Tag Archives: mushrooms

Velveting Chicken 101: Chicken Stir Fry with Chive Blossoms, White Birch and Enokitake Mushrooms

Posted on January 6, 2013 | Leave a comment

Photo by kathyhuntphoto.com

Have you ever wondered how Chinese restaurants get their chicken so moist and tender? I used to think they had added MSG or some secret tenderizer that made the chicken taste great but was probably horrible for you. I had all but given up on figuring it out, relegating myself to Chinese takeout when I craved that “velvety” goodness when I came across an article about a cooking process actually called velveting.

Used not only for chicken, but also for beef and even pork, velveting is the simple process of marinating the meat in a “batter” of egg whites and corn starch then frying or poaching to set the coating. In restaurants they usually fry the meat quickly in plenty of oil but having tried both I actually prefer poaching. I think the protein comes out more moist and tender when cooked in water and using a little less oil certainly never hurts.

Below is the recipe I prepared most recently but the beauty of a stir fry is the unlimited number of combinations of ingredients you can use. This one would be good with broccoli, snow peas, and maybe even a few cashews in place of the chive blossoms and mushrooms…use your imagination and see what new dish you can dream up. Just remember to cook your vegetables starting with the ones that take longest to cook and finishing with the most delicate.

Chicken Stir Fry with Chive Blossoms, White Birch and Enokitake Mushrooms

To velvet the chicken…

2 – Boneless skinless chicken breasts, about ¾ lbs
1 – Egg white
1 Tbsp. – Corn starch
1 Tbsp. – Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
1 Tbsp. – Sesame oil
1 sprinkle – Kosher salt

Slice the chicken breast into thin, even slices 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. In a bowl large enough to hold all of the chicken, combine the 5 remaining ingredients and whisk to thoroughly blend. Stir in the chicken slices and toss to coat well. Cover and set in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

In a wok over high heat bring 8 cups of water to a very light boil. Reduce the heat to medium and poach the chicken in two batches stirring gently to separate the pieces. Cook until the chicken turns mostly white (about two minutes) then remove to a strainer to drain.

Your chicken is now velveted and ready to use in your favorite stir fry!

For the stir fry…

2 cups – Velveted chicken breast
4 cups – Chive blossoms, sliced in two to three inch pieces, tough bottoms removed
2 cups – White birch mushrooms, trimmed, cleaned and separated
1 package – Enokitake mushrooms, trimmed, cleaned and separated (roughly 1 cups worth)
½ Cup – Chicken broth
2 Tbsp. – Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
2 Tbsp. – Tamari
1-1/2 Tbsp. – Hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp. – Garlic, finely minced or pureed
1 Tbsp. – Ginger, finely minced or pureed
1 Tbsp. – Corn starch
1 Tbsp. – Sesame oil
1 Tbsp. – Grape seed or peanut oil

In a small bowl mix the chicken broth, wine, tamari, hoisin, and corn starch until well blended. Set this aside for later.

Heat the wok over high heat and add the oils. Stirring rapidly, add the garlic and ginger and cook about 30 seconds continuing to stir. Stir in the white birch mushrooms and cook one minute before adding the chive blossoms, cook two minutes more while stirring…try to keep the ingredients spread out rather than all crowded in the middle of the wok.

Stir in the chicken then pour in the sauce mixture tossing all to combine. Continue cooking only until the sauce has come to a boil and has begun to thicken.

With the wok off of the heat gently stir in most of the enokitaki mushrooms reserving some for garnish.

Serve over cooked rice and enjoy!

Randy

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Crusty Chicken with Mushroom & Leek Sauce

Posted on December 10, 2012 | 1 comment
Photo by kathyhuntphoto.com

Photo by kathyhuntphoto.com

I just have to say Jacques Pepin is one of my favorite “celebrity” chefs! Between the wonderful shows with he and Julia Child and the “you can do this at home” approach to so many of his recipes, I really have grown to appreciate his work. Tonight was no exception as I was looking to use a giant chicken that my wife brought home but wanted something fast, something other than the same old tired recipes.

Jacques calls for chicken thighs but I split that giant chicken in half saving half (still over 3 lbs of chicken!) for later. Leaving the chicken intact, I removed all but the largest bones from the half that I did cook making it lay nice and flat in the pan…it cooked up perfectly! I took a few other small liberties with the recipe but the credit for this one absolutely goes to Jacques. Thank you Chef Pepin for all that you do!

For your cooking pleasure you can find the original recipe here: http://www.kqed.org/w/morefastfoodmyway/recipes.html#210

Crusty Chicken with Mushroom & Leek Sauce

One half chicken, intact with all but the largest bones removed, skin on
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup leeks, rinsed and halves lengthwise, then sliced in ¼ inch slices
1 1/2 tablespoons coarsely chopped garlic
3 cups washed and sliced (1/4 inch) baby bella or white mushrooms
Roughly 1/3 cup dry white wine
2 Tbsp parsley chopped fresh, plus one Tbsp for garnish

Arrange the chicken skin side down on a cutting board. Using a sharp paring knife, trim off any excess skin at the edges, remove wing tips, and cut about 1/2 inch deep into the flesh on either side of the thigh bone. (This will help the meat cook more quickly.) Sprinkle each side evenly with ½ of the salt and pepper and arrange the chicken skin side down in a nonstick skillet with a tight-fitting lid.

Place the skillet over high heat and when the chicken starts sizzling reduce the heat to medium low, cover tightly, and cook for 18 to 20 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure the chicken is browning properly. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 150 degrees. If the chicken seems to be cooking too fast after 10 minutes or so, reduce the heat to low. The skin of the chicken should be very crisp and brown. Transfer the chicken skin side up to an ovenproof platter and place it in the oven.

Discard all but 2 tablespoons fat from the skillet in which you cooked the chicken. Add the leeks, garlic, and mushrooms and sauté them over high heat for about 3 minutes. Test for seasonings and add salt and pepper to taste then add the wine and any liquid that has accumulated around the thighs on the platter. Cook the sauce over high heat for about 1 minute to reduce the liquid.

Note: If a richer sauce is desired stir 1 Tbsp of butter into the mushrooms just before serving.

To serve, divide the sauce among serving plates. Carve the chicken into serving portions and place in the middle of the mushroom sauce on each plate, spoon some sauce over, sprinkle with additional fresh parsley, and serve.

Enjoy!

Randy

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Zucchini & Mushrooms Stuffed with Ground Turkey and Quinoa

Posted on February 9, 2011 | Leave a comment


Do I seem to be on a quinoa binge lately? Honestly, I am not obsessed with the stuff, although I will admit we have been eating a lot of it, and why not? The more I read about this Miracle Grain the more benefits they seem to discover; everything from it being a complete protein to being heart healthy. Consider that and the fact that it tastes pretty good and it’s not really a stretch to go with the quinoa over the rice or the mashed potatoes.

Add versatility and value (a cup or two of quinoa goes far!) to the mix and I’m sold. Just recently I have eaten quinoa as a side dish (yep, like rice or mashed potatoes), in casseroles, and even in salads, the latter of which was a favorite that I plan to explore even more in days to come. I have “heard” of quinoa in bars, like granola, in flakes like cereal, and even cooked like a risotto which frankly I do have my doubts about. Some things, such as a velvety, creamy risotto, are indeed sacred!

Nevertheless, tonight I was pondering how to use some plain quinoa I had left over from a previous dinner along with a package of ground turkey. I didn’t want to cook another casserole and meatloaf with quinoa just sounded a bit too farfetched so I thought…how about a stuffing? Yeah, a stuffing sounded good, especially a sausage stuffing with a little kick and maybe some nice gooey melted cheese.

This recipe made such a large batch that I only used about half to stuff enough zucchini and mushrooms for Kathy and I with leftovers for lunch. The rest will freeze well for a another meal which definitely makes the recipe a great way to stretch those dinner dollars! Pre-cooked brown rice, barley, or even bulgur would all work very well in place of the quinoa.

Quinoa and Ground Turkey Stuffed Zucchini & Mushrooms

For the stuffing…

8 oz – Medium Mushrooms (I used 8 baby bellas)
8 oz – Medium Zucchini (3 whole)
1 Package – Ground Turkey (about 1.2 Lbs)
1 – Medium Onion, chopped
1 – 28 oz can Crushed Tomatoes
1- 9 oz Bag of pre-washed Baby Spinach
2 Cups – Quinoa, pre-cooked
½ Cup – Dry White Wine, divided
¼ Cup – Fresh Parsley, chopped
1/4 Cup – Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 Cloves – Garlic, minced
1 Tsp. – Fennel Seed, crushed
About 1 Tsp. – From McCormick Italian Herb Seasoning Grinder
Kosher Salt & Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Olive Oil

Clean the mushrooms, removing and reserving the stems. Wash the zucchini well, cut in half lengthwise and scoop out the centers to form a cup for the stuffing. Reserve the centers and chop them along with the mushroom stems.

Heat 2 Tbsp. of olive oil over medium high heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, stir in the chopped mushroom and zucchini stems & pieces. Add the garlic and about 1 tsp. from the Italian Herb Seasoning Grinder and continue cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the onion and cook, stirring until the onion is translucent. Stir in the ground turkey along with the fennel seed and cook using a spatula to break up the turkey. Continue stirring and cooking until the turkey appears mostly cooked.

Add ¼ cup of wine and stir, scraping up any browned bits that have stuck to the pan. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally until most of the wine has evaporated. Stir in the tomatoes, bring to a simmer, and cook 5 minutes then fold in the spinach and cook 5 minutes more.

Fold in the quinoa and 1/4 cup of wine and continue folding gently to incorporate. Remove from heat and fold in the parsley and parmesan cheese just before using.

To prepare the Zucchini and Mushrooms…

Cleaned Mushrooms & Zucchini (from above)
McCormick Italian Herb Seasoning Grinder
Olive Oil
Sharp Provolone Cheese slices

Pre-heat the oven to 425 Degrees. Place the Zucchini and Mushrooms on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil then season with the Italian Herb Seasoning Grinder. Bake 10 minutes and remove mushrooms, bake the zucchini 5 minutes more. Drain any juices from the mushrooms into the stuffing and mix well.

Mound stuffing onto the mushrooms and zucchini. Drape with enough Provolone Cheese to cover and bake 10 minutes more.

Enjoy,

Randy

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Casserole of Chicken, Quinoa, & Brown Rice with Mushrooms

Posted on January 16, 2011 | 2 comments

(or What to do with all that Chicken Stock – Part 1)

As a follow up to Singing The Praises Of Chicken Stock I wanted to post a series of recipes that use chicken stock (or broth) in various ways. At the risk of repeating myself, stock is a valuable ingredient in healthful cooking and a means of boosting the flavor in what otherwise might be a boring and uninteresting dish. My recipes will always call for stock because I like the flavor but you may certainly substitute broth if you like.

Second only to the chicken stock, the mushrooms create a lot of flavor in this recipe. To coax as much flavor as possible from them I start cooking the mushrooms in a hot, hot pan. Because of the high water content in mushrooms, they create a lot of liquid in the pan as they cook. With the pan very hot, this excess water cooks away quickly leaving the mushrooms to brown. On a lower temperature the mushroom would steam instead of browning…that’s not what I want in this recipe!

I know I have mentioned Seeds Of Change quinoa & whole grain brown rice in a previous post. I can’t recommend this product enough; if you come across it at Costco or otherwise please do give it a try. I use it here because it is convenient, healthy, and the spices blend perfectly with the other ingredients. Other starch suggestions for this recipe would be brown rice, couscous, or even orzo. Check for seasonings if you use a mix, I needed no additional salt with the quinoa.

This one is rich enough that the only side I served it with was a nice green salad and was plenty for two with leftovers.

Casserole of Chicken, Quinoa, & Brown Rice with Mushrooms

1 – Large Boneless Chicken Breast Half (about 12 oz.), halved lengthwise from the top and sliced very thin (as for a stir fry)
8 oz – Fresh Mushrooms, sliced
1 – Small Onion, chopped
2 – Celery branches, sliced (leaves add flavor…use them too!)
1 Clove – Garlic, minced
2 Sprigs – Fresh Thyme, left whole
2 Cups – Chicken Stock
2 Cups – Quinoa & Whole Grain Brown Rice, pre-cooked
2 Tbsp – Unbleached Flour
Olive Oil
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
About 1/4 Cup – Panko Breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a large (12”) skillet over medium high heat. When the oil just begins to smoke, carefully add the mushrooms and cook them stirring constantly much as you would a stir fry. When the mushrooms begin to release their liquid slow down a little on the stirring but keep them spread out so the liquid will evaporate quickly.

As the mushrooms dry and begin to brown, stir in the onions, celery, garlic, thyme, and ½ teaspoon of fresh ground pepper. Lower the heat to medium and continue cooking and stirring until the onions soften. (Note: The mushrooms should be getting nice and brown by now. Don’t worry if some of the vegetables stick a little bit…they will loosen when you add the stock.)

When the onions become tender and translucent stir in the chicken, separating the slices and blending them carefully into the mixture. Continue cooking and stirring gently for another 5 minutes then Stir in one tablespoon of the flour until well mixed. Stir in the second tablespoon of flour and cook, stirring gently, for one minute more. Stir in one cup of stock and cook until some thickening begins. Stir in the other cup of stock and cook until bubbling and thickened.

Remove the thyme sprigs and discard, then stir in the quinoa and gently mix until thoroughly incorporated. Pour all into a 9X9 casserole, sprinkle just enough breadcrumbs to cover evenly on top. Bake 25 minutes, allow a few minutes to rest and enjoy!

Randy

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