Ginger Beef

This was a quick, easy, cheap, and delicious adaptation of a recipe found on Pinterest (originally from lizzy writes). I made it when I had three boys' bellies to fill, and I had a hankering for ginger, which isn't always a favorite of the males in my household. This cooked up FAST and was super delicious with steamed white rice (or brown!) and lots of sriracha, because that makes everything better. The beef itself is nice and sweet, so the littlest boy didn't complain about the ginger being spicy or anything. Getting a preschooler to eat anything besides chicken, noodles, or cereal can sometimes be a challenge!

THE RECIPE:

1 pound (or so) ground beef (you'll be draining it, so don't feel bad using a higher fat content...save yourself some money!)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 T toasted sesame oil
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c shoyu (soy sauce...we use low sodium Aloha brand!)
3 cloves or 3 t minced garlic
1/2-1 t fresh ginger, grated (I used more than half, because I LOVE ginger)
1/2-1 t crushed red pepper, depending on tastes
salt and pepper to season beef while browning
bunch of green onions, sliced

Brown the ground beef, seasoning with salt and pepper. I did this in a wok. Once the beef is about half-cooked (use your judgement) add the onion and garlic and cook with the beef. Once the beef is cooked thoroughly, drain and get as much fat out as you can. You'll be adding plenty of liquid to the meat, so it's okay to go crazy when draining.

Return the meat to the pan if you removed it for draining, or just add the rest of the ingredients, except the green onion. Let simmer for a few minutes (I'd say at least 10 so the flavors can incorporate) then serve over rice, garnishing with green onions. We spice ours up with sriracha, but the kids can't handle that!

Enjoy!

Shoyu Chicken

Yesterday I was laid up and in need of some comfort food. R and I decided this was just what we needed. We made this delicious chicken while watching SciFi's "Tin Man," which was a super awesome rendition of "The Wizard of Oz." Especially enjoyable if you have a girl crush on Zooey Deschanel like yours truly.

This recipe is courtesy of my love's mother. She is a very good cook. Her mom is Chinese and her dad is Hawaiian, and people in Hawaii LOVE shoyu chicken. This recipe is fantastic! I could have drank the extra marinade. Please enjoy!!

Shoyu Chicken

1/2 c shoyu (which is soy sauce, you sillies!!)
1/2 c water
3 T brown sugar
1 star anise
1 slice ginger, crushed
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 t thick soy (optional)
1 cinnamon stick (also optional)
sm strip orange zest (also optional)
3 whole cloves (again, optional)
3-4 # chicken

Marinate chicken (whole or pieces...we ended up using much less chicken, and used breast tenders, because that's what we had in the freezer) in all ingredients.

Bring everything to a boil in a pan then simmer, covered, 25-30 minutes. Turn the chicken over once while cooking to brown evenly.

Cool, then chop into small pieces and arrange on platter. Top with chopped green onions if desired.

Here's what we did differently, besides the chicken amount: I used candied ginger, since my ginger went bad, so I reduced the amount of sugar to 2 1/2 T and used turbinado instead of brown since we are out of brown. We included the cinnamon stick, but left out the other optional ingredients, mostly because we don't have them right now.

Next time I want to be sure to have ALL ingredients (optional included) and I want to use boneless skin-on thighs because I think it will taste much more fantastic, and R informed me that he likes to eat the skin. Weirdo.