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Szechuan Green Beans with Pork

December 1, 2008 by greg 1 Comment

I think stir fried green beans are my all time favorite dishes and they are so easy to make. This Szechuan inspired dish is not too hard to make. I started by quickly steaming some green beans in a hot pan with a splash of water and a cover just until they turned bright green. That takes only a minute. You don’t want to overcook them. Once flash steamed the beans are quickly cooled in cold water and drained. I like to precook the beans a bit as it makes it easier to stir fry without burning them. Next I took some chopped pork and seasoned it with salt, pepper and Szechuan peppercorn. I added some chopped garlic and ginger to the meat. I heated my wok until it was almost smoking, added some oil and threw in a half teaspoon of red chili in oil. This was the kind of chili that is like red pepper flakes that have been cooked in oil and placed in a jar. The meat was added to the wok and it was fried with constant stirring just until cooked.

The meat was removed from the pan and set aside.

The wok was heated again and the beans were tossed in. The beans were seasoned with just a dash of salt and pepper. They were stir fried for 3-4 minutes until they started to get browned on the sides. I like to add my ginger and garlic near the end so it doesn’t burn. So, once the beans were almost ready I tossed in more garlic and ginger. This was stirred for just a few moments and the meat was added back into the pan. A teaspoon of garlic chili paste and a splash of soy sauce. That’s it! Serve hot over rice.

Filed Under: Chinese, Szechuan Tagged With: green beans, pork, stir fry

Sunday Chicken

August 11, 2008 by greg 7 Comments

I’ve been traveling quite a bit lately. I plan to share with you all food from my camping trip through Yellowstone and the Black Hills but I am still trying to organize all my photos. Stay tuned for that. But I did want to update my blog to let you all know I am still here and still cooking. Let me share with you last night’s chicken dinner.

Simply roasted chicken is just such a delight for a hearty fulfilling Sunday meal. This chicken was stuffed with fresh sage, thyme and winter savory. It was brushed with butter and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Underneath is a bed of potatoes and onions seasoned with the same herbs. I like to roast my chicken at a high heat at first. First, the chicken was placed breast down and roasted for 20 minutes at 500 °F. It was flipped over and roasted for another 15 minutes at that high temperature then I turned the oven down to about 375 to finish roasting. I cook it just until the thickest part of the thigh hits 160 °F. Then I take it out, cover it with foil and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting. This allows the juices to set back in the meat and it will finish cooking.

I just found some new plates at TJ Max that I thought were perfect for serving this Sunday chicken on. They were only $4. Quite a deal if you ask me. The interesting white plate was on clearance for $5. I love the four individual serving wells on this one.

Actually this plate inspired me to prepare four salads to go along with the meal. One was super easy. I simply sliced up some fresh kohlrabi from the garden. Nothing else was added to that one. I love the fresh crunch of kohlrabi. I’m a big fan of broccoli stalks and I think this vegetable tastes just like it.

I had some roasted beets in the fridge from a few days ago so I made a beet salad with a pinch of brown sugar, rice vinegar and walnuts. Sweet and salty complimented the beets well.

I also had some fresh green beans in the garden. I quickly flash steamed them just for a minute to set the color but at the same time they were still crunchy. After chilling in ice water and drying they were mixed with slivered garlic, fresh oregano, dijon mustard, rice vinegar and salt and pepper.

What to do with zucchini? I made very thin shaved slices and wilted them by salting the zucchini and letting them drain. After rinsing and drying they were mixed with fresh basil, fresh tomato, fresh chopped garlic and olive oil. Refreshing and delicious. I really like the texture of the zucchini in this. The wilting gives it a slight ‘cooked’ texture and softens it but it still retains a lot of the flavor, only enhanced, of the raw zucchini.

Nothing fancy here in terms of plating. I cut off the wings, breast and leg quarters and just slapped them on a plate.

The potatoes and onions were flavored by all the chicken drippings. The flavor was unbelievable.

Filed Under: chicken Tagged With: beets, green bean salad, green beans, roasted beet salad, roasted chicken, zucchini, zucchini salad

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