Ginger Hoisin Chicken

When it comes to dinner on a weeknight, I often have about 10 different ideas in my head at a given time. Should I roast a chicken or make a quick pasta? A tried-and-true recipe like fried rice or go for something I just bookmarked on Pinterest? Vegetarian or an all-out pork fest? Usually my choices are so wildly different, and all over the place, that even I baffle myself.

Cursed with the paradox of choice, I'd sometimes take so long to make a decision about what to cook that I'm too hungry to start cooking. Or the supermarkets are close by the time I finally settle on something to make. So I just end up ordering takeout. (Yes, cookbook authors do resort to takeout semi-regularly. At least this one does.)

Fortunately, a few months ago I started a partnership with Soy Vay ® and currently have a pantry stocked full of their sauces, so this weeknight dilemma has been occurring less and less. After I made this Garlic Beef and Asparagus Stir-fry last month, their Hoisin Garlic Sauce and Marinade has been on heavy rotation in my kitchen. I'd use it for stir-frying tofu, noodles, shrimp, and chicken. Especially chicken.

PartnershipsDiana KuanApril 24, 2013Chicken, Soy Vay Comments

Garlic Beef and Asparagus Stir-fry

Spring weather has been slow to arrive this month. Yet I've been craving spring veggies like crazy. In the coming weeks, asparagus will start popping up in the farmers markets, so I thought I would post a stir-fry to get you in the mood for warmer temps ahead.

As I've mentioned before, lately I've been testing out sauces from Soy Vay, with whom I started a partnership in January. This month I decided to try out their recipe for a garlic beef and asparagus stir-fry using their Hoisin Garlic. Here are some discoveries from the Appetite for China test kitchen:

Doubling as a marinade, this is one workhorse of a sauce. I altered the original recipe a bit, marinating the beef in about 2 tablespoons of Hoisin Garlic to allow the flavors to seep into the meat before cooking. The result was incredibly tender beef; the sauce takes the place of my usual meat marinade of soy sauce, rice wine, and cornstarch.
It's a little less concentrated than other hoisin sauces I've used, which makes it easier to stir in the pan. This is especially helpful for this recipe, because the flank steak cooks so quickly, and you don't want to overcook the beef before the sauce gets evenly mixed.
The flavor is slightly sweeter, which balances out the savoriness from the soybeans. No need to add an extra bit of sugar to your sauce, which I often do.

PartnershipsDiana KuanMarch 24, 2013Beef, Recipes, Soy Vay Comments

Teriyaki Chicken Stuffed Mushrooms

Have you ever had Chinese-style baked stuffed mushrooms? When I was growing up, it was a popular appetizer at Chinese and tiki restaurants my family frequented. Usually filled with a sesame-accented pork filling that became caramelized in the oven, these bite-sized morsels were hard to resist.

With February designated as National Snack Food month, I decided to create a similar dish using Soy Vay® Veri Veri Teriyaki sauce, a thick flavorful sauce with plenty of sesame oil and sesame seeds. (I started my partnership with Soy Vay last month and have been experimenting with a few of their sauces.) Instead of pork, I decided to use ground chicken as a mushroom filling. For the flavoring, I just added minced ginger, scallions, and the Veri Veri Teriyaki sauce. You simply mix together the filling, fill up the mushroom caps, brush on a little olive oil, and sprinkle extra sesame seeds on top. Then the stuffed mushrooms bake in the oven for just 20 minutes.

The mushrooms make for tasty hor d’oeuvres for parties or just a side dish at dinner. You can also mix the filling and stuff the mushrooms ahead of time, and just pop them in the oven before serving. To test the seasoning of the meat mixture, just sauté a small bit of the filling in a skillet, and adjust accordingly with salt and pepper.

Partnerships, RecipesDiana KuanFebruary 28, 2013Chicken, Mushrooms, Recipes, Soy Vay Comments

Partnership with Soy Vay®

I'm happy to announce that starting this month I'm partnering with Soy Vay® as a brand ambassador. I started using Soy Vay products in college over a decade ago, after discovering them at the nearby Trader Joe's. I wouldn't endorse products unless I'm quite familiar with them, so let me just start off with this: the Veri Veri Teriyaki sauce got me through my entire junior year, when I was living in a suite with a kitchen and cooking for myself for the first time.

In the next few months I'll be doing some recipe development and other fun things. But for now, take a look at their new website.

And another interesting thing that just premiered: Flavor Underground, a mini video series hosted by Soy Vay. In the first video, Dana Nguyen, founder of firstbite.tv, interviews her favorite restaurant chef and discusses ways Soy Vay can be incorporated into everyday meals. Check out the first video that's now up!

PartnershipsDiana KuanJanuary 31, 2013Soy Vay Comments