Spicy Turkey Chili

I'm not a pack rat by any means but I came across this recipe recently which I had cut out from the Sacramento Bee when I was maybe 10-12 years old.  At that time I had a lot of exposure to Vietnamese food but was really curious about regular American food.  I wanted so badly to be American and eat macaroni and cheese and hamburgers and chili, none of this foreign food my mother was cooking every day.

This was probably one of the first American recipe I ever made.  I remember having a helluva time getting together all the ingredients to make this chili based off the spices that we carried in my Asian household.  I remember it being tasty, but there is no way to know for sure except to give it another go.

At the time I didn't even realize that this is actually a recipe from Weight Watchers.  When eating healthy and cutting out the bad stuff, spices are increasingly important for flavor.  I think the allspice and cinnamon make this chili really unique.  I love that it is such an easy chili recipe and with ingredients I always have on hand make it perfect for a weeknight meal.  Sometimes I want a little bit of chili without having a vat of it that I have to eat for days.  I love this stuff and it's not just because of the nostalgia or the lack of calories, but because it is really good.

Weight Watchers Spicy Turkey Chili
7 oz ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup drained canned Italian tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp bay leaf
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp each, ground cinnamon, ground allspice, crushed red pepper

Serves 2.  Per serving - 218 calories, 20 grams protein, 14 carb, 4 fiber, and 8 fat.

Spray a medium saucepan with non-stick cooking spray and add turkey and onions.  Crumble and cook the meat until browned, about 5 minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients and let simmer on reduced heat for 25-30 minutes until thick.  Remove bay leaf and serve immediately.

General Tso's Chicken

I was craving some delicious chinese food and also had the deep fryer ready to go from our pork party which made this recipe seem perfect.  General Tso  (or Gau or Cho or Tsang) Chicken is boneless chicken breaded and fried with a soy base sauce.  Not exactly authentic as it was created in New York City in the 70's.  I wanted to try this recipe from Cook's Illustrated America's Test Kitchen because the recipes are always thoroughly tested and not exactly written by a thankless ghost writer.  I wanted to use chicken breast and have a crunchy chicken, not mystery meat and a gummy mess.  

Marinade and Sauce
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp sugar (I would suggest reducing the quantity based on taste, I found it to be quite sweet)
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 cup water

Coating and Frying
3 large egg whites
1 1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
4 cups vegetable oil

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 lb, cut into 1 inch pieces)

1 tbsp vegetable oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp grated fresh ginger

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Mix together the marinade and add 6 tbsp to a zipperlock bag.  Add the chicken and marinate for 30 minutes.

Using the 1 tbsp vegetable oil, saute the garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes until fragrant.  Add 2 cups of the marinade and simmer until dark brown and thickened, about 2 minutes.  Cover and keep warm. 

Whisk the egg whites until foamy.  In a separate bowl, combine the rest of the coating ingredients except the oil.  Add the remaining marinade so the mixture is now clumpy.

Coating is in small clumps

This is the best part of this recipe.  The addition of the marinade makes the coating clumpy and will make the chicken really crispy and help it to not get soggy when tossed with the sauce.

Remove the chicken from the marinade.  Discard remaining marinade.  Pat dry.  Toss chicken in the egg whites first, then dredge the chicken in the coating mixture pressing slightly so the mixture will adhere.

Dredged chicken

Heat the oil to 350 degrees and cook the chicken until golden brown, about 3 minutes.

Fried goodness!

Toss the chicken in the warm warm marinade until coated.  Serve immediately.

General Tso's Chicken with sauteed pea shoots 

Have I mentioned I am in love with pea shoots?  They are easy to make.  Saute (or use a wok) with garlic and ginger and add a little sesame oil.  Super easy and delicious!

Pea shoots or pea sprouts

Lately

Blogging can be tough work.  I have taken a little hiatus for various projects and pleasures but I do love to blog as a way to share some thoughts and things of interest.  Here's what's been up.

Delicious home made Tartine cookies for a friend's bday

Rock climbing @ Castle Rock State Park

February was busy because it's my husband's birthday month (yep, he's that spoiled).  We threw a birthday pork party with everyone bringing a porky dish with prizes for the best overall dishes and most creative.  It was a blast and everyone's dish was great.  The winner was a pulled pork fritter with cheese and jalapenos.  You can never go wrong with deep fried anything!  (I'm still trying to weasel the recipe out of her).

Ballots cast at our Pork Party!

Some of the delicious porkiness

Flight lesson!

Barrel tasting

Emerald Across the Bay 12k