Mu Shu Chicken!

Yay! for Mu Shu! I love that stir-fried goodness, all wrapped in a rice pancake and topped with some plum sauce! MMMMMmmmmmm . . . Ok, I actually don’t really care about the pancake. I like the vegetables and the plum sauce. Protein is a bonus.

PLUS! It's HEALTHY! It's almost all vegetables, plus whatever protein you add. There's a little bit of fat for cooking, but other than that, the only thing you really have to be aware of is what's in your sauce. Who could ask for anything more?

The Recipe:
Serves 6-8

2 Tbs canola oil
1 onion, chopped
1 head of celery, stalks sliced diagonally into quarters (in other words, BIG pieces)
½ 10-oz bag grated carrots
1 10-oz bag sliced mushrooms
2 10-oz bags presliced cabbage
6 large green onions, white parts chopped, green parts cut into 3-inch lengths
2 cups cooked protein: chicken, scrambled eggs, steak, whatever (I usually use eggs, but had some leftover chicken to use up, so I used that in this recipe)
*Note: I do NOT add salt or pepper to this; most of the sauces you’ll put on top have salt, and that will be plenty.

Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onions and celery, lower the heat, and allow to cook, stirring occasionally, until the celery begins to soften just a little bit, and the onions begin to get translucent.

Add the carrots and mushrooms, stir to combine, and cook until they begin to soften.

Add the cabbage and green onions, and stir gently until the cabbage begins to wilt. (Note: you might have to add the cabbage a little at a time, stirring until it wilts before you can add the next couple handfuls. Your pan will be REALLY, REALLY full.)

Add the protein and heat through.

Spoon generous portions onto plates, and top with plum sauce.

*There are LOTS of sauces that will work with this: sometimes I add oyster sauce or soy sauce mixed with chili sauce. I’ve added sesame oil, I’ve added fish sauce, I’ve added spicy peanut sauce. These particular veggies seem to go best with an Asian-style sauce, but feel free to experiment. The only flavors you’re working with are the vegetable flavors, and the sauces usually have salt, so I don’t even add that to the mix.

Speedy Chicken Stir-Fry

Stir-fries are the go-to meal for the time-crunched, and with good reason. This particular stir-fry took me literally 20 minutes, from the time I turned on the burner, to the time the finished meal hit the plate. Full disclosure: I was so tired tonight that I almost didn’t post this, because I did NOT want to cook anything, and I knew that I had a backup post or two in the Drafts section of Blogger. But since I’d already defrosted the veggies, I figured I might as well go ahead – and boy, was I glad I did! Nothing makes you feel better than a quick hot meal before bed! Those prepackaged dinners (I’m looking at you, Lean Cuisine) have got NOTHING on real food!

This particular stir-fry works well (and comes together fast) for a few reasons:
First, the vegetables are defrosted when they go into the pot – no waiting around for frozen veggies to thaw! (I just throw them in the fridge before I leave for work in the morning, but if you’re doing this at the last minute, defrost them in the microwave. It’s still faster than trying to cook them through in the pan.)
Next, oyster sauce and soy sauce both are PACKED with flavor, so you don’t really need any other seasonings (although I add salt to EVERYTHING, but that’s my problem – ha!).
And by using prechopped veggies and chicken, you save a BUNCH of prep time.

Ready?

The Recipe
Serves 4

1 Tbs canola, grapeseed or peanut oil (suitable for the high heat of a stir-fry)
1 pound chicken tenders or strips (if you want to make this vegetarian, add an extra package of mixed vegetables or 1 pound of tofu)
1 10-oz package cabbage-based coleslaw mix
1 16-oz package mixed vegetables (I used the Harvest Hodgepodge from Trader Joe’s), DEFROSTED
3 Tbs low-sodium soy sauce
3 Tbs oyster sauce
1 tsp garlic powder or 2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
Hot sauce on the side (optional)

Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the chicken and sauté, stirring, until cooked through (about 5 minutes). Add the cabbage and stir until it begins to wilt (about 3 minutes). Add the vegetables, soy sauce, oyster sauce and garlic powder, and heat through.

That’s it! You’re done! Just set out the salt, pepper and hot sauce for folks to add as they go along.

Sort of Asian Soup!

This is for Nezu, who asked me for something without eggplant, tomatoes, or pepper of any kind.  Okay, this has red pepper flakes, but you could certainly delete them and substitute more ginger!  I'm sure, Nezu, that you have other ideas for spicing things up, since you've lived with this forever!  Might horseradish work?  If you use this, I think I'd omit the thyme, but you'd have to taste it to know!)  As for me, I really love this soup! And I buy a large head of my vegetable choice, and I use the rest for Kung Pao, as in "Kung Pao Cabbage," e.g.  MMMMM! 

1 Tbl. canola oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 stalks celery, diagonally sliced

1 bunch green onions, sliced into 3/4" - 1" pieces

4 cans vegetable broth (I use Swanson's)

1 Tbl. freshly grated (or finely minced) ginger--about 1 1/4" - 1 1/2" of a 1" diameter root (Marste introduced me to a microplane grater!  Boy, does this make life easier!  Ha!)

1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves (or 1 1/2 tsp. fresh!)  (I know this sounds odd--just trust me!)

3 Tbl. soy sauce

1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes (mild; 1/4-medium; 1/2 hot!)

1 small head bok choy, Chinese cabbage, or green cabbage, cleaned and thinly sliced

1 lb. frozen vegetarian meatballs

1/2 tsp. sesame oil

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

OPTIONAL:  1 8-oz. can sliced water chestnuts, drained (adds crunch)

1 15-oz. can baby corn, drained (adds color and fun!)

Heat oil in a soup pot.  Add the onion, and cook over medium heat until it's soft.  Add garlic and celery, and continue cooking until the celery is soft.  Add the green onions and broth.  Add the ginger thyme, soy sauce, and pepper flakes (or other spicy seasoning, Nezu!  :)).  Simmer until it's fragrant.

Add the cabbage-family vegetable, and cook until it's crisp-tender.  Add the meatballs, and cook until they're thawed and heated through--if the broth is bubbling, it's heated!  Turn off the heat, and add the oil and cilantro, stir them in, and serve.

This is a thick soup because of the vegetables and meatballs.  If you like a thinner soup, add a can, or two, of broth!