Buffalo Chicken Eggrolls

Photo Credit: Pirate Palate

Not only am I’m obsessed with making my own take-out, I love making fun and interesting twists on some of my favorite dishes. One of my most exciting twists is on the classic takeout dish, eggrolls. Did you know you they are super simple to make and you can easily play around with the recipe to come up with all different kinds?

My two favorites kinds of eggrolls are buffalo chicken and a simple asian vegetarian. Today I’m going to talk about the buffalo chicken since I think if ANYTHING is going to motivate you to make your own take-out at home, it’s these delicious, crispy rolls. 

What You’ll Need
1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
1/2 package egg-roll wrappers (give or take)
2/3 cup of Franks Red Hot Buffalo Sauce
3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese (I like gorgonzola dolce)
Peanut oil or Vegetable oil for deep frying (if you want to fry it)

What You’ll do
1) Boil the chicken until cooked through and then shred the chicken with a fork

Shredded Chicken

2) Combine chicken with buffalo sauce and blue cheese

Combine chicken with hot sauce and blue cheese

3) Place 1 tablespoon of the filling in the center of the wrapper. Wrap the eggroll! If you want a good tutorial, check this out.

Place Mixture in Center of Wrapper
PC: Cookin’Cowgirl.blogspot.com

4) Cook the eggroll! You have two options here: You can either bake the eggroll’s at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes (the healthier version) or you can deep fry them in  a deep pot or dutch oven in 350 degree oil. Only cook a few at a time and be careful! You will know they are done when they are golden on the outside (since they are already cooked on the inside).

Cook the Eggrolls

Let these babies drain on a paper towel (and cool down a bit) and then serve them up with ranch or blue cheese dressing!

Love always,
Erica

Honey Sesame Chicken and Broccoli w/ Jasmine Rice

Honey Sesame Chicken and Broccoli over Jasmine Rice

Who doesn’t love delicious Chinese take-out (especially on a cold winter night)? My favorite dish is sesame chicken and broccoli over rice! I literally live for the delicious crispy chicken covered in sweet, sticky sauce. Despite how amazing it tastes, let’s face it, this stuff is loaded with sugar, fat and pretty low quality ingredients.

Last night, I found myself craving some Chinese sesame chicken and was determined to create a my own version (since I’m trying to eat healthier). Not only did it come out perfect, but I actually think I like it better than the usual take-out version. It’s super simple to make!

What You’ll Need
12 oz chicken breast (cut into bite-sized pieces)
2 tablespoon of light soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon corn starch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Peanut Oil
3/4 pound broccoli cut into 1/4 inch rounds

For the rice
1 cup of Jasmine Rice
2 cups of water
pinch of salt

For the sauce
1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce (I like Franks)
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons  honey
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

What You’ll Do
1) In a ziplock bag, marinate your pieces of chicken in the soy sauce, sesame oil and sugar for an hour in the fridge.

Chicken Marinating in Soy, Sesame Oil and Sugar

2) About 20 minutes before the chicken is done marinating, start the sauce and the rice!

For the sauce, mix together the chili sauce, ketchup, honey, oyster sauce, soy sauce, chili powder and water in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil then let simmer until sauce thickens.

Sauce Mixture

For the rice, take 1 cup of rice and 2 of cups water and put them into a pot. Bring to a rapid boil, turn the heat down to low and cover with a tight lid. Let cook for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork when finished.

Cooked Rice

3) 2 minutes before the chicken is done marinating, mix the flour, corn starch, salt and pepper  in a different ziplock bag. After the chicken is done marinating, drain the chicken and place it into the bag with the flour mixture and shake around until coated well.

Chicken Coated Flour & Corn Starch

4) Shallow fry the chicken in peanut oil (make sure there is enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan). Drain the chicken on paper towels.

Shallow Fry the Chicken in Peanut Oil

5) Drain most of the oil from the pan and add the broccoli to the pan and cook for a few minutes. Add the chicken back into the pan and cover with your sweet honey sauce. Toss around for a minute then throw in the sesame seeds.

Toss the Chicken, Broccoli and Sauce Together

6) Serve over the jasmine rice

I’m totally obsessed with this dish and I know you will be too. Now that I’ve conquered this, I plan to do tons more “make your own takeout” style recipes!

What’s your favorite take-out dish that you’d want me to write a recipe for?

Love always,
Erica