House of Moon Chinese Dinner

Most of the food I've been cooking lately is old favorites. I made my chocolate cake for a dinner party last one day last weekend and my green chili quiche for the other so that's why I've not posted much. Here at PBE we are very lucky to be able to rely on each other in times like this.

My task for Thursday, though it's more of a joy, was to cook dinner for our darling friend Sandi and her husband Mike. She's mid-way through her chemo treatment and her friends have insisted we help and she's finally acquiesced. My contribution for dinner was:

Chicken Stir-fry with Bok Choy and Steamed Rice
Baby Broccoli with Lemon Garlic Sauce
Pineapple Buttermilk Meringue Pie (posted by Nicole @ Baking Bites)
I added a very light chicken soup with fresh homemade egg noodles just in case she wanted something less spicy.
I called to make sure they were ready for dinner and my beloved and I made a quick delivery. Sandi called later to thank us and I told her it was done for the "love of it." I wish I could do more, she is a dear sweet lady who is going through a very rough time but she believes in prayer and I think there is someone out there praying for her.
Gotta say something about this pie. It is so easy and so damn good you can't imagine. I always seem to have buttermilk left over from some other recipe and don't know what to do with it. Now I know I'll whip up this beauty. Visit Baking Bites for the recipe and especially the recipe for cooked meringue. Fantastic!

Wanted: Sou chef to assist with recipe

America's Test Kitchen has so many good idea but I have a problem with their remakes of recipes. They have more steps than the plans to build a nuclear reactor and that produces way too many dirty dishes--the recipe, not the reactor. Sure, it only takes them a fraction of the time because they have some intern filling little bowls with a half teaspoon of this and a 1/4 cup of that and before you know it you've a sink full.

Now on to this delicious dish, Stir-fry Chicken with Bok Choy. Again, it isn't so much the recipe as the way to prepare. The whole idea is to protect the delicate chicken from the hot oil of stir-frying. Their take on this was to "velvet" the chicken and stir-fry but not in the true sense of the Chinese tradition. I've done a velvet before which includes dipping chicken in egg whites then in simmering broth. Way too much work, this is easier.

Coat the raw chicken breast pieces in a mixture of one each tablespoon of sesame oil and cornstarch before browning a single layer in a hot pan, then turning to brown the other side. It did save time and use less oil.

The rest of the recipe was your typical stir-fry of the vegetables, then add meat, then add a final sauce which was quite tasty.

Stir-Fry Sauce
1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 tablespoon oyster sauce (I omitted this due to allergies)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Stir until everything is coated and slightly thickened, about a minute.

I've made this twice, once following the recipe and other changing the veggies which is fine as long as you keep the proportions.