Madame Wong’s Chinese Lemon Chicken – my easy healthier recipe

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Lemony, tangy, & sweet Chinese Lemon Chicken Recipe.

Lemony, tangy, & sweet Chinese Lemon Chicken Recipe.

My daughter loves Chinese Food that’s a little sweet like Orange Chicken, Lemon Chicken and the sweet Walnut Shrimp at Panda Express (I think I might be able to eat an entire bucket of those). This is my version of Madame Wong’s traditional Lemon Chicken but instead of using a flour batter and frying the chicken, I bread it in rice flour ( so it’s gluten free ) and then I bake it in the oven drizzled with a little coconut oil. I use this method to bake chicken now all the time – even when I’m not smothering it with a delicious, lemony, sweet and tangy sauce. This lemon sauce recipe is amazingly easy to make and you could also use it on pork or even on vegetables if you’re a vegetarian. 

 

Ingredients:

 

  • 2 to 4 Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Breasts, cut into scallops at an angle
  • Sweet Rice Flour (you can buy at any Asian market)
  • Coconut Oil (or any other type of cooking oil)

 

Slice the chicken into thinner, smaller pieces by cutting the breasts on a diagonal. ( Or, you could pound if you’d like. )

 

Drizzle oil on top before baking the rice flour covered chicken.

Drizzle oil on top before baking the rice flour covered chicken.

Place in a casserole dish and add enough rice flour (and a little salt and pepper) to cover the pieces entirely. Use your hands to move the chicken pieces around until they are covered completely with the rice flour. Shake the remaining flour out of the dish if there’s too much remaining. Drizzle the oil on top of the chicken and turn it over and drizzle it again so it’s mostly covered. 

 

 

Bake at 350 degrees F for about 25 minutes or until the chicken is slightly brown and cooked through. Meanwhile, make the sauce. 

 

Lemon Juice, Zest, Sugar.

Lemon Juice, Zest, Sugar.

 

 

Sauce Ingredients:

 

  • Grated lemon rind from 1-2 Lemons (always grate when lemons are dry).
  • 3/4 – 1 Cup Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice 
  • 1/2 Cup Sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons Cornstarch mixed in 1 Tablespoon of Water
  • 1 Egg Yolk (alternatively, you can increase the cornstarch in the recipe, but the egg makes a lovely sheen in the sauce).

 

Place the lemon zest, juice and sugar in a pan and heat on low until sugar melts.

 

Add the cornstarch and egg mixture to thicken.

Add the cornstarch and egg mixture to thicken.

Add the egg to the cornstach and whisk together, then whisk the mixture into the lemon sauce slowly. The mixture will thicken. Strain (if you have to still remove the lemon seeds). Pour over the chicken. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Indian Mint Raita Sauce

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Mint Raita Ingredients. Garlic is opional.

Mint Raita Ingredients. Garlic is opional.

My eldest son is starting to cook like crazy. Yeah!  One of his favorite restaurants is a Pakistani restaurant nearby. They serve all of their meats with a delicious, spicy mint “raita” sauce. He recently found this recipe on his own and shared it with me via email. It is one of my favorite sauces – hands down. And, it’s as simple as blending the ingredients together in a blender or food processor. I serve it with my Middle Eastern Turkey Meatballs. Or, even just simple grilled chicken breasts that are sprinkled with oregano, and salt and pepper before grilling.  

 

 

Clean seeds out of peppers with a teaspoon. Or just reduce the number of peppers in the recipe.

Clean seeds out of peppers with a teaspoon. Or just reduce the number of peppers in the recipe.

  • 6-8 Jalapeno or Serrano Peppers, stems removed (seeds removed if you don’t want it spicy)
  • Fresh Mint, small handful
  • Fresh Cilantro, small handful
  • 1 cup Yogurt
  • Salt and Pepper (to taste)
  • 1 clove garlic (optional)

 

If you do not want this sauce spicy, you can scrape out the seeds using a grapefruit spoon or teaspoon. Alternatively, you could just reduce the number of peppers in the recipe.

 

 

Delicious Spicy Mint Raita Sauce.

Delicious Spicy Mint Raita Sauce.

Blend in a food processor or blender (add a little water if you need to). Done!

Meatball Recipe | Made with Spices and Ground Turkey

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Allspice, Cumin, Coriander, Paprika, Turmeric,Ginger.

Allspice, Cumin, Coriander, Paprika, Turmeric,Ginger.

In the Middle East and parts of Africa, they form ground meat mixed with herbs and a wonderful mixture of spices around a metal stick ( or” kabob ” ). While you can use any meat in this recipe such as the traditional lamb or a mixture of lamb, beef or pork, I use ground Turkey or Chicken (depending on what’s on sale) and instead of grilling on a stick, I make meatballs and bake them on top of either wax paper or a “Silpat” (a silicone mat that you put onto a baking sheet to keep the food from sticking). You could also fry in oil if you like. These make great appetizers for parties. Just roll them smaller and serve with toothpicks. And you can put any combination of spices inside (jerk seasoning, Chinese 5-Spice etc…) to change them up!

 

When I used to consult a while back and was working at Legoland, California, I shared with a chef there that the night before, I had made the worst Turkey Burgers – ever. They were dry and tasteless. She shared with me that the simple secret to moist Turkey Burgers or Meatballs was to add ground or chopped vegetables into the mix because they added both flavor and moisture to the ground poultry which otherwise, cooks up dry. Yet, you don’t have to follow this recipe precisely. You can adjust some of the spices, herbs and vegetables as you like. That’s what makes it easy. 

 

Chopped vegetables add moisture to Turkey Meatballs or Burgers.

Chopped vegetables add moisture to Turkey Meatballs or Burgers.

  • 1 to 1 1/2 lb. Ground Lamb or other (I use Turkey).
  • 1/2 Yellow Onion
  • 1 Carrot (if you’re using ground poultry, otherwise optional)
  • 1 Celery Stalk (if you’re using ground poultry, otherwise optional)
  • 1/2 Bell Pepper (if you’re using ground poultry, otherwise optional)
  • 2 Cloves Garlic
  • 1/2 Inch Fresh Ginger (skin peeled or cut off. We prepeel and freeze and grate to make it easy. Can be omitted since also using ground ginger as a spice. But I love the flavor).
  • Handful of Fresh Cilantro Leaves
  • Handful of Fresh Mint Leaves
  • 1 teaspoon each (Ground Allspice (or Cinnamon), Coriander, Cumin, Paprika, Turmeric, Ginger). 
  • Squeeze of 1/2 a Lemon (optional).
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup Bread Crumbs or if eating gluten free, substitute gf oats or gf bread crumbs).

Blend all vegetables in a blender or food processor.

Lemon Juice is optional but adds a nice flavor.

Lemon Juice is optional but adds a nice flavor.

 

Place meat in a bowl and add the spices, egg and bread crumbs. Mix with your hands lightly. Do not overmix or it will make the meatballs tough.

 

 

 

Mix & Bake. Done.

Mix & Bake. Done.

Roll into balls and place on a baking sheet covered with wax paper or a silicone “silpat” sheet (prevents the meatballs from sticking). Or, you can fry in a pan if you like as well. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes.

 

My little rescue puppy, Bella photobombing.

My little rescue Maltese / ShihTzu hyrid puppy, Bella photobombing again.

Usually I drizzle Tamari and Sesame Oil on top but this night, I served  with an Indian Raita sauce and a simple salad. Delish!

Curried Lentil Salad

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Just had a great gig at a Concert in the Park in San Juan Capistrano. There were so many friendly families and kids and once the sun went down, a nice breeze came in

Great gig. Warm breezes. Summer in San Juan Capistrano, California.

Great gig. Warm breezes. Summer in San Juan Capistrano, California.

over the mountains.

I love Concerts in the Park, whether I’m singing or watching other bands play. It’s so fun to bring and share food and wine with friends. I am sad that Summer is almost over.

 

This is one of my “Picnic Basket” side dishes that is inspired by the Indian Dahl recipe. It is incredibly inexpensive to make and a little goes a long way. When I was in college, I’d make a huge pot when I was out of money and eat it on toast topped with sour cream. Sometimes, I’d eat it for a week until I had money for groceries again. Lentils have no fat, are low in calories and high in fiber and nutrients – even iron so if your’e anemic, lentils are a great staple to add to your diet. And as usual, this side dish recipe is incredibly easy to make. 

 

Easy Lentil Salad Recipe.

Easy Lentil Salad Recipe.

  • 1 Cup Dried Lentils
  • 2 Cups Water or Broth
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 1/4 Diced Onion
  • 2 Tablespoons Red Wine or Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon Olive OIl
  • 1 Tablespoon Tamari or Soy Sauce (left it out of this batch as I had run out.)
  • 2 Tablespoons Curry Powder and/or Cumin
Lentils have no fat and are high in nutrients.

Lentils are high in nutrients.

 

Boil water (or broth) and add lentils.

 

 

Cook for 20-30 minutes until water is gone. (Drain if you have to). Remove from heat (don’t overcook.You want the lentils to have a bite to them and not be mushy).

 

 

Yummy Chilled Curried Lentil Salad. So easy.

Yummy Chilled Curried Lentil Salad. So easy.

Cool the lentils. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Done!