Springfield Style Cashew Chicken

Did you ever eat at Gee's East Wind?
Or today at Leong's?
This is where the true Springfield Style Cashew Chicken originated.
Today, you can purchase Leong's famous sauces at Harter House also.

My dad's favorite restaurant was Gee's East Wind.  (His other favorite was The Shady Inn)
We got to eat at Gee's often, especially if we had out of town guests visiting.

I learned to make this recipe when I was still living at home because my dad got the owner to give him the recipe.

I also included this recipe in the first Harter House Cookbook that we published.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 lb. Boneless chicken breast per person

2 eggs per pound of chicken

1/4 cup milk per egg
flour, salt and pepper

Peanut oil, for frying

Cut chicken into small pieces about 1/2 to 3/4 inch

Flour well and let stand in flour for 15 minutes.

Mix Egg, milk, salt and pepper. 

Remove chicken from Flour and let stand in egg mixture for 10 minutes,

Roll in flour and deep fry in peanut oil.

Keep warm in oven set at 200degrees.

SAUCE
2 chicken bouillon cubes per 1 cup water

2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons oyster flavor sauce

Boil water and dissolve cubes. 

Remove 1/4 cup broth and mix in cornstarch until smooth.

Pour back into broth with other ingredients and let thicken.

Pour sauce over chicken, top with cashews and chopped green onions.

Serve with rice, soy sauce and hot mustard if desired.

NOTE

My hot mustard is Coleman's dry mustard made into a paste by adding  a small amount of water.

Orange Chicken

Prepare rice and serve this Orange Chicken over rice.

Ingredients for the Chicken

2 lbs. Boneless, skinless chicken, cut into 3/4 inch pieces.

1 egg

1 1/2 Teaspoon salt

1 pinch black pepper

2 Tablespoons oil, divided, plus more for frying.

1 cup Flour

For the Sauce

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

2 Tablespoon rice wine

1/4 cup water

1 Teaspoon sesame oil

3 Tablespoons soy sauce

10 Tablespoons sugar

10 Tablespoons white vinegar

zest of one orange

To Finish

1 1/2 Tablespoons ginger root, minced

2 teaspoons garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon red chili pepper crushed

Instructions

To make the sauce, combine 1 tablespoon corn starch, rice wine, water, sesame oil, sugar, white vinegar, and orange zest. Set aside.

In another bowl, add the egg, salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon oil.  Wisk together.

In a separate bowl, add flour.

In a large frying pan or wok, heat oil to 375 degrees.  (drops of added water will pop when oil is hot)

Dip chicken pieces in flour, then egg mixture, then flour again.

Fry chicken till golden and crisp.  about 4 minutes.  Do not crowd chicken.

Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and repeat with additional chicken pieces.

When you are done with the chicken, Drain all but 1 tablespoon oil from skillet.

Add ginger, garlic, and crushed red pepper, cooking for about 15 seconds.

Add the orange sauce and bring to a boil.

Turn off the heat and add chicken to the sauce or pour sauce over the chicken and rice after being plated.

NOTES

Garnish with cut green onions, and a side of pickled ginger\, optional.

I also like a hot mustard. I use Coleman's dry mustard and make it into a paste by adding just a little water.

Easy Crab Ragoon with Sweet and Sour Sauce

Crab Rangoon is an appetizer found in many Chinese restaurants in the United States. A classic American creation, crab rangoon is basically cream cheese wontons with tiny bits of crab meat, deep-fried to golden perfection.
This sounds much better than Chinese takeout.
Give it a try!

Ingredients:

1 brick (8 oz) Kraft Philadelphia Regular Cream Cheese, at room temperature
2 oz crab meat or 2 sticks imitation crab meat (finely diced)
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
Pinch of salt
20 wonton wrappers - at Harter House in the produce section
Oil, for deep frying

Directions:

Mix all the cream cheese, crab meat, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Stir to blend well. Place about 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese filling in the middle of a wonton wrapper. Dab some water on the outer edges of the wonton wrapper and fold the two ends of the wrapper together. Fold the other two ends to make a tiny parcel pictured below.  Pinch to seal tight and make sure that there is no leakage.

Heat up a pot of oil for deep-frying and fry the crab rangoon until golden brown. Dish out with a strainer or slotted spoon, draining the excess oil by laying the crab rangoon on a dish lined with paper towels. Let the crab rangoon cools down a bit before serving them with sweet and sour sauce.

Use real crab meat if possible. Don’t serve the crab rangoon immediately after deep-frying as the filling will be too hot!

Make the sweet and sour sauce.

SWEET & SOUR SAUCE

1 cup sugar

Mix with 2 T. cornstarch

½ Cup Cider Vinegar

½ Cup pineapple juice

½ Cup Ketchup

1 tsp Soy Sauce

2 T Water

1 cup pineapple chunks (or tidbits)

Combine and heat on the stove top till it reaches the desired thickness.

Whole Grilled Chicken ~ A Real Winner

I LOVE a roasted chicken on the grill. I have also cooked this butterflied Chicken in the oven, 350 degrees, about an hour.

This technique includes slicing the bird down the backside to remove the backbone before cooking. This makes a chicken more flexible so you can flatten the bird out, insuring that all parts cook evenly. Removing the backbone can be done with a sharp knife, but is easiest with kitchen shears. Some cooks may take one step further by also breaking the wishbone (clearly visible once you remove the backbone) and then cutting out the keel bone, which is the dark breastbone in the middle of the chicken. My chicken always cooks evenly when I only remove the backbone, so why bother with an extra step?

The chicken can be seasoned or marinated any way you like, but you’re definitely going to want to give this dry rub a try. More aromatic than spicy, this blend of salt, pepper, sweet paprika, chili powder, garlic and turmeric brings deep color and flavor to the bird. The skin on this grilled chicken, layered with flavors from all the spices and cooked to crispy perfection, just might be our favorite part.  Who knew grilled chicken – even the breast meat -  could be so moist?

Butterflying the chicken is largely responsible for this, but keeping the grill at a steady heat without any flare-ups is important too. If your grill has a temperature gauge, and you’ll want to keep it between 325-375 degrees Fahrenheit. I cook my chicken over white-hot lump charcoal on the barbecue (sometimes with smoke chips) and I roast the bird near the fire, not right on top of it.  Sometimes we cook our chicken on a gas grill, lowering the heat when needed and moving the chicken away from direct flames, with equal success. The last thing to remember is that the bird should be turned every 15 minutes until it reaches an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees.  Flipping the bird will help the chicken cook evenly and prevent burning.  “The challenge is to get the outside nice and crispy!”

A 3-4 pound chicken should take just over an hour, which gives you plenty of time to relax outside with friends in the great outdoors while your chicken roasts to juicy perfection on the grill.

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground pepper (try a mix of white and black)
• 1-2 tablespoons smoked sweet paprika (or just sweet paprika if you can’t find the smoked variety)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder or dried minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon turmeric

Instructions:

Get the grill started first, so it comes up to at least 325 degrees Fahrenheit before you put the bird on.

Mix the dry ingredients together and set the rub aside.

Set the chicken breast-side down and remove anything that’s inside the cavity. Using a sharp knife or kitchen shears, cut down each side of the backbone to remove it.

The backbone runs right down the middle of the chicken. When the backbone is removed, the chicken will fold open.

Rub the bird with olive oil then rub the spice mix generously all over the bird.

Cook the chicken with the grill lid on, checking and turning the bird every 15 minutes. Watch out for flare-ups and try to avoid letting the chicken come in direct contact with flames. Cook until an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit is reached.

ENJOY  ~~Shelly

Easy Beef Stir Fry

 

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil divided
• 1 pound Harter House Beef Stir Fry
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 4 cups mixed vegetables - Broccoli, red pepper, carrots, green onions,  mushrooms, sprouts

Sauce

• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• ⅓ cup orange juice
• ⅓ cup water
• ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Instructions

• Season steak with salt & pepper. Toss with cornstarch and set aside while you prepare the vegetables.
• Place 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan or wok. Cook the beef in 2 small batches over medium high until browned, about 2-3 minutes (beef does not need to be cooked through). Remove from pan and set aside.
• Add vegetables to the pan and cook about until tender crisp, 4-5 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside with the beef.
• Combine sauce ingredients except corn starch in a bowl and stir well.
• Turn the heat up to medium-high and add the sauce. Bring to a simmer. Combine cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water (or broth) and add it the sauce a little bit at a time while whisking to reach desired consistency. Let simmer 2 minutes. Add vegetables, beef (and any juices) to the pan and cook until heated through.
• Serve with noodles or over rice.  Sprinkle with Sesame Seeds, optional.

From Spend with Pennies

I like hot mustard on the side.

I use Colman's Dry Mustard

Just add a little water till it is the consistency you like.

Hot Mustard with a twist.

2 1/2 tablespoons Colman's Mustard Powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon very hot water

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon honey

Mix the mustard powder, onion powder and salt in a small bowl.  Add the hot water and stir till well mixed.  Add the rice vinegar and stir well.  Stir in the honey.  Let stand at least 15 minutes up to 2 hours.  The heat will mellow the longer it stands.

From Cooking Bites