Chicken and Apple Dumplings

Ever gone apple-picking on a 90-degree day? Last weekend probably had the last of such summery temperatures until next June. But instead of lounging on the beach, I was at the apple orchard helping to pick about 30 pounds of crisp, earlyish-in-the-season apples. Signs of fall weren't completely missing: on the drive up the Hudson from New York, I spotted abut one in 30 trees with a vibrant red or orange hue.

The cool weather on the radar for this week (and my insatiable craving for appley desserts) is probably a good sign that it had been the perfect time to go apple-picking.

What does one end up doing with 30 pounds of apples? Apple bread, apple fritters, and apple cookies were all cranked out this weekend. In lieu of apple pie, we attempted apple pandowdy (which, I was reminded, is in the lyrics of an oldies hit.) For something savory, I decided to try apple dumplings.

Chicken, with a more subtle flavor than pork, seemed like a nice pairing for the apple. I added some chopped onions, ground ginger, and apple cider to the mix. They were like the chicken and apple sausages that you can find at grocery stores, except in dumpling form that you can dip into soy sauce. If you can't find pre-ground chicken, you can also try ground turkey, or (if you own a KitchenAid Mixer with a sausage attachment) make ground chicken with chicken breast meat.

For a refresher on wrapping dumplings, see my Dumpling Wrapping Photo Guide.

With 50 dumplings, I thought that most would end up frozen for a rainy day (as in, at least a week later.) By the following evening, more than half were gone.

Most of the apples, however, remain. About 25 pounds' worth. Anyone have other suggestions for dishes, savory or sweet?

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Chicken and Apple Dumplings

Makes 50

1 pound ground chicken (or substitute ground turkey)
1 or 2 medium-sized apples (any variety), finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon apple juice or cider
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 package wonton wrappers (about 50 per package)
Flour for dusting

1. Mix together the chicken, apple, onion, apple juice/cider, ginger, salt, and pepper.

2. Unwrap dumpling wrappers and keep them covered in plastic or under a damp towel. Lightly dust your work surface with flour and keep some extra flour within hand's reach.?

3. Follow steps 1 through 5 in my Dumpling Wrapping Photo Guide.

4. To pan-fry, follow steps 6 and 7 in my Dumpling Wrapping Photo Guide. To boil the dumplings instead, bring a pot of water to boil. Add dumplings and simmer until they float to the top, about 3 minutes (this method of assuring doneness works if your dumplings have no air pockets; otherwise, they float to the top immediately.) Drain well.

5. Transfer to serving plates, and serve with soy sauce.

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Similar recipes to try:

Pea and Shiitake Dumplings

Wonton Noodle Soup, Hong Kong-Style

Pork and Cabbage Dumplings

Scallion Pancakes

Taro and Pumpkin Tofu Puffs

Chicken Lollipops

Barley-Stuffed Tomatoes

View the original article here

Chicken and Apple Dumplings

Ever gone apple-picking on a 90-degree day? Last weekend probably had the last of such summery temperatures until next June. But instead of lounging on the beach, I was at the apple orchard helping to pick about 30 pounds of crisp, earlyish-in-the-season apples. Signs of fall weren't completely missing: on the drive up the Hudson from New York, I spotted abut one in 30 trees with a vibrant red or orange hue.

The cool weather on the radar for this week (and my insatiable craving for appley desserts) is probably a good sign that it had been the perfect time to go apple-picking.

What does one end up doing with 30 pounds of apples? Apple bread, apple fritters, and apple cookies were all cranked out this weekend. In lieu of apple pie, we attempted apple pandowdy (which, I was reminded, is in the lyrics of an oldies hit.) For something savory, I decided to try apple dumplings.

Chicken, with a more subtle flavor than pork, seemed like a nice pairing for the apple. I added some chopped onions, ground ginger, and apple cider to the mix. They were like the chicken and apple sausages that you can find at grocery stores, except in dumpling form that you can dip into soy sauce. If you can't find pre-ground chicken, you can also try ground turkey, or (if you own a KitchenAid Mixer with a sausage attachment) make ground chicken with chicken breast meat.

For a refresher on wrapping dumplings, see my Dumpling Wrapping Photo Guide.

With 50 dumplings, I thought that most would end up frozen for a rainy day (as in, at least a week later.) By the following evening, more than half were gone.

Most of the apples, however, remain. About 25 pounds' worth. Anyone have other suggestions for dishes, savory or sweet?

____________________________

Chicken and Apple Dumplings

Makes 50

1 pound ground chicken (or substitute ground turkey)
1 or 2 medium-sized apples (any variety), finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon apple juice or cider
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 package wonton wrappers (about 50 per package)
Flour for dusting

1. Mix together the chicken, apple, onion, apple juice/cider, ginger, salt, and pepper.

2. Unwrap dumpling wrappers and keep them covered in plastic or under a damp towel. Lightly dust your work surface with flour and keep some extra flour within hand's reach.?

3. Follow steps 1 through 5 in my Dumpling Wrapping Photo Guide.

4. To pan-fry, follow steps 6 and 7 in my Dumpling Wrapping Photo Guide. To boil the dumplings instead, bring a pot of water to boil. Add dumplings and simmer until they float to the top, about 3 minutes (this method of assuring doneness works if your dumplings have no air pockets; otherwise, they float to the top immediately.) Drain well.

5. Transfer to serving plates, and serve with soy sauce.

______________________________

Similar recipes to try:

Pea and Shiitake Dumplings

Wonton Noodle Soup, Hong Kong-Style

Pork and Cabbage Dumplings

Scallion Pancakes

Taro and Pumpkin Tofu Puffs

Chicken Lollipops

Barley-Stuffed Tomatoes

View the original article here

Chinese Lemon Chicken

Most sane people keep a drawer full of delivery menus for the sole purpose of...ordering delivery. I too have a menu drawer, but can count on two hands the number of times I have actually ordered delivery in the past few years.

Call me a bad New Yorker.? I'm pretty good with picking up takeout while out somewhere, but dialing from home is another story. Being so dangerously close to the kitchen, I usually wind up studying the menu for half an hour, choosing an entree, then deciding, screw this, I can make the same dish, except way better.

This hubris usually leads me to spend another couple of hours ransacking my cabinets, schlepping to the grocery store, figuring out a strategy, then executing it. Even if it is already past 9pm and I'm starving. Sure, it would have been easier and about 1 hour and 50 minutes faster to just call the damn Golden Panda Dynasty, but definitely not as satisfying. Or so I tell myself.

I wonder if delivery menu one-upmanship can be classified as a psychological disorder.?

On the bright side, I can now whip up many MSG-free versions of takeout favorites, like General Tso's chicken, sweet and sour pork, and orange sesame chicken. This week was lemon chicken's turn. Sure, lemon chicken also exists as a dish in mainland China, but usually steamed, almost like Hainan chicken, with slices of lemon on top. Which is good in its own respect, but sometimes you just want a crunchy exterior.

So try this lemon chicken recipe and see how it compares. I had started experimenting with an egg and cornstarch batter, but decided that too much egg can lead to soggy chicken right out of the wok. So I went back to dipping the chicken in egg and dredging it in a dry cornstarch mixture. The sauce incorporates a little sautéed garlic and ginger, chicken broth, some lemon juice and zest, and enough sugar to balance out the tartness.?

I had also been experimenting with which results in crunchier chicken: draining fried chicken on paper towels or draining on brown paper, as a commenter recently suggested. The results are so far inconclusive, but brown paper may be edging out. Plus, it's a great use for all those Trader Joe's paper bags, of which I have plenty.

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Chinese Lemon Chicken

Serves 4

2 pounds skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
3 cups peanut or vegetable oil
Lemon slices (optional)
White sesame seeds (optional)

Marinade:
3 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Sauce:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2-inch piece of ginger, minced
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup water

1. Combine the soy sauce and sesame oil. Coat the chicken with the marinade and let sit in the fridge for 30 minutes.

2. In a large bowl or deep plate combine the cornstarch and white pepper. Get excess marinade off the chicken, then toss the cubes in the cornstarch mixture. Shake off excess cornstarch before frying.

3. Heat the 3 cups of oil in your wok. Heat wok until just smoking, then add the first batch of chicken cubes and deep-fry until cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove chicken with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels or brown paper (from a paper bag). Repeat with the rest of the chicken.?

4. Transfer 1 tablespoon of the oil into a medium-sized pot and heat over medium-high. (You save the oil for later use by allowing it to cool, then straining into an aluminum can or other container.)

5. Add the garlic and ginger and cook briefly until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, chicken stock, and sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the cornstarch mixture so the sauce can thicken.

6. Remove from the heat, and toss the fried chicken in the sauce. Garnish with lemon slices and white sesame seeds. Serve with white rice and maybe some broccoli.?

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Other chicken recipes to try:

General Tso's Chicken

Orange Sesame Chicken

Three Cup Chicken

Chicken Lollipops

Cashew Chicken

Kung Pao Chicken

Spicy Chicken in Black Bean Sauce

View the original article here

Spicy Chicken with Cashew Nuts

September 1st, 2010 | 30-Minute Meals Recipes, Thai Recipes | 35 Comments

Spicy Chicken with Cashew Nuts pictures (1 of 3)

I love Thai food. Come to think about it, a lot of Thai recipes that I like are basically Chinese in origin, with local influences, which add an exciting layer of taste structure to the originals. There are many examples: Rad Na, Pad See Ew, and in this case, chicken with cashew nuts. In Chinese cuisine, these dishes are prepared the Chinese way, but the Thai versions are flavored with fish sauce or other local seasoning sauces, spices (yes!), and slightly varied ingredients. The end results are always delicious, sometimes more so than the Chinese equivalents. I always appreciate the local touch, which make good recipes even better…

This Spicy Chicken with Cashew Nuts is adapted from my favorite Thai cookbook “Thai Cooking Made Easy.” This variation of cashew chicken is also popular in Malaysia. In fact, it’s one of my favorite chicken dishes whenever I eat out at local hot stir-fries stalls. To me, it’s the local interpretation of Chinese cashew chicken and Kung Pao Chicken.

If you love cashew nuts and like your chicken spicy, this is a great recipe to try out.

Spicy Chicken with Cashew Nuts Recipe

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 small onion, cut into halves
6-8 finger-length dried red chilies, seeded and cut into halves
1/2 cup roasted cashew nuts, rinsed and drained
8 oz chicken, cut into small cubes
1 scallion, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-in lengths

Sauce:

1 teaspoon soy sauce/Maggi seasoning/Golden Mountain sauce
1 tablespoon sweet soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1/4 teaspoon sugar or to taste
2 tablespoons water

Method:

Heat up a wok and add the oil. When the oil is heated, add the garlic, onion, dried red chilies and stir-fry until fragrant or when you smell the spicy aroma of the chilies. Add the cashew nuts and follow with the chicken. Stir-fry the chicken until the surface turns opaque. Add all the ingredients for the Sauce into the wok and continue to stir-fry until the chicken is cooked. Stir-in the scallion, dish out and serve immediately with steamed rice.

Cook’s Note:

To learn more about the different soy sauces used in Thai cooking, please check out this great post by She Simmers.

View the original article here