Honey Ginger Chicken Stir-fry

Probably one of my best recipes to date I made this when I wanted to create General Tso's Chicken, but decided to add honey and eventually it morphed into something else entirely.

Ingredients:
2 Chicken breasts, cut into bit sized pieces
1 head of broccoli, bit sized
2 green leaves, shredded (Swiss chard preferred)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp grated ginger, fresh
1 half head of red cabbage, julienned
1 cup bourbon
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup dark soy sauce
enough honey
1 chili pepper, seeded and sliced

Method:
Place cut up chicken in bowl and cover with enough honey to coat and mix with peppers. Leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Heat wok on high heat until hot.
Add 2 tbsp of high heat oil (peanut, vegetable, canola)
Add ginger and garlic.
After 30 seconds add vegetables and rapidly cook for 5-7 minutes.
Add chicken and honey and cook until done (5-7 minutes usually... depending on how thinly cut)
Add fish sauce and dark soy.
Remove from heat and add bourbon (to avoid flames). Then return to heat for 5 minutes.
Reduce to low and let thicken or plate immediately and drizzle the thin sauce over the plate.

Serving:
Pasta, rice, quinoa, or add more veggies and plate as is.

Louisianna Thai Barbecue Sauce

I braised ribs in this and then reduced this into a sauce for those ribs.

Ingredients:
1 cup of bourbon
1/2 cup of honey
1/4 balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp balsamic caramel
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp grated ginger
pinch of kosher salt

Method:
combine, bring to simmer, reduce heat and stir occasionally until thickened into barbecue sauce

Mayan Moroccan Rub

I always wanted to use cocoa and cinnamon with pork barbecue rubs. So I made it.

Original:
8 parts Brown Sugar
3 parts Kosher Salt
1 parts Chile powder
1 parts Cinnamon + Cocoa Powder + Cloves + Nutmeg

Might adjust to:
8 parts Brown Sugar
3 parts Kosher Salt
1 parts Chile powder
1 parts Cinnamon
1 parts Cocoa Powder
1 parts Cloves + Nutmeg

Italian Stirfry

I made this when Emily bought me some squid ink pasta and really wanted to cook it with mussels. This isn't the original (I forgot it) but this hypothetically should be better. Some lemon would do nicely added towards the end.


Ingredients:
1 bag of mussels
1 lb calamari, tubes cut into rings. Tentacles cut from bases
1 head broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces
1 chili, sliced and seeded
1 cup bourbon or brandy
3 cloves garlic, chopped and crushed
2 tbsp grated ginger
3 mint leaves, bruised
Red Wine vinegar
1 cup White Wine
1/2 cup olive oil
Pasta

Method:
Toss broccoli in red wine vinegar, enough to coat. Set aside.

In a large pot, bring a gallon of very salty water to boil. When boiling add pasta cook as directed.
Drain when al dente.

In another large pot steam mussels with mint, white wine, and olive oil on low heat until they open.
Drain when all are open.

Bring a wok to high heat, add a little bit of high heat oil (vegetable, peanut, canola)

Stirfry:
For 30 secs heat garlic, ginger and chili
Cook broccoli for 5-7 minutes
Cook calamari until opaque, and tentacles curled.
Add bourbon, cook for 5 minutes.
Cut heat.
Add mussels and pasta. Toss to coat.

Note:
Timing is weird. Generally you should start the mussels when you start the broccoli and the pasta when the calamari is done.