Star Anise Chicken with Chinese Mushrooms

When I got tired of my traditional Chinese chicken stir fry with oyster sauce, sesame oil and soy sauce, I decided to up my game and get inspired to cook a variation of my boring Chinese chicken stir fry. I stumbled upon this recipe and fell in love with it.

Chinese mushrooms with chicken can never go wrong! And the addition of the star anise was the reason why I made this dish. I love star anise but never knew how to use it other than putting it into a big pot of broth.  As usual I always make changes to recipes according to what I have in handy and to my liking.


Servings 3
Ingredients
1/2 lb chicken thigh fillet cut into cubes
2 carrots cut into cubes
10 mini Chinese mushrooms soaked in 180ml boiling water (keep the mushroom stock)
1 pearl onion/1/2 shallot minced
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 tsp ginger (cut into matchsticks or in big chunks)
1 tsp shao xing wine
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
180ml mushroom stock from Chinese mushrooms
3 star anise
2 tsp corn starch diluted in water
dash of white pepper
Spring onions for garnishing

Method
1. Soak chinese mushrooms in boiling water until soft (approx. 20min). Cut it up into smaller pieces or cut the mushroom stalk.
2. Marinate the cubed chicken with sesame oil, low sodium soy sauce and shao xing wine for 15 minutes
3. Heat oil in a stir fry pan and add in onions, garlic and ginger. Stir till fragrant
4. Add in marinated chicken and star anise. Stir fry till chicken is browned
5. Add carrots, mushrooms, oyster sauce and dark soy sauce. Stir fry.
6. Pour in mushroom stock. With lid slightly open, simmer for 15 minutes stirring occasionally. 
7. Add in diluted corn starch and simmer until gravy has thickened

If you prefer less gravy, open the lid and simmer. As for me, the more gravy the better!

Potato Leek Soup

Every time I grace through the vegetable aisle, I always catch myself gawking away at leeks wondering what in the world to do with this ginormous piece of overgrown spring onions? One day, I caught myself almost grabbing an instant box of potato leek soup from the grocery store until the alter ego in me said "wait a minute, I already had two microwavable meals this week and If I grab this other box, I will soon be like an average American relying on a stash of microwavable meals in their freezer." You see, I made a silent promise to myself to never ever become like that American who literally hoards boxes of Hungry Man, Maruchan Ramen, Smart Ones, and sodas in their carts while grocery shopping.

Minutes later, I ended up with the ginormous leeks and russet potatoes in my shopping cart. I was so proud of myself until I got home and realize that I had no idea how to clean and cut the leeks. Anyway, that's when this youtube video came flashing onto my computer screen. After that, I clicked here for a mini tutorial on how to make the potato leek soup.

And the end result is a recipe with some changes below:

4 Servings
Ingredients
3 stalks of leeks chopped
2 medium size russet potatoes chopped (do not worry about chopped size as it will be pureed)
4 cups of chicken/vegetable broth ( I used 2 cups water, 2 cups chicken broth)
1 cup milk (for richer creamier texture use cream)
1 clove minced garlic
1 tbsp oil
dash of white pepper
some chopped chives for garnishing ( I used cilantro since that's what I had in hand)

Directions 
1. On medium heat,heat oil in pan. When oil is hot, stir in the garlic
2. Add in leeks and stir fry till soft
3. Add in the potatoes and 4 cups of chicken broth
4. Put stove on medium heat till the stock boils
5. Cover and let it simmer on low heat for approx. 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft
6. Pour soup into a blender, add in the milk and puree
7. Garnish with chives and a dash of white pepper

Crunchy Baked Pita Chips

Crispy golden brown pita chips fresh from the oven

Pita chips ready to go into the oven

My rather distorted pizza shape pitas

I am always craving for a crispy crunchy snack. I used to buy Stacy's pita chips.While they are tasty and delicious, I do not like how the salt just lingers in your mouth; so, I have decided to make my own pita chips!
 I don't really have a set amount of seasoning in my recipe. Basically I just eyeball everything and mix it in together.

Ingredients:
Pita bread sliced into two sides and cut into mini triangular shapes
2 cloves of garlic minced into small pieces
Dried basil
Dried oregano
Dried parsley
Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) (I used approx. 1/3 cup for 2 slices of pita bread)

Method:
1. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or aluminum foil
2. Set oven to 350 F. 
3.Put EVOO into a medium sized bowl
4. Add in the dried basil, oregano & parsley in equal amount
5. Stir in garlic
6. Mix the ingredients well
7. Use a silicon brush to dip into the mixture and spread it evenly on the pita triangles. Try not to drown the pita with too much oil and make sure it has an even amount of dried seasoning on it for consistency.
*If you are spreading the mixture on the pita triangles and find that you have not enough olive oil, go ahead and add more.
8. Bake in the oven for approx. 10 min or until golden brown. Don't over bake it if you have garlic or else the garlic will be overcooked and it will leave a bitter taste.