This will help you see if the inside and outside are cooking the same. If your oil is too low the chicken will soak up too much oil and will take a REALLY long time to cook. You should get it to the right temperature pretty quick, don’t worry, it isn’t as hard as it sounds. You will pick it up rather easily.

5. Cook small batches of chicken at a time, frying should take about 3 to 4 minutes each or until golden crisp and cooked all the way through. Try not to overcook your chicken, but just do your best! This isn’t a test! P.S. failure is the best way to learn in cooking. Remove chicken from oil with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels; set aside.

                                              

                                             

6. In a separate saucepan combine the ingredients for the orange sauce. Put this pan on the heat and bring to a boil, then remove from the heat. Set aside.

7. In a clean wok and heat 15 seconds over high heat and add 1 tablespoon of oil add garlic and green onions. Stir-fry until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add ginger and crushed red pepper; let cook for a few seconds. Then add the rice vinegar and stir for 3 seconds. P.S. take a whiff at this point! It smells amazing and SUPER strong!

                                             

                                             

8. Add Orange Sauce and bring back to a boil. Then, add the cooked chicken, stirring until well mixed.

9. In a small bowl stir water into 1 tablespoon cornstarch until smooth and then add to chicken mixture. Stir continuously until sauce thickens. Stir orange zest if desired.

                                             

                                           

                                            

                                           

TADA!!! I hope you enjoy this! It is SO yummy!!! Make it and let me know how it went! I would love to hear about some of your experiences with this dish!

Happy Eating!!

Panda Express on a Dime!!

Do you love Panda Express as much as the rest of us?!? Do you crave it, but can't afford to go out to Panda Express EVERY night?!

                                     

Well why don't you try out my version of Panda Express Orange Chicken?! 

This picture was taken with my iPhone and has NO ALTERATIONS! Yup its just looks that good, and let me tell it was even prettier in person and tasted twice as good as it looks!!!!



My recipe coming this Wednesday night!! Watch for it!!!

Update: This recipe has been posted!! Check it out here

Culinary Skills

How to Peel a Tomato

 The first Culinary Skill I want to teach it really simple, but I didn't realize how many people don't know how to do this! I want to make your life easier! Usually this is because you really haven't had the need for a peeled tomato, but you should! If you grow your own tomatoes it can be super cheap and easy to whip up a delicious pasta sauce or you can can them so you can have fresh tomatoes all year round. Both of these recipes plus others call for peeled tomatoes.

Have you ever thought to yourself "there is no way I am peeling a tomato! That's impossible! Skipping that part". Because I totally have! Then, when I started in the Culinary program I learned this and it has changed my life!!

Step 1: Start by putting some water on the stove to boil. Next, get a bowl of ice water ready. Make it large enough to fit all your tomatoes in at once. Wash the tomatoes. Then take them, one by one, and using a knife cut a shallow x in the bottom of the tomato. Like so...

Step 2: Once your water is boiling and you have slashed all of the bottoms of the tomatoes, place all the tomatoes into your pan of water. Let the tomatoes sit in the water for about 30 seconds. 

                                             

Step 3: Spoon out your tomatoes and place directly in the bowl of ice water (also called an ice bath). Let the tomatoes sit in the water until they have cooled. You can pull one out before it has cooled completely to test. Sometimes the tomatoes need to boil longer. 

To test: pull out one tomato out of the ice bath and try to peel the skin off with your fingers. If the skin does not immediately start to peel place that tomato back in the boiling water and try another. If the second does not peel, put all the tomatoes back into the pot of boiling water. If, however it does peel off, put in back in the ice bath and let cool. 

Step 4: Once you have tested your tomatoes and they have peeled properly and they have cooled completely you can pour out the ice bath. Take each tomato one by one and peel off the skin. They should peel off really easily and look something like this....

                              

Finish peeling and you are done! Congrats you have successfully peeled a tomato!! Questions? Comment on this post and I will be happy to answer!

Happy Eating!!