General Tso's Sesame Grilled Chicken Drumsticks

I caved and got chicken. It's been hotter than Satan's ass crack and we've already exhausted our supply of tofu dogs and veggie burgers. And there is really only so much salad a human can eat, despite our CSA's assumption that we need four pounds of leafy greens per week. (Seriously. Four pounds.) So with outdoor grilling as the only option of releasing more heat into our surroundings (and drumsticks being 70 cents a pound), it seemed a reasonable choice. Or maybe it was just delirium brought on by dehydration. The marinade/sauce I used is a variant of my standard "Americanized Asian Restaurant Sauce" - I use iterations of it as a stir fry sauce, a dipping sauce, marinade, and pretty much anywhere you might find an Asian inspired recipe with garlic, ginger, or sesame. And I never really measure anything, but it doesn't seem to matter. You can see another iteration of it here.

Ingredients:
2ish lbs chicken drummers. Or legs or wings. Or tofu. Whatever.
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 TBS hoisin sauce
2 TBS mirin (rice wine - usually in the international aisle)
1 TBS rice vinegar
1 TBS brown sugar
1 TBS sesame oil
1 TBS fresh ground ginger
1 tsp sriracha or sambal oelek (optional)
As much fresh garlic as you can stand to peel and dice
Couple scallions, sliced
Sesame seeds

Directions:
Mix everything together except the chicken and sesame seeds. Put the chicken in a big container, pour the mix over it, cover and shake it up. Stick it in the fridge and let it marinate at least an hour, preferably over night.

Light up grill on medium-high (450ish) and transfer the chicken to it when hot, reserving the marinade. Cook until nicely charred on one side, 3-5 minutes, flip and repeat. Turn down burners and hold the grill temp at about 350. Cook another 20 minutes depending on the size of your pieces, or until a meat thermometer reads 165. Turn burners to lowest setting. Brush reserved marinade on the up side of the chicken, sprinkle with sesame seeds, close the cover, and let it sit a couple of minutes. Flip once and repeat.

In the mean time, transfer any reserved marinade not being used for brushing to a small pot and boil it for 2 minutes. (Or put it in the microwave and do the same.)

Remove chicken from grill and allow to cool. Serve with leftover marinade as dipping sauce.

Take out Fake out: Chinese Spicy Shrimp/Seafood and Broccoli

Asian cuisine has long been my favorite, and thus the first type of food I tried to create in my own kitchen as a teenager before the Googles and all the Blogosphere. (That's a word now.) Needless to say, the early attempts left something to be desired. I still have yet to find many recipes that produce a satisfying brown sauce, but the more successful ones I have found have various ingredients in common that I always incorporate when making Chinese-American food. (My inability to completely replicate it, however, stems from refusal to use a hundred pounds of oil or MSG. If you have to have legit greasy take out, feel free to add these things in abundance.)

I tend to like mildly spicy food, which this is. I can eat moderately spicy food and enjoy it, but it isn't my preference, excepting a few Indian dishes. On the other hand, my father, who boils all flavor out of food and thinks herbs are the same as spices, would probably cry if he tasted this. So if you tend to swing one way or the other, feel free to add more Thai chilis or omit them completely. One was just perfect for me.

*Note: I whipped this up in a hurry. Measurements are approximations, as I didn't actually measure anything, but the ratios should be fairly accurate.

Ingredients:
3 heads broccoli, chopped into florets
1 large onion, halved and sliced thin 
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound small shrimp or mixed seafood (mine had shrimp, squid and mussels)
sesame oil
1 Thai chili pepper (or bird's eye chili)
2 TBS ground ginger (fresh if possible, otherwise use 1 TBS dry)
1/2 cup tamari/soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
1 TBS oyster sauce
1 TBS sambal oelek or chili sauce
Squirt lime juice
Salt, to taste
3-4 cups cooked rice
Sesame seeds

Directions:
Prepare your rice and let it cook while you do everything else.
Steam your broccoli: in a large sauce pan, place a steamer basket, and enough water to nearly reach the bottom of the basket. Bring to a boil. Add broccoli, turn heat to low, cover, and simmer 5 minutes or until you can stick it with a fork and it is your desired tenderness. (I had to do this in two batches because I used four heads of broccoli. Sooooo much broccoli.) When done, remove broccoli from pan and keep in bowl - this is important to stop the cooking of the broccoli so it doesn't get soggy. You'll also want to do this for the seafood below, if you finish cooking it before you are ready to use it.

Put a generous blob of sesame oil in a large saute pan with sides. Add your onion and fry on medium heat 3-5 minutes, until it gets a bit of yellow. Add garlic and fresh ginger, and saute a minute longer. (If using dry ginger, add this with the soy sauce.)

Take the seeds out of your Thai chili pepper and mince. Wash your hands twelve times then stick them in a bowl of cream. (okay, maybe skip the last part, but don't touch your face for a while unless you want to feel hell on earth.) Add this to the pan and give it another minute.

Stir in the soy sauce, mirin, oyster sauce, sambal, lime juice, and salt to taste. Reduce heat and simmer several minutes.

In the mean time, grab a second saute pan, another generous blob of sesame oil, and preheat over a high flame/very hot coil. Dump in your shrimp or seafood and saute until pink or not translucent. Remove from heat and add to onion and sauce mix. Stir well and taste. If too spicy, add more soy sauce, mirin, and another blob of sesame oil. If not spicy enough, add more sambal. Carefully add your brocolli and toss to coat with sauce/mix everything up.

Serve over a scoop of rice and sprinkle sesame seeds on top (which I forgot to do before taking the picture). Voila! Healthy fake out.