Sweet and Sour Chicken

How many of us love to order Chinese food? Probably most, I'd guess. Well, to prove how easy and inexpensive it is to cook it at home, I decided to make one of the most popular Chinese dishes here in America: sweet and sour chicken.

Takeout can't compare to the freshness of homemade. There are virtually no specialty ingredients in this dish, except perhaps for the sherry -- but, that could easily be swapped for whatever spirits you have in the house, like scotch or bourbon, or simply left out. Everything else you probably already have in the cupboard or fridge. And, I'd bet you can make it in the same time it takes to wait for delivery.

We had friends over for dinner, so I made a double batch, which serves 5-6. Again, the rights to this recipe and cook book belong exclusively to Joyce Chen Foods and the Chen family, and I've referenced them here with their permission. Here's how I made it:

Chicken:
Canola oil
3 lbs boneless chicken breast (at room temperature)
3 Tbsp dry sherry
3 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
5-6 Tbsp corn starch

Mix everything except the oil in a large bowl. Heat about a ¼" of oil in a large skillet until very hot, and fry chicken (in batches if needed) till golden brown and nearly cooked through. You also can deep fry it, if you prefer. Drain the chicken on a plate lined with paper towels and keep warm while you cook the sauce.

Sauce:
1 cup sugar
½ cup ketchup
⅔ cup pineapple juice (or water)
1 cup cider vinegar
4 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
Canola oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed but left whole
4 Tbsp corn starch mixed with ⅔ cup water
1 can (20 oz.) pineapple chunks

Mix the first five ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Heat a little oil over medium-high heat in a clean skillet and saute the garlic till golden then remove it (you only want to flavor the oil). Add the vinegar mixture and, when it boils, add the corn starch slurry. Stir until the mixture thickens and clears. Add the pineapple and chicken and stir gently till combined. Simmer for 5 minutes to finish cooking the chicken. Serve immediately over rice.

Xiǎngshòu! (Enjoy!)

To MSG or Not To MSG?



Graphic: en.wikipedia.org

Monosodium glutamate, or MSG, is a food additive that was patented more than 100 years ago, in 1908, by Dr. Kikunae Ikeda at the University of Tokyo. MSG is the salt form of glutamic acid, a non-essential amino acid that our bodies make and use as a neurotransmitter. When glutamic acid is broken down by cooking, fermenting or other processes, it becomes glutamate. Add that to water, and you've got MSG.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that MSG is "generally declared as safe" but it's use in food remains fairly controversial. Researches have been unable to identify a specific link between MSG and reports of various adverse reactions to foods that contain it, like headaches, chest pain and nausea. These reported symptoms have been dubbed MSG symptom complex" and "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome" - the latter a misnomer, considering MSG is also used in cuisines from other countries or regions, including Japan (Ajinomoto) and North America (Accent).

Because potential health risks haven't been ruled out definitively, the FDA requires that foods containing MSG must list it on the label. But, because MSG is one form of a naturally occurring amino acid that can be found in varying levels in many different foods, the labeling language that should be used is unclear. Simply citing that the food contains "No MSG" isn't sufficient when it includes ingredients like hydrolyzed vegetable protein, yeast extract or protein isolate, which all can naturally contain glutamic acid and its salts. The food industry uses terms like "natural flavor" to mask the amount of potential MSG or other glutamate content.

Photo: www.umamiinfo.com

So, why use it when there's so much controversy? It's all about umami. This fifth taste sensation - which has been added to sweet, salty, bitter and sour - refers to the naturally savory flavors of foods like cheese, meats and tomatoes. MSG in particular imparts umami. (That konbu broth we made for our week in Japan contains naturally occurring glutamate. Dr. Ikeda studied that kelp as the basis of his glutamate research and established the umami taste classification back in 1908, but it wasn't widely accepted until the 1980s.)

You can decide for yourself whether to include MSG in your cooking. Since I don't have it already in my pantry, I'll just leave it out. I've never thought that my cooking is unsavory, but perhaps I just don't know what I'm missing.

Chungking Pork

When I was trying to figure out what to cook tonight, my wife suggested I look for something made with pork, since we had a tenderloin in the freezer. The front of Joyce Chen's cook book contains a handy reference chart that categorizes the recipes by prep and cooking time, cost, complexity and other criteria. One name caught my eye: Chungking Pork. So, I flipped to the page and immediately knew I'd cook it.

The page for this recipe was by far the dirtiest one in the book. Clearly, my Aunt Bubbles loved this dish and made it often. In case there was any doubt, she'd marked it with a big green asterix and a note saying, "Excellent (do not freeze)." It was such a wonderful discovery, I had to share a photo of it with you.

She's absolutely right, and this recipe is delicious. And, so easy! Truly, it requires very little effort and contains only a few ingredients. It's light, not too salty and packed with flavor. I skipped the MSG, which is included in practically every recipe in the book (it was published in 1962), and increased the sherry and ginger a little, but otherwise I prepared it as shown.

Please note, the rights to this recipe and cook book belong exclusively to Joyce Chen Foods and the Chen family, and I've referenced them here with their permission. Here's how I made tonight's dish:

1 lb pork tenderloin

1 Tbsp sherry
2 slices fresh ginger
2 cups water

Canola oil
2-3 cups cabbage, chopped into thick strips
Dash of salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
¼ cup black beans, minced
1 tsp red pepper flake
2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
¼ cup cooking stock from the pork

Simmer the pork, sherry and ginger in the water for about a half hour. Remove the pork from the pan and let it cool enough to handle. Slice the pork into medallions about a half inch thick and set aside.

Meantime, heat a little oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet or wok, and add the salt and cabbage. Cook the cabbage for just a few minutes, till it begins to soften but isn't too wilted. Remove from the pan and set aside with the pork. Add a little more oil to the pan, if needed, and fry the ginger, garlic, beans and pepper flake. Give that a few stirs before adding the soy sauce and stock. Mix well and add the pork and cabbage back into the pan. Stir fry for a minute or two and serve immediately over rice.

Week #17: China

I'll be honest: I've got a crazy busy week ahead, so I'm thrilled that our next destination isn't a complicated one. Still, I'm really excited for it!

Chinese food is a longtime favorite of mine. In fact, my Aunt Bubbles gave me her 1962 edition Joyce Chen cookbook many moons ago, and it's been used extensively by us both.

I'll be able to cook on Tuesday but probably not again until Friday or Saturday... Hopefully, I'll manage to prepare something both those nights, but I might only be able to manage two dinners. Very sorry for the minimal activity this week, but I promise I'll make them both count.

谢谢!  Xièxiè!  Thank you!