But as with so many other dishes I love, it never occurs to me that I could make it myself. If I could go back to my childhood and change just one…thing…
Okay, that would require a backhoe and a machine gun with lots of loaded belts. Let’s stick to one wish out of many: I wish I had learned how to cook.
If your elders feared that indulging your interest in cooking would put you on the slippery slope to a career in interior decoration, you might be a redneck.
(ahem) Anyway, I’ve always loved Orange Chicken but – like steamed rice – I only associate it with restaurants. BUT! Last month I entertained a house guest, who brought a box of goodies including a bottle of stuff that at first I didn’t know what to do with…
And upon examination, I found on the rear label a recipe for Orange Chicken! Apparently a very simple recipe!
Cube 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast into 1-inch squares, marinade in soy sauce and garlic, heat a little oil in a large skillet, coat the marinaded chicken in 1/4 cup of cornstarch, cook the chicken in a single layer one minute each side, stir it another minute with crushed red pepper, take it off the heat and stir in 2/3 cup of orange sauce. Done.
I had everything in that recipe except the chicken. I had stored some for winter in Ian’s freezer but it’s late February and most of that meat has been expended.
I tried the recipe with canned chicken breast. NOTE TO FUTURE GENERATIONS OF INTERNET READERS: DON’T TRY THIS RECIPE WITH CANNED CHICKEN BREAST.
So today on the regular Monday water run I splurged on some chicken breasts.
And now if you’ll excuse me I’mnomnom…
ETA: ohgodit’sgood. LB likes it, too…
I use that stuff all the time. Or, more often, the couple-few varieties of teriyaki, and occasionally sweet-n-sour. There are a few other flavors I haven’t tried, and some comparable brands. It’s usually under $4 per bottle, sometimes under $2 on sale at Winco.
A while back I discovered various Asian-flavored Chicken Helper boxes at Grocery Outlet, which came with foil packs of sauce. Eventually Grocery Outlet (a sort of salvage/liquidation grocery store, apparently only on the west coast) ran out and the mainstream supermarkets didn’t carry those varieties, so I started making my own, coating the chicken with plain flour if I don’t have any seasoning mix. I’ve actually gone through a 20lb sack of rice.
Down here, part of being a redneck is that your folks make sure you know how to feed yourself. It’s expected that there’ll be periodic divorces, after all…
You’d think, right?
“Last month I entertained a house guest” Alright, who are you and where’s the real Joel?
Orange sauce… I’ll hafta try it.
Has anyone found GOOD fish sauce (y’know, the stuff that smells like dead fish) that comes in a reasonably-sized bottle? Who needs a liter when three drops is one too many in a pot of soup?
Robert – go to Amazon.com they have fish sauce in 8.4 ounce bottles. The brand name is Red Boat and they have several varieties.
Cool, thanks.