"BEEF WITH ZUCCHINI"

The zucchini is a small summer squash, and sometimes I see it labelled as "Italian squash" in stores. The zucchini is low in calories, and also contains folate, pottasium and vitamin A.
Do you know that the zucchini is (an immature) fruit (being the swollen ovary of the female zucchini flower)? In cooking though, it is treated as a vegtable, usually cooked and presented as a savory ingredient in dishes. My husband enjoys zucchini, and so we use it a lot in my cooking. He said it absorbs the flavor of any dish so whenever I get a chance I add it to any dish with sauces, like in lasagna, sauteed marinated meats, or anything I cook with garlic brown butter. The zucchini is the key ingredient in the dish 'Ratatouille'! I want to try and make this dish one day.

Today I just stir-fried zucchini with some marinated beef strips for lunch. As usual, we enjoyed it with some rice.

You can always substitute the beef strips here with chicken or pork, or make it meatless and use tofu.

-CHICHAY

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"BEEF with ZUCCHINI"

What You Need:

1 lb beef steaks, sliced into strips of 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp Hoisin sauce

2 tbsp. olive oil2 small zucchini, sliced

1 medium sized white onion, sliced

1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

2 tbsp water

1 small cube of butter (about 1/2 tbsp)salt and pepper to taste

Prep:

-Marinate beef slices in a mixture of Hoisin sauce, Worcestershire sauce and
garlic powder for at least half an hour.

-Drain the marinade from the beef and keep this for later.

How To:

-Heat up 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet.

-Add beef strips (1/2 at a time), stir-fry over high heat for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.
-Remove the beef from the skillet with slotted spoon, and transfer to a dish, cover with foil to keep warm.

-On the same skillet, cook and stir onions in some more olive oil over medium-high heat for 1 minute.

-Add zucchini, season with salt and pepper, and stir-fry for 2 minutes or until crisp-tender.

-Remove from heat and transfer to the dish with the beef.

-Add the reserved marinade to the skillet and add the soy sauce and water, bring
to a boil, then lower the heat and let this simmer for 2-3 minutes.

-Return the beef and zucchini to the skillet, add the butter, stir and simmer for
another minute.

-Serve this with hot rice or pasta.

'CHOW MEIN"

I cooked this today, as I have been craving for Chow Mein noodles lately, and I got so disappointed the last time I had Chow Mein in Chinatown - it was too oily and salty.

I used shrimps as my protein and added lots of vegetables too. You can always subtitute the shrimps with any other protein you prefer: sliced beef, pork, chicken, tofu...or mix in some other seafood pieces, like crab meat, fish or squid.

From now on, I will be cooking this dish more often, just because I like the fact that if I cook my Chow Mein at home, I can have the noodles with less sauce/toppings (to get the kind of style of dry noodles that I ate in Hongkong once). Sometimes I enjoy eating my Chow Mein kind of dry and with plenty of mushrooms, but sometimes I like it with lots and lots of my favorite vegetables...I mean lots of vegetables, that it is almost like a bowl of vegetables with only a few strands of noodles in it.

In the picture, you will see that I did not use bean sprouts (I didn't have it available in my stock). I still suggest you include that in your toppings, as it gives your Chow Mein an extra texture.

The cooked vegetables and sauce here is also good with white rice.

[CHICHAY TIPS: 1. If you want your Chow Mein to be saucy or more wet, double the quantity of your sauce mix. 2. If you are cooking a large batch of this dish, and if you intend to keep some for the next day or so, separate the shrimps from the noodles or the sauce, and just thaw the shrimps out by placing in a small bowl of warm water for a few minutes, then drain and add it to your reheated noodles and sauce or sauce and rice.]

If you really want to make the noodles dry, crunchy and less oily, cook it this way:

-Blanch noodles in large amount of boiling water for 1 minute or as per package instructions.

-Drain well and cool slightly.

-Fluff up noodles to allow drying.

-When dried, spread noodles loosely on large cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil.

-Heat oven broiler to medium-high.

-Broil noodles for about 5 minutes on each side, checking frequently, until crisped but not burned.

-CHICHAY

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"CHOW MEIN (WITH SHRIMPS)"

What You Need:

• 1 small pack of chow mein noodles
• olive oil, as needed
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms (canned will do as well)
• 2 medium ribs celery, chopped
• 1/2 lb snow peas1 lb bok choy (or broccoli, or any greens you prefer)
• 1 pound mung bean sprouts (togue), washed and drained
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 green onion, diced
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 lb shrimps, peeled

Shrimp Marinade:

• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp cornstarch

Sauce:

• 1/2 cup broth (chicken, veg or beef) or water
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp cornstarch (dissolved in 3 tbsp water)

Prep:

-Take off strings from the snow peas, and cut each in half, crosswise.

-Chop the bokchoy into small pieces.

-Mix the marinade in a small bowl and marinate the shrimps for at least 20-25 minutes.

-Sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together the broth (or water), oyster sauce, soy sauce, salt, pepper and cornstarch and water mixture and set aside.

-Cook the noodles based on package directions, or soften the noodles by placing them in boiling salted water. Plunge into cold water to stop the cooking process and drain thoroughly.

How To:

-Heat up a wok or frying pan over medium-high to high heat.

-Add 1 tablespoons oil. When the oil is hot, add the noodles. Fry in batches until a little golden. Remove the noodles from the pan and transfer to a serving dish.

-Add 1 tbsp of sesame oil on the hot pan and saute the shrimps over medium heat until both sides turns a bit orange. Remove from heat quickly and set aside (just par-cook the shrimps, do not overcook.)

-On the same pan, add 1 tbsp olive oil and saute the onions and garlic, and add the mushrooms, stir and cook over medium/high heat for about 3-5 minutes.

-Season with salt and pepper.

-Add in the celery, snow peas, bokchoy, sesame oil. Stir constantly and cook for about 1-2 minutes.

-Add the bell peppers and bean sprouts, stir/cook for another minute.

-Add the sauce mixture in the pan, and let this simmer, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes or until thickened.

-Add the shrimps, stir and let this simmer for a minute.

-Stir in the green onions and then turn off the heat.

-Pour the cooked vegetable and sauce mixture on top of the noodles and serve hot.

"BAKED ASIAGO CHICKEN AND CHERRY TOMATOES"

Asiago is my favorite cheese as toppings for pasta and creamy soups! When I first made this "BAKED ASIAGO CHICKEN", I just thought that oven-roasted tomatoes would go well with it, as the tangy-sweet taste of the cherry tomatoes will complement the sharp-cheesy taste of the Asiago-flavored chicken!

-CHICHAY

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"BAKED ASIAGO CHICKEN and CHERRY TOMATOES"

What You Need:

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 cup shredded Asiago cheese
• 1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 cup crispy rice cereal (optional)
• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut in half
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/3 cup sour cream

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• 2 cups cherry tomatoes
• salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil

How To:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

-Coat a medium baking dish with olive oil. Set aside.

-In a small bowl, drizzle some olive oil on the tomatoes, and mix well, so each piece would be coated with the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

-In a bowl, pour the sour cream

-In another bowl, mix the flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.

-In a third bowl, beat together the egg and milk.

-In a fourth bowl, mix the cheese, bread crumbs, cereal (if using).

-Dip the chicken pieces in sour cream

-Then, dredge the chicken pieces in the flour mixture, shake off excess, and then dip in the egg mixture, and lastly, press in the breadcrumb mixture to coat.

-Arrange the chicken pieces and the pieces of tomatoes in the prepared baking dish. Drizzle the butter evenly over the chicken.

-Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until coating of the chicken is golden brown.

-Serve in a plate with a bed of greens or any salad.