SQF: Char-Xu

19 OCTOBER 2010. The moment I popped open the lid of my bottle of char siu sauce, I knew at once that we were going to have a fantastic lunch.

Chinese barbecue sauce "char siu"

Char siu sauce is my latest discovery. It's a Chinese barbecue sauce which is quite common in Chinese restaurant dishes, usually with pork or chicken. It can be used as a sauce, added a marinade or basted while grilling meat.


I planned ahead that I will make fried rice. It's only me and dad at home. Hubby-to-be, a rice monster, was on his way and would be joining us shortly. Mom and little bro are already out of the house, and we'll meet them in Makati after lunch.


Having a recent meal at Mongolian Quick-Stop in mind, I derived my favorite ingredients and pulled out cucumbers and tomatoes from the fridge. I also borrowed some carrots from mom's stock. I still have chicken breast and a piece of chorizo. And of course, the usual suspects for stir frys: garlic and onions. And my newly opened jar of char siu sauce.

Ready!


Chili garlic sauce has been a trusted friend when it comes to fried rice, but this time I skipped it in favor of siling labuyo. I only put two pieces, sliced, but the effect was immediately recognizable. It enhanced and "heated up" the barbecue taste.

The ingredients make for a deliciously colorful dish.

I served dad and hubby-to-be a plate each. We were supposed to eat light, as we were going to a birthday party. But they went for seconds.


Their only request. Make it spicier! Next time, I'll double the labuyo. XD


I had some leftovers, which I packed for baon the next morning. Sarap!

Char-Sue: Spicy Barbecue Fried Rice

Spicy Barbecue Fried Rice (ala Renn Xu)
As always, no exact measurements! Hehehe
4-6 cups of leftover rice (or as much as you like)
1 head garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced finely
2 tomatoes, sliced
1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded
1 Chinese chorizo, diced (can be optional)

Char siu sauce + water

1 cucumber, diced
1 carrot, julienned
2 pcs (or more, if you want it hotter) bird's eye chili (siling labuyo), sliced
Peppermill (or just pepper) and salt to taste
Sesame oil (can be optional)


*BB*

SQF: My chicken is Asian

(Hindi ako masyadong mahilig sa chicken, ano? Hehehe)

12 SEPTEMBER 2010. It was Sunday again, and little bro and hubby-to-be were home alone again. My uncle and cousin had arrived the past week from Leyte and Cebu respectively to attend the Manila leg of the Villareal fiesta. They were scheduled to fly back home Wednesday, so they were maximizing the remaining days by visiting relatives scattered in and around Metro Manila.

Just like the Italian version, I've meaning to cook Honey Ginger Chicken since I got a booklet of McCormick recipe cards with the March 2010 issue of Yummy (and that was way back in March). I already shopped for ingredients I could store, like rice wine, but I kept on either using some of the ingredients for other dishes.

But this particular Sunday, everything just happened to be available, like the lemons, which we would only have because I would buy. I put the thawed chicken wings in a very Asian-smelling marinade. The marinade needed at least an hour, so hubby-to-be and I went to church.

When we came back home, it was frying time. It's supposed to be deep fried, but for some reason I'm not very comfortable with deep-frying. I just fried away, so there were still pale spots on the chicken. Hahaha!

The recipe calls for whole chicken parts, but I used wings.

Stolen shot by hubby-to-be.
Oh, I'm wearing that house dress again...

Hubby-to-be helped me with preps for the sauce. And by taking pictures.

Loaded with fresh ginger bits, the sauce is every bit as Asian as possible.

The sauce is easy. Just put together the ingredients. I was tasting it as it was simmering in a pot, and it was weird. I mean, it wasn't the taste I was expecting so I was rather concerned it wouldn't turn out well. But wait until you toss it with the rice wine marinated chicken.

No need to go to an Asian restaurant! Kain na!

But when I tossed the cooked chicken pieces into the sauce...wow! Ang sarap pala. The three of us all had a great Asian dinner. =)

You can do this dish ahead of time by half-frying the marinated chicken and storing in the freezer, as I did with the leftover chicken. I put away the leftover sauce in the refrigerator. That same week, mom requested me to make dinner and I was able to whip this one up in almost a flash. They like it. Little bro even requested me to cook it for his birthday next year. Puwede na raw pang-handa. ^_^

Honey Ginger Chicken (Wings)

Honey Ginger Chicken

www.mccormick.com.ph

If you want to try it, I can scan and email the recipe card. ^_^

*BB*