Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry

I love teriyaki. It always reminds me of college because there was a teriyaki place just down the street from campus that I loved to frequent. I don’t make it alot because my husband is not such a big fan of rice (sad, I know). We had some tonight, though, and it was tasty!! Here’s the recipe I used.

teriyaki sauce

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons mirin
• 1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
• 4 tsp sugar (you can always add a little more if you like it sweeter)

Mix together all ingredients and heat over low heat until sugar is melted.

stir fry (Obviously, the veggies can vary and this is what I had on hand. Other yummy veggies for stir fry are water chestnuts, sugar snap peas, carrots, etc)

• 1 bell pepper, coarsely chopped (I prefer red)
• 1 bunch brocolli, cut into small florets
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 tsp garlic
• 1-2 tsp ginger, fresh and grated
• 1 tablespoon oil (I usually use olive or peanut)
• 1 cup chicken, cooked (I usually have cooked, chopped chicken stored in my freezer in 1 cup increments for meals like this. It’s easy to pull out of the freezer and have a quick meal. You can use chopped rotisserie chicken, baked chicken, etc. If you are cooking fresh chicken for this meal, use about 1 chicken breast, cut it into small pieces and saute in oil before you start the veggies. Drain on a paper towel and add back into the stir fry when the veggies are almost done.)

In a skillet heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, saute 2-3 min. Add garlic and grated ginger, saute 1-2 more minutes. Add veggies and teriyaki sauce and cover. Simmer over medium low heat until veggies are tender (about 15 minutes), stirring occasionally. Add in chicken and heat through. Serve over rice. I used coconut rice. Yum!!

Spicy Shrimp, Mango and Avocado Spring Rolls

Spring Rolls! I’ve never made them before, but was encouraged by my friend Hollie and her expertise. We made these non-traditional spring rolls tonight and they were so good and fun to put together. I think if I did it again I would add bean sprouts for a bit of a crunch, but the flavors in this were excellent. Here’s what we did:

Dipping Sauce:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 roasted red bell pepper
• 1 roasted yellow pepper
• 1/2 cup mango nectar (I found this in the mexican section of our grocery store)
• 1 tsp of lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

For Spring Rolls:

• 1 1/2 pounds shrimp, cooked
• 1 package rice stick noodles, cooked as per package directions
• 2 avocados, peeled, seeded, thinly sliced
• 1 ripe mango, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
• about 20 spring roll wrappers

Combine all ingredients for sauce in a food processor or blender and pulse until well combined. Make this sauce a bit ahead of time to allow the ingredients to blend together. Let it all come to room temperature before putting together your spring rolls.

Meanwhile, cook rice noodles as per package directions; rinse in cold water.

Heat a pot of water (to soften the wrappers). Pour a bit of the sauce over your cooked shrimp, enough to coat them thoroughly. Place all ingredients on the counter in front of you and one at a time dip the wrappers into the warm water. Once it is softened, place the wrapper on a wet cutting board and spread it out. Pat the top surface dry with a paper towel (this will make it a bit sticky and easier to wrap up. Place 3-4 shrimp, mango, avocado, rice noodles and cilantro in the middle of the wrapper. Fold over the top, then the sides and tightly roll together. If the wrapper is having trouble sticking together, pat it dry again to help it stick. Voila!

Serve with the dipping sauce–because everything is better with dipping sauce!

This makes a lot of spring rolls…I think we had about 20 or so.

Roasted Edamame and Corn

After the eating that took place in the month of December, I’m on a mission to loose a few pounds this month. Thankfully, I’m not the only one, so I’m finding some good-for-you recipes out there for me to try! Needing some more protein, I decided to cook up some edamame this week. I used some of it to add to our Spicy Soba Noodles, but had some left and whipped up this yummy edamame salad for lunch the next day…you won’t be disappointed!

• 1/2 cup edamame, cooked and shelled
• 1/4 cup corn (I used frozen, but fresh would be really great.)
• 2 tablespoons red onion, finely diced
• 1/2 tsp garlic, minced
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar

Combine all ingredients except red wine vinegar in an oven proof dish. Roast the edamame mixture at about 375 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until it and the corn start to brown. Remove it from the oven, stir in the red wine vinegar and serve warm.

Cilantro Yogurt Dip and Dressing

This is really tasty as a mexican dip to accompany Creamy Chicken Taquitos or as a dip for Spiced Indian Wontons, or even just as a light salad dressing. Yum.

• 2 cups fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tsp lime juice
• 1/2 tsp sriracha
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup plain, nonfat yogurt

In a food processor mix all ingredients and process until smooth. Easy as that!!

Spicy Soba Noodles

Ingredients

• 1  carrot, peeled
• 2  cups  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth, divided
• 1/3  cup  reduced-fat peanut butter
• 1  tablespoon  chopped peeled fresh ginger
• 1  tablespoon  low-sodium soy sauce
• 2  tablespoons  honey
• 1  to 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
• 1  garlic clove, minced
• 1  pound  skinless, boneless chicken breast
• 5  cups  cooked soba (about 10 ounces uncooked buckwheat noodles)
• 6  tablespoons  sliced green onions
• 6  tablespoons  chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts

Preparation

Shave carrot lengthwise into thin strips using a vegetable peeler.

Combine 1/3 cup broth, peanut butter, ginger, soy sauce, honey, pepper, and garlic; stir with a whisk until smooth.

Place chicken in a large saucepan; add 1 2/3 cups broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 4 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove from heat; let stand 20 minutes. Drain; cut chicken into 2-inch pieces. Combine carrot, peanut sauce, chicken, and noodles in a large bowl; toss to coat. Sprinkle with onions and peanuts.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

398 (26% from fat)

Fat:

11.4g (sat 2.1g,mono 5.2g,poly 3.6g)

Protein:

29.5g

Carbohydrate:

43.4g

Fiber:

4.3g

Cholesterol:

44mg

Iron:

1.9mg

Sodium:

477mg

Calcium:

40mg

Cooking Light, JULY 2002