My Kitchen My World : China

This week's My Kitchen My World challenge was to prepare cuisine from China. This challenge was perfectly timed with the beginning of the Olympics. I cooked up a meal and made my poor husband watch way too many hours of the opening ceremonies.

For this weeks challenge I made something that both of us would like General Tso's Chicken, Chinese Sticky Ribs and Scallion pancakes. Although these dishes are not authentic Chinese cuisine, they are something both my husband and I enjoy!

I have been holding onto the recipe for the ribs and chicken for awhile now- and when I heard this week was China I knew I had to break them out.

General Tso's Chicken (Adapted from Cooks Country Magazine)

Marinade and Sauce:

1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
4 tbs Soy Sauce
3 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs cornstarch
1 1/2 cups water
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch chunks
1 tbs veg. oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tbs grated ginger
3/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Coating and Frying:
4 large eggs whites
1 1/2 cups cornstarch
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
At least 4 cups oil for frying (I used my deep fryer for this)

For the Marinade and sauce:
Whisk hoisin, vinegar, soy, sugar, cornstarch and water in a bowl. Add about 6 tbs. of mixture into another bowl-- add chicken and let marinate for 30 min.

Heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat-cook the garlic, ginger, and red pepper until it is nice and fragrant; do not cook too long or the garlic will become bitter. Add in 2 cups of the reserved marinade (make sure you save a few tablespoons because it will go in the coating mixture). Whisk over medium heat until the sauce thickens-- about 2 minutes. Taste and season as you see fit- I added in more red pepper flakes.

For Coating and Frying:
Whisk egg whites until they are nice a frothy. Combine cornstarch, flour, baking soda, and remaining hoisin marinade. Stir and it will make a coarse meal. Remove chicken from marinade- dip in egg white, and then roll in coating. Fry in 350 oil until golden brown, about 3 minutes.

To Serve:
Reheat sauce if necessary. Add crispy chicken pieces and toss to coat. Sprinkle with some scallions or sesame seeds.

Chinese Sticky Ribs (adapted from Cooks Country)

2 racks of pork ribs (I used baby backs)
1 cup hoisin
1 cup sugar
1/2 cups soy sauce
1/2 sherry or white wine
1 six inch piece of ginger sliced into rounds
8 garlic cloves smashed
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
10 scallions cut into 1 inch pieces

Glaze
1 jar of hot pepper jelly (or apple jelly)
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup cilantro leaves minced
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
minced scallion for garnish

For Ribs:
Heat oven to 350. Combine marinade ingredients in a 13x 9 in pyrex pan. Add ribs coat with marinade, then place meaty side down. Cover with foil tightly and bake on middle rack for 2-3 hours. Take out ribs and put on a plate.

Strain the cooking liquid in the pan- skim off the fat. put into a pot. Add in jelly and vinegar-- cook until syrupy and reduced to half. Take off heat in stir in cayenne and cilantro.

Heat the broiler. Place ribs on a baking sheet and brush with glaze. Broil until crisp- make sure to watch the ribs. Flip and glaze- broil again.

Serve and sprinkle with scallions.

Scallion Pancakes

I used this recipe from the King Arthur Blog