Spicy Peanut Chicken with Rice

I was supposed to have made this dish on Thursday, but a moldy bell pepper and a preschool ice cream social got in my way.  My plan was to take the kids with me to the store this afternoon to get another pepper, but I just didn't want to in the downpour.  It wasn't worth it for one ingredient.  I was ready to figure out another dinner option when Ben suggested making the dish without the bell pepper.  Although I prefer it with the pepper, it was still delicious.  I got the skillet really hot tonight and was worried that the garlic, ginger and chicken were going to burn.  Thankfully, they didn't, and the dish was better than ever! 

SPICY PEANUT CHICKEN

½ cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons white vinegar
½ teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken, cut into ¾-inch pieces
1 clove garlic, finely chopped or crushed
2 teaspoons grated gingerroot
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into ¾-inch pieces
1/3 cup unsalted cocktail peanuts

1. Mix broth, cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and red pepper.
2. Heat 12-inch skillet (or if you’re advanced, a wok) over high heat. Add oil, and stir-fry chicken, garlic, and gingerroot until chicken is done (about 3 minutes).
3. Add bell pepper to chicken and stir-fry for about 1 minute.
4. Add cornstarch mixture to chicken. Cook and stir about 1 minute or until sauce thickens. Stir in peanuts.
5. Serve over garlic rice. (see recipe below)

GARLIC RICE

Heat a little vegetable oil to your rice pan. Add a clove of minced garlic to the oil once it is heated. Add the rice to the pan and let it get a little opaque. Add chicken stock instead of water and bring to a boil. (Use the ratio of 1 part rice to 2 parts liquid.) Cover and simmer on low for 20-25 minutes.

Saturday, 1/22/2011

For a couple years now, Ben and I have been promising to take at least one day a month to go shoot photos.  We take photos of our family all the time, but rarely get out to take non-family photos.  Well, today we finally made it happen!  We went to Seward Park, which is located on a peninsula on the West side of Lake Washington, South of the I-90 bridge.  There is a view of Mount Rainier as you look between Seattle and Mercer Island and over Renton.  Ben got a couple great shots of the mountain while I focused on the park and neighboring community.  Katie was on my back in the ergobaby carrier with the pink camera she got from Uncle Spencer.  Mostly she took photos of my fleece:)

After the sun was done dancing on the clouds, we went to Columbia City to try a new restaurant for us.  We went to Spice Room, a Thai restaurant on Rainier Ave S.   We were a bit hesitant to go in because there was no one else in the restaurant when we first walked by.  But, we decided to be brave as long as they had a booster seat or high chair for Katie.  We are glad that they did, because the food was good.  And, by the time we left, there were many more people seated and happily eating.  When the host brought a booster seat for Katie, he also brought out a bib and kid friendly silverware.  The waitress brought Katie water in a cup with a lid and a straw and asked if she wanted to color.  Katie was immediately satisfied with our choice:)

For dinner, I had to try their Crispy Garlic Chicken to see how it compared to our West Seattle Thai favorite, Buddha Ruksa.  It was darn good.  The chicken was tender and the flavor was bold and delicious.  Ben thought it had a kind of fishy flavor to it that he didn't like, but I didn't notice it at all.  When I looked back at the menu, I saw that it is stir fried in a mix of soy and oyster sauce.  Perhaps that was the source of the fishy flavor. Anyway, Spice Room's Crispy Garlic Chicken reminded us of how Buddha Ruksa's used to be.  Lately, the chicken at Buddha Ruksa has been dry.  So, comparing the current chicken preparation from both restaurants, Spice Room wins on this dish. 

Ben ordered Swimming Rama.  It was a plate of spinach leaves, topped with sliced chicken breast and covered with warm peanut sauce.  The sauce and chicken were great, but neither of us was a fan of the warmed spinach.  I could only eat one bite of it.  Something about the warmed texture wasn't appealing.  For Katie, we ordered chicken satay (skewers) with peanut sauce.  She ate one bite of chicken and then munched on rice the rest of the meal.  The chicken satay was good, but I think one of the skewers wasn't cooked all the way through.  The lights were dim, so it was hard to know for sure, but I did stop eating that one.  

All in all, I think it is a restaurant worth going to again.  There were several other dishes that looked really good that we would want to try.

Wednesday, 12/22/2010

After dropping my mom off at work this morning, Ben, Katie and I drove out to visit with my Grandma Kate.  While Ben kept Katie occupied, Grandma taught me how to make peanut brittle. What fun! This was the first time I have ever made candy from a recipe that depended on using a thermometer.  I helped Grandma make the first batch, and then she watched while I made the second batch.  I am pleased to say I didn't mess it up.  The brittle was delicious.  Now, I just need to get myself a marble slab so that I can make it myself;) 

We left Grandma's house and met up with Josh and James, two of my friends from youth group, at a Starbucks.  It was wonderful to catch up with them.  It's been several years since we crossed paths at church.  After finishing our hot beverages, we picked up my mom from work and headed to church.  I am going to be singing Christmas Eve at church with my dad and a few church friends.  We gathered at the church tonight to go through the song a couple times.  Before we sang, we ate pizza and chocolate chip cookies for dinner. 

Friday, 12/17/2010

My mother-in-law, Jennifer, and brother-in-law, Spencer, are spending the weekend with us to celebrate Katie's 2nd birthday.  They both arrived tonight and had dinner with us.  I made Spicy Peanut Chicken with a Balsamic and Pear salad on the side.  For the salad, we used just a teaspoon of the vinaigrette.  It was plenty for the four of us.  Spencer doesn't care for craisins; so, I added those to the salad after he had taken his helping.  

After getting Katie to sleep for the night, I worked on decorating her Elmo birthday cake.  It was definitely a challenge to get the deep red and black colors for Elmo's face.  I ended up using an entire container of gel food coloring for each of those two colors.  I first applied the red frosting so that it was pretty smooth. Once I had full coverage, I roughed it up with my finger tips so that it looked more like Elmo.  I did have to make two batches of the butter cream frosting.  I used butter flavored shortening in the first batch and it made the base frosting too yellow.  In order to avoid a yellow-eyed Elmo, I made another batch with plain shortening. 

Saturday, 9/19/2010

Our very good friend Sydney came over for dinner tonight.  Ben made Spicy Peanut Chicken for us.  We opted to serve it over plain white rice this time.  This is such a delicious dish.  And, other than having to cut chicken, bell pepper, and ginger, it is really easy to make.  Katie nibbled on some cinnamon bread that Sydney brought over, and then she ate corn and rice.  

After dinner, Katie finally figured out how to get her little feet into my big shoes and walk around.  She's been trying for a while, and today was her first success!  She had a little trouble navigating the threshold between the carpet and the kitchen tiles, but did amazingly well in my shoes.  I know this has nothing to do with dinner, but she is soo cute!  

After Katie went to bed, Ben, Sydney, and I played a round of Banagrams.  Then, Sydney stayed with Katie while Ben and I went out for a couple hours to celebrate the 13th anniversary of our friends Tracey and Troy.  What a fun evening! Thanks Sydney:)

Thursday, 6/24/2010

I decided to try another Simply Asia stir-fry sauce packet. This time I chose Spicy Kung Pao. I used 1 pound of thinly sliced chicken breast, 3 cups of cubed red and orange bell peppers, and about a 1/2 cup of cocktail peanuts . The flavor was ok, but really not that spicy. We definitely prefer the spicy peanut chicken we make from scratch. Ben thought it should have had bamboo shoots in it. Even though we won't be purchasing this one again, I must say, Katie really liked it.

Tuesday, 3/23/2010

SPICY PEANUT CHICKEN

½ cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons white vinegar
½ teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken, cut into ¾-inch pieces
1 clove garlic, finely chopped or crushed
2 teaspoons grated gingerroot
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into ¾-inch pieces
1/3 cup unsalted cocktail peanuts

1. Mix broth, cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and red pepper.
2. Heat 12-inch skillet (or if you’re advanced, a wok) over high heat. Add oil, and stir-fry chicken, garlic, and gingerroot until chicken is done (about 3 minutes).
3. Add bell pepper to chicken and stir-fry for about 1 minute.
4. Add cornstarch mixture to chicken. Cook and stir about 1 minute or until sauce thickens. Stir in peanuts.
5. Serve over white rice.

For years I made white rice by using 2 parts water, 1 part rice. And then I saw a recipe where you saute minced garlic in a little vegetable oil in your pot until fragrant, and then add the rice and let it get a little opaque. Add chicken stock instead of water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes. The result is much more flavorful rice that doesn't dry out as much.

Dessert- simply Nestle's toll house cookies. The only things I do differently is that I add a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon to the dry ingredients, put in 2 1/2 cups of chocolate chips instead of just 2, and leave out the nuts. Also, I find that bringing the eggs and butter to room temperature makes the cookies bake more evenly.

This recipe was one Ben adapted from a cookbook years ago. Tonight we made it for my friend Elly. Elly and I are planning a bridal shower for our friend Lauren. Katie scarfed the rice and only had a little of the red pepper and chicken. She was far more interested in hollaring at us to pay attention to her. Now, the chocolate chip cookies were a different matter. She couldn't get enough! Back and forth to Ben and I for nibbles;)