Foodie Friday - Beijing 2008

I know I haven’t been around much this week. I have just been so incredibly busy.

I’ve had Olympic swimming to watch, Michael Phelps’ iPod to think about, gymnastics to watch, Michael Phelps’ freestyle stroke to analyze, medal counts to compare, smashed Olympic records to consider, Michael Phelps’ iPod to think about some more.

You know… super important stuff.

Oh, and getting my daughter started on her first week of school as a 2nd grader, laundry, aerobics, feeding my family, work and other various activities of much less importance.

And by the way, many thanks to my friends The G’s (Rock Chalk!!) who gave me some enlightenment about Michael Phelps’ iPod (lyrics warning – reading this may damage your delicate sensibilities). This pretty much lined up with my man’s prediction of what Phelps probably listened to. But you have to admit, the thought of him listening to a motivational speaker is kind of funny. Well, I guess you don’t have to admit it… but it’s a fact… it’s funny.

*** updated to add this link about the Phelps playlist... It's an obsession. I admit it. ***

So, as we have been so entrenched in all things Olympic over the last week, I thought it appropriate to do a Foodie Friday post as a tribute to the Beijing 2008 Summer Games.

My whole family loves to go to Pei Wei. It’s not specifically Chinese, but it is Asian “inspired.” Here are our favorite standard menu items (we rarely venture out from these): Mike – Kung Pao Chicken w/brown rice; Donna – Orange Peel Chicken w/brown rice; Sarah & Nathan – Honey Seared Chicken w/noodles. All of us also enjoy edamame and our complimentary fortune cookies.

The kids love their Honey Seared Chicken so much that I decided to try to make it at home one time. It’s a little involved, but this recipe is about as close as I’m going to get without spending hours upon hours in the kitchen testing and re-testing recipes. I’ll leave that to the experts at America’s Test Kitchen and Cook's Illustrated.

So if you are so inclined and you want to force your children to be a little adventurous, go get some edamame from the freezer section of your grocery store (they're soy beans you know - so look in the vegetable section), and make that along with the following recipe for Honey Chicken Teriyaki along with some noodles or brown rice (seasoned with key lime juice, dried orange peel, dried tarragon while cooking).

Honey Chicken Teriyaki

(it looks like I found this at some place called cdkitchen.com)

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 eggs, beaten
oil for frying


Glaze
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, optional

Directions:
Pour 1/2 inch oil in a wide frying pan; place over medium high heat. Cut chicken into 2 inch squares. Combine flour, salt, and pepper. Dip chicken in eggs, then coat with seasoned flour. When oil is hot, add chicken half at a time. Cook, turning as needed, until chicken is golden brown. Allow total of 6 to 8 minutes.

Meanwhile heat soy sauce, honey, sherry, garlic and ginger in small pan. Lift chicken from oil. Drain briefly. Dip in honey mixture, then place on a rack set in a baking pan. When all chicken is cooked and dipped, sprinkle with sesame seeds, if used. Bake at 250F for 20 minutes. Brush with glaze after 10 minutes.

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Now... we all know that I never end up doing anything exactly like the recipe. So, here's how this recipe usually goes down in our house:

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Honey Chicken Teriyaki

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup all purpose flour
salt & pepper
2 eggs, beaten
oil for frying (mostly Canola & a little Sesame Oil for taste)


Glaze
1/4 cup soy sauce (approx)
1/2 cup honey (approx)
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 clove garlic, pressed
teaspoon ground ginger

Directions: Pour 1/2 inch oil in a wide frying pan; place over medium high heat. Cut chicken into 1/2 inch squares (it's got to be small enough for the kiddos to pick up with chopsticks). Combine flour, salt, and pepper. Dip chicken in eggs, then coat with seasoned flour. When oil is hot, add chicken half at a time (actually ends up being about 3 batches). Cook, turning as needed, until chicken is golden brown. Allow total of 6 to 8 minutes.

Meanwhile heat soy sauce, honey, sherry, garlic and ginger in small pan. Lift chicken from oil. Drain briefly. Place on foil covered baking pan. Once all chicken is cooked & on pan, spoon about half of the honey mixture over and slightly toss. Bake at whatever temperature I happen to decide on for whatever time I have left before it all needs to be on the table. Toss in remaining honey mixture (as long as your husband hasn't come behind you and poured it out so that he can put the pan in the dishwasher - I love you honey!)

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By the way... I made this tonight (Thursday) for dinner. I had every intention of taking a picture of it for you, but time and getting dinner on the table took precedence.

Sarah told me it was like having Pei Wei at home. And Nathan, my 3 year old, told me, "This is delicious." For a minute there, I thought we weren't going to have enough