Tag Archives: Chinese

Stir-Fry Shrimp

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It has totally been one of those weeks. The really busy and crazy kind. The kind where I feel like doing nothing when I get home other than having a glass of wine or a cold beer on the patio and getting lost in a good book until the sun goes down. And that’s pretty much what I have done!

I also got to dog-sit for my parents this week, so the 4-legged ladies got to enjoy patio time with me – the 3 sweetest golden retrievers you will ever meet! Snuggling with them has also added an extra layer of “I don’t want to be productive,” so I followed Ginger’s orders and read some more on the couch with her after dinner. I mean, who can resist this face?

"You don't really need to do laundry...come snuggle with me instead!"

Anyways – as I said before, I must have a craving for Chinese-type cuisine or else it just doesn’t sound appealing. The craving struck this week. I had some shrimp waiting to be cooked – so I decided to throw together a stir-fry shrimp with snow peas. My was it delicious!

I’d highly recommend going home and making this…resist the urge to call for take-out and just do it yourself! Makes for a great date night, especially if you can throw in some fortune cookies!

Stir-Fry Shrimp (serves 2)

8 oz. shrimp, tails removed

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp. Sherry cooking wine

1/2 Tbsp. pickled ginger, minced

1 tsp. chili-garlic sauce

1/2 tsp. Sriracha

1 cup snow peas

1 Tbsp. peanut oil

Remove tails from shrimp and pat dry.

In a medium bowl, mix together soy sauce, sherry and minced ginger. Add your brown sugar. Then your cornstarch.

Throw in your chili-garlic sauce. Then add a little kick with some Sriracha – you can add more if you like it extra spicy, I thought the 1/2 tsp. was pretty mild!

Whisk together sauce and add your shrimp. Toss to coat and let marinate at least 30 minutes – 1-2 hours is probably best though!

Heat peanut oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.

When oil/pan is hot, use a slotted spoon and add your shrimp. Step back – it will probably crackle quite a bit! Cook about 3-4 minutes and then flip shrimp.

Add your snow peas. Cook another 3 minutes and stir, incorporating the snow peas.

Then, add the remaining sauce. Cook another 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently so it doesn’t stick – but allow the sauce to thicken.

I served mine with my vegetable fried rice – which I would highly recommend!

After this crazy week, I’m glad I at least have something to look forward to…

Have a great weekend everybody!

Orange Chicken with Fried Rice

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So do you have a type of food that you are rarely in the mood for, but when you are, watch out? No? Just me?

There are some foods I think I could eat for every meal – like sushi. But for some reason, Chinese food rarely sounds good to me. Then, I met the husband, who could actually do those Chinese buffets that just eek me out. He loves Chinese food…and Mexican, another one of my “rare craving” cuisines. (Pizza is always good for both of us though…of course.)

Well – when I started Weight Watchers – it was a lot of chicken and seafood and ground turkey. Nothing wrong with those, but afterd a while it was time to branch out and get really “freaky” – I decided to make Chinese food. And guess what I discovered – when I know what’s in a dish and I make it myself, I friggin love Chinese food!

So now it’s a staple and once you have all of the ingredients, it’s super simple and super delicious!

Orange Chicken for 2:

8 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast

3 Tbsp. soy sauce

1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 Tbsp. pickled ginger, minced

1 Tbsp. chili-garlic sauce

1 tsp. Sriracha (or more if you like an extra kick!)

1 Tbsp. orange zest (about 1 medium orange)

2 1/2 Tbsp. fresh orange juice (about 1/2 a medium orange)

2-3 ounces snow peas

1 Tbsp. peanut oil

In a medium bowl, whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, cornstarch, ginger, chili garlic, Sriracha, orange zest and orange juice. Chop the chicken into 1/2 inch pieces and add to liquid. Marinate about 1 hour.

Once chicken has marinated, heat 1 Tbsp. peanut oil in a medium non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, reserving as much of the liquid as possible. Cook 3-4 minutes before flipping. Add remaining liquid and snow peas. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 10-12 minutes until chicken is cooked through and the liquid has thickened into a sauce.

Now for the fried rice…

Vegetable Fried Rice for 2:

1/4 cup egg beaters

1/4 Tbsp. reduced calorie margarine

1/2 medium carrot, diced

2 Tbsp. yellow onion, diced

3 Tbsp. soy sauce (you can always use reduced sodium or reduce to 2 Tbsp. if desired)

1 tsp. black pepper

2 Tbsp. frozen green peas, thawed

1/2 Tbsp. sesame oil

1 1/2 cup cooked white rice

Coat a wok (or large skillet) with non-stick spray and heat to medium. Add egg beaters, swirling around to get a very thin layer of cooked egg. Once it is no longer runny – use a rubber spatula to scrape and break into small pieces. Set aside in a small bowl.

Now add margarine, carrots, onions and garlic and cook until tender – about 5 – 7 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium-low and add rice, sesame oil, black pepper, and green peas. Cook 2-3 minutes before adding in soy sauce. Stir well until all of the rice has the “brownish” color to it. Add in egg and stir until it is incorporated.

Serve rice with orange chicken and enjoy!

Bring on the fortune cookies!