Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Apricot Chicken


I made this recipe I found tonight and we loved it, it was pretty easy, so I thought I would share. I didn't get a picture of it, we ate it too fast, but I was able to scrape a few leftovers to give you some idea...
  • 1/2 cup apricot preserves
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sherry (I'm sure you could use chk broth)
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
Original recipe included:

  • 1 medium green pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 cup salted cashews
But I didn't add them because I didn't have them and also I am not a big fan of bell peppers. (I did have a bag of cashews a few days ago, but they were absently left on the counter and Lola can get anything she wants from off our counter, so bye bye cashews).


I did however make my own additions:
  • 1/2 cup onion, cubed into stir fry size pieces
  • big handful of broccoli florets
  • Oh, and I bagged the oil since I cooked the chicken in oil.
We were very pleased with both additions, so I highly recommend them

What I am going to add next time:
  • cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes to taste
  • maybe a little more garlic
  • I am sure fresh ginger would be better (isn't it always) sadly, I didn't have any.
Ok, here is the procedure:

1. cut chicken into strips. Warm up the wok and add olive oil. Cook chicken in oil on high until it starts browning, then add onion and broccoli and turn wok down to medium.

2. While that is cooking, mix the rest of the ingredients into a bowl and whisk. When chicken and veggies are cooked, add sauce, turn wok down to low and let simmer a few minutes (about 5, maybe a little less).

3. Serve over rice.

I added a little more soy sauce to mine and it was yummy, Rob thought it was perfect as is. In fact, he called it "the most Chinese thing you've ever made". I try so hard to find recipes that taste like a real Chinese restaurant, and even if it is good, it falls short. Well, Rob thought this time I did it. I added my own twist to the original (as I find myself doing a lot), but this time I really felt it was called for as the original recipe cooked everything in the microwave! Cooking meat in the microwave absolutely horrifies me, but if anyone would like to try it, I would be really interested to hear how it turns out. Here are the original instructions:

  1. In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Add chicken and toss to coat. Transfer to a shallow microwave-safe dish. Cover and microwave on high for 3 minutes, stirring once.
  2. Add green pepper and cashews. Cover and microwave on high for 2-4 minutes or until chicken juices run clear, stirring once. Let stand for 3 minutes. Serve with rice.

I would also like to know how it tastes with cashews. I would also like to sub the broccoli with snow peas sometime, or I suppose you could do both since I really liked the broccoli in this dish. But, I will definitely be making this again- so I can keep experimenting and tweaking until I have it exactly as I'd like it. I'll let you know what's good- and anyone that tries it, I would love a little feedback as well.

3 comments:

Pops said...

Sounds good, ems. Mom and i had a late lunch at p.f. Changs today and as always it was really good. It made me smile all the way to Evenston. I'm sure mom will like and make this recipie.....

Haley said...

Mmmm we love Chinese, I will definitely try this one soon. I will not be adding any nuts to foods anytime soon because I would rather not have to take Ali to the emergency room ever again. :) I love tweaking recipes, it's fun. Holy crap, who cooks chicken in the microwave??!! So gross.

Nina said...

Thanks for sharing this vege dish...

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