New way to cook broccoli!

[piratesmate]

We grilled this evening & I was looking for something to serve with Citrus Chicken & a pasta salad. I'd planned on having side salads, but the last of my lettuce had gotten too brown.

Last week DH brought home a new (to us) flavor of Newman's Own - the Low Fat Sesame Ginger. We'd had it on salads & really enjoyed it, but I thought it might also make a good base for a stir-fry.

I just sprayed the pan with a bit of olive oil from the Misto, sliced the broccoli crown & put it in the pan with some of the Sesame Ginger dressing. Oh my goodness! It was soooooooo awesome!!!!

I should have made 3x the amount!

 

[Twigs]

I'm going to try this, my family loves broccoli and they love ginger flavored things. Sounds really good!

 

[Margie J]

That sounds good. I'll try it.

 

[sweet maxine]

That sounds yummy! My family loves broccoli, so I'm going to look for that Newman's dressing.

I cook broccoli Chinese style with a black bean and garlic paste that I buy at the Chinese market. It's called Lee Kum Kee brand, and it really gives the broccoli a good flavor. I stir fry it just like you did, except I brown some sirloin steak I've cut into slivers first with garlic (we love garlic too!), then I take the meat out and put the broccoli in with a bit of water to steam it. When it's turned a little darker green, I add the black bean/garlic paste (about 2-3 Tablespoons full), add the meat back in, and then stir fry a little longer until all the flavors have mixed. I serve it with steamed rice from my rice cooker. I've also used this same flavor paste base to stir fry noodles (spaghetti or any other) with a pkg. of frozen stir fry veggies. It seems like I have to add more of the black bean paste with the pasta though, cause I guess it soaks it up so quickly. You really have to watch the sodium there!

I agree about cooking enough. Once they find they like the flavor, you never had enough of it made! Anytime I cook broccoli like this we always fight over it. Who would ever dream that kids would really get that excited over broccoli? LOL!!!

 

[piratesmate]

That sounds good, too, Sweet Maxine!

We love things with black bean sauce, but I've never made it at home. I didn't realize it was something you could buy. I guess I'll need a trip to the local Aisan market! DH will be thrilled!

Do you have a recipe for green beans? It's not a black bean sauce, but I'm not sure exactly what it is....the restaurants around here just call it "Sauteed Green Beans". That's one of my favorite things - with or without meat.

 

[sweet maxine]

Deb, my MIL cooks the kind of green beans you're talking about. The ones she uses for this are actually a particular type of green bean called "yard-long beans". She grows them in her backyard garden, but you can find them in any Asian market. When I'm in Memphis at the market there, I try to remember to pick some up. I also like to buy what is called "baby bok choy" at the market. It's very tender, and has an almost sweet-like taste to it. I stir fry it in Oyster Sauce (again, Lee Kum Kee brand found at the Asian market), with some garlic and you can also add some soy sauce.

My MIL uses the oyster sauce and garlic to stir fry the green beans. She stir fries the garlic in veg. oil, then adds grean beans, then the oyster sauce with a little bit of water (not much). I've watched her make these lots of times, but sometimes mine don't come out like hers. I've told her it must be the words she mumbles over them as she's cooking.

You can cook the baby bok choy the same way with the oyster sauce. I would buy the premium brand of this. It has a much stronger flavor, and the cost is not that much more--about $1.99 for the smallest bottle which is about 16 oz. or so.

 

[piratesmate]

Thanks for the info! I've been so hungry for Chinese lately! (We used to have it twice a month when I was working.) I conned DH into sharing an order of My Shu Vegetable on Friday night - DD had to be back at school by 5:15....and yes, I feel guilty that she didn't get to have it with us.

I've been collecting recipes, thinking I'm going to try them - but either the ingredients are tough to find or they're awfully labor-intensive. I have made Epcot's Kang Boa Chicken (good) and Almond Chicken with Lemon Sauce (outstanding!), but that's about it. Well, I do stir-fry some stuff but I don't count that.

Do you have any good, easy suggestions?

 

[sweet maxine]

Well, as far as stir frying goes, you can't beat just cutting up the steak for chicken slivers, then adding a package of frozen stir-fry veggies. As I said before, you can add pasta for more volume if you're not serving it over rice.

When you mentioned Mu-Shu, I remembered a recipe I found in a cookbook that's for last-minute dinners--like those that take 30 mins. or less. Here it is--


Mindless Mu-Shu

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 Tblspn. peanut or veg. oil
1 or 2 bunches scallions (green onions--for 3/4 c. chopped)
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cabbage coleslaw mix
1/2 cup already sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup dry sherry or fruity white or blush wine (I never have any of this)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 cup soy sauce (reduced sodium if you prefer)
1/2 tspn. minced garlic
1 pkg. broccoli coleslaw mix
1 cup already shredded carrots (optional)
1 Tblspn. dark sesame oil
8 small (8 inch) flour tortillas
4 to 8 teaspoons hoisin sauce (found at the Asian market for best flavor)

Cut the chicken into 1/4" wide strips, and place in a bowl.

Heat the oil in a 12" nonstick skillet over medium heat. Slice the scallions using all the whites and green tops for 3/4 cup. Immediately add them to the skillet along with the shredded cabbage mix and mushrooms. Raise the heat to high, and cook to soften the veggies, stirring occasionally.

Combine the sherry and cornstarch in a small container that has a lid and shake until lumps disappear. (I usually just use a wire wisk for lumps ). Add the mixture to the skillet along with the soy sauce and garlic. Stir well. Add the broccoli slaw and carrots and stir. Continue to cook, stirring frequently until the chicken is no longer pink (5 - 7 mins). Toward the end of cooking, add the sesame oil and stir well.

Just before serving, microwave the tortillas on a microwave-safe plate covered with wax paper for about 1-1/2 mins. to warm through. To serve, spread hoisin sauce to taste on each tortilla (1/2 to 1 tspn.), then tip with 1/2 cup of the filling. Roll up burrito style with one end tucked in and serve at once.

Serves 4 generously.

This is from the cookbook Desperation Dinners by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross.

Whew! That recipe sounds long and involved. But if you use the shortcut ingredients, it shouldn't take more than 30 mins. to prepare.

Hope that helps!

Oh, I just remembered. When I cook broccoli with oyster sauce, I add probably a good 3/4 cup of water to it. Then when the broccoli has softened, I add some cornstarch (oh, about a Tblspn. or so) I've dissolved in
a bit of water to thicken the sauce. Sorry I left that out, but I was typing on just one cup of coffe, and my brain cells weren't stirring yet!

Don't be put off by the sound of "oyster sauce". It's made from oyster extractives. It doesn't have a "fishy" taste, but it is very salty. We eat it just on top of rice sometimes for flavor straight out of the bottle.

As far as Asian-type ingredients go (the sauces and such), I only buy mine at the Asian market. The ones you get at the grocery are never the same flavor-wise. I think they're just a little too "Americanized" and don't have the same oomph to the flavor. I think that's probably true about any ethnic type of ingredients, or at least that's what I've found with my experience.

 

[MicMin]

Thanks for posting the recipes. They sound great.