THE ELECTRIC KITCHEN
Keep a stock of staple items to make busy times easier
THE ELECTRIC KITCHEN
Hawaiian Electric Co.
EVERY YEAR, as soon as Halloween passes, we find ourselves saying, "Can you believe the year is almost over?" And then it dawns on us that the holiday season is here.
As you gear up for the busy days ahead, we thought it would be handy to have a couple of fast and easy recipes on hand. The key to "easy" is having the ingredients on hand, so it's a good idea to do a bit of planning and shopping before the days get too hectic:
» Have individually frozen boneless, skinless chicken pieces in the freezer.
» Keep a stash of fresh ginger handy by cutting up a large ginger root into 1-inch pieces and freeze them in a plastic freezer bag.
» Stock your pantry with staples such as garlic, soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce and rice.
» Keep a fresh bunch of green onions and Chinese parsley in the refrigerator.
Have these items on hand and you'll be ready to cook up many favorite island dishes in no time. Here are a few to start -- more to come next week!
Chicken and Green Pepper in Lettuce Cups
1 pound chicken breasts
3 tablespoons salad oil
1 green pepper, slivered
1/2 cup slivered bamboo shoots
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sherry
12 Manoa lettuce leaves
» Marinade:
1 egg white
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoons sherry
Remove bones from chicken; slice meat in thin strips.
Combine marinade ingredients; add chicken and marinate 10 minutes.
In a saucepan, heat oil. Stir-fry chicken until lightly browned. Add green pepper and bamboo shoots; stir-fry 1 minute.
Combine sugar, salt, soy sauce and sherry. Pour over hot mixture; cook 1/2 minute. Arrange on serving dish with lettuce.
To serve, spoons some of the chicken mixture onto a lettuce leaf and roll up. Serves 6.
Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving (without chicken skin): 150 calories, 8 g total fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 30 mg cholesterol, 650 mg sodium, 6 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 14 g protein.
Chicken and Hoisin Sauce
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
3 tablespoons salad oil
1/2 cup sliced young ginger root
3/4 cup sliced onions
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon water
Cut chicken into cubes. Heat oil in wok or skillet; sauté chicken 2 minutes. Add ginger and onions; stir-fry 1 minute.
Combine hoisin, soy sauce, sugar and water. Add to chicken and cook 1 minute. Serves 6.
Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 270 calories, 13 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat, 125 mg cholesterol, 400 mg sodium, 6 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 30 g protein.
Minute Chicken
3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken pieces
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup salad oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3/4 cup chopped green onions
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon sugar
1/3 cup oyster sauce
1/3 cup water
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. Coat with flour; let stand 10 minutes.
In wok or skillet, heat oil and garlic until oil is sizzling. Add chicken and stir-fry until browned. Lower heat and add remaining ingredients.
Garnish with additional cilantro. Serves 6.
Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 370 calories, 15 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat, 160 mg cholesterol, 270 mg sodium, 7 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 49 g protein.
Hawaiian Electric Co. presents this weekly collection of recipes as a public service. Many are drawn from HECO's database of recipes, accessible online at
www.heco.com.
