GONG BAO CHICKEN (Chicken Sichuan Style)

I love real Sichuan Style Chinese food! In Austria we just don’t get anything that is even close to Asian food! This recipe is easy to make and you don’t need out of this world (country) ingredients.

150 g raw peeled peanuts

500 g chicken breast cut into 2 cm cubes

1 egg white

½ Tsp salt

3 Tbsp starch

4 garlic cloves cut into slices

10 dried large chilies seeded

2 Tbsp Soy sauce

2 Tbsp white wine

2 Tbsp white (rice) vinegar

1 Tsp sesame oil

1 Tsp sugar

50 ml neutral oil

Soak peanuts in water. Mix chicken, starch, egg white and salt in a medium bowl. Mix soy sauce, wine, vinegar, sesame oil and sugar in a small bowl. Drain peanuts completely. Heat 1 Tbsp’s oil in a frying pan and fry peanuts until browned about 3 minutes. Remove peanuts, add rest of the oil and fry marinated chicken until browned about 2 minutes. Remove chicken and drain oil until only a slight film of grease is left at the bottom of the pan. Add chilies and garlic and fry for 1 minute. Add chicken and fry for one more minute. Mix in sauce mixture and remove from heat. Mix in peanuts. Serve with rice.

The juiciest and tender chicken I have ever eaten!

CHICKEN ON A BEER CAN

Chicken

Olive oil

Herbs (rosemary, thyme…)

3 Garlic cloves, crushed

Veggies (potatoes, carrots, broccoli…), cut in pieces

Salt pepper

1 beer can

Preheat oven to 180°C and place wire rack on lowest level. Rub Chicken from inside and out with olive oil, herbs, salt and pepper. Pour out ¼ of the beer from the beer can (by drinking it ;-)) and put the garlic cloves and herbs inside. On a deep baking pan arrange veggies and mix with olive oil, herbs, pepper and salt. In the middle place the can and sit the can on top with the opening facing down. Bake for 1 hour. No watering needed. In the end take the chicken off the can and pour a bit of the liquid from the can on the veggies. YUMMIE!!!

I wanted to bring a nice warm lunch for my colleagues at work. The problem is we don’t have enough space for all of us to sit and use silverware. And I don’t have the time to prepare a meal at the office. So, what I did was layer lasagna the day before and just baked the lasagna the next day at work. For this dish you just need an oven and a plate and fork for each. Everybody really loved it!

OFFICE PARTY TUNA LASAGNA

For 12 people

10 Tbsp olive oil

4 onions, chopped

6 cans tuna in water

6 cans tomato sauce with herbs

6 garlic cloves

1 cup white wine

21 lasagna noodles, no-precook ones

2 Tbsp oregano and thyme

4 Tbsp olive oil

8 Tbsp flour

2 L milk

2 cups parmesan

Nutmeg

4 balls mozzarella, cut into slices

Salt, pepper

In a large pot heat oil and fry onions until browned. Add tuna, tomato, wine, pepper, herbs and crushed garlic. Boil for a few minutes. Season to taste. Meanwhile in a large pot heat 4 Tbsp Olive oil and let flour brown. While whisking add milk and cook for a few minutes until the sauce has thickened and is not lumpy. (If it is lumpy, no problem, just strain and put back into the pot. If it is too liquid sprinkle in 1 Tbsp flour at a time while whisking fast.) Add parmesan, nutmeg and salt to taste. In a large casserole (about start by layering tuna-tomato sauce, then follow by layering lasagna noodles, tuna-tomato sauce, milk mix, lasagna noodles, tuna-tomato sauce, milk mix. Top with mozzarella, olive oil and pepper. Cover and keep cooled until you want to bake it the next day. The next day pre-heat oven to 180 °C. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

One of my favorite countries to travel is Thailand. I love the friendly people, the stunning and variable landscapes and the terrific food. In the north of Thailand, in Chiang Mai, I was fortunate to participate in a great cooking course held by a wonderful Thai cook. Today I would like to share one of my favorite Thai dishes with you because it is so easy to make, healthy and soooo good.

CHICKEN WITH CASHEW NUTS

For 2

400 g chicken breast, cut into bite size stripes

4 Tbsp sweet chili paste

1 small hot chili

1 large onion, cut into wedges

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

4 Tbsp sesame oil

1 cup chicken soup

200 g green beans, frozen (optional)

2 green onions (scallops)

100 g cashew nuts

In a large wok heat the oil and fry onion, garlic and chili. Add the chicken and fry until half done. Add the chili paste and fry for a few minutes. Add soup (and green beans) and let simmer for about 5 minutes until chicken is done. If it gets too dry add more soup. Add cashew nuts and simmer for about 2 minutes. Nuts should still be crunchy in the middle. Add salt to taste. Serve with basmati rice. Done!

This is a light but heartwarming pasta variant.

BROCCOLI-SHRIMP SPAGETTI WITH A TOMATO DUO

200 g broccoli (frozen), broiled until al dente

200 g cherry tomatoes, quartered

50 g dried tomatoes, cut in small cubes

200 g shrimp, thawed

2 garlic cloves

1 medium hot dried chili (optional)

250 g Spaghetti

50 ml olive oil

Salt, pepper

Bring water to a boil and cook pasta al dente. Meanwhile heat half the oil in a skillet and add garlic and chili. Fry for a few seconds and then add shrimp, add salt and pepper. Sautee for about 5 minutes or until done. When the spaghetti are done, drain, quickly mix all ingredients in a large bowl and season to taste. Done!