Homemade Chinese Meal

Do you ever wonder how the food is made at your favorite Chinese restaurant? Awhile back, my sister and her husband were getting ready to drive back home (out of state) and decided to take the whole family out to the Chinese buffet. I sat across from my 17 year old brother and realized he had very little on his plate. What he did have on there was nothing you needed to go to a Chinese restaurant for...like fried chicken and jello.

I asked him why he was only eating that and he replied that he actually knew what was in the food on his plate. He was scared that the "Chinese food" contained cat or horse or some other weird ingredients.

I laughed at him then continued to eat my meal because I love Chinese! If there is cat in there, they do a good job frying it up and covering it in breading and sauces to make many people crave it. Maybe it's the MSG that makes it taste so good.

Tony also loves Chinese and was really craving it yesterday. With how busy he has been lately with school and work, who am I to tell him no? (It had nothing to do with the fact that it sounded good to me, too. Honestly.)  I've made Chinese at home before and I think we finally have it down to which dishes we like homemade. We decided to do a little "date night" out of it. We opened a bottle of wine and cooked this meal together. It may look a little intimidating since there is so much to it, but it's actually very easy to make. It's just time consuming. Expect to spend about 1 1/2-2 hours in the kitchen. That's why it really was nice to do it as a date. You could also get some friends together and make it together for a dinner party.

Make it fun instead of stressful. :)

I will post all the recipes for this meal on the bottom of this post, but I will explain the steps we did with the pictures as best as I can. Feel free to maybe just try one or two recipes if you don't want the whole meal.
Don't these dished look yummy though!? :)

(I forgot to put the Sweet & Sour Sauce in the picture strip though.)

Starting with the Won tons:

Combine cream cheese, garlic and scallions. 

 Place cream cheese mixture into the center of each wrap. (I used the small Pampered Chef scoop.)

Brush the edges of wrap with water and fold into triangles.

Press the edges to seal. 

Place the filled won tons inside the cup of a mini muffin tin (or 2 in each  if using a regular sized tin). 

Spray lightly with olive oil or nonstick cooking spray. 

These will need to bake for about 30 minutes at 325 degrees. 

I usually get them ready and set them aside until the sweet and sour chicken has 30 minutes left on the timer, then I put them in the oven to bake so they are fresh out of the oven when it's time to serve.

Next is your Sweet and Sour Chicken:

Start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees. 

Rinse your chicken breasts in water and then cut into cubes. 

Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Dip chicken into the cornstarch to coat then dip into the eggs.  

Heat your 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet and cook your chicken until browned but not cooked through. 

 Place the chicken in a 9x13 greased baking dish.  

Mix all of your sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk.

 Pour evenly over the chicken. 

Bake for one hour and during the baking process you will need to turn the chicken every 15 minutes.

Now moving on to the General Tso's Chicken:

In a large mixing bowl combine cornstarch and beaten eggs. Mix well to create a batter. 

Add chicken bits and coat thoroughly.

In a different small bowl combine rice vinegar, wine, soy sauce, sugar and cornstarch. 

Mix well and set aside.

Heat some oil in a large skillet. Fry chicken until cooked. Drain on paper towels.

Add 1-2 tablespoons of oil in a separate skillet. 

Add dried chili peppers to your wok and stir fry for 30 seconds. 

Add chicken to the skillet and stir fry for a couple minutes.

Add sauce mixture to the skillet and cook, stirring until the sauce becomes thickened and bubbly.

While the General Tso's chicken is frying, 

go ahead and get your Sweet and Sour dipping sauce ready:

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan. (Use a whisk if cornstarch clumps.)

Cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring constantly.

Once thickened, take off heat and set aside to start the fried rice.

(Doesn't it look yummy?! Dip your won tons in there. It's amazing!)

Last is your Fried Rice:

On medium high heat, heat the oil in a large skillet.  

Add the peas and carrots mix, onion and garlic. Stir fry until tender. 
(Adding some ham is really good, too.) 

Lower the heat to medium low and push the mixture off to one side. 

Pour your eggs on the other side of the skillet.

Stir fry until scrambled.

Add the rice and soy sauce and blend all together well. 

 Stir fry until thoroughly heated.

I hope you have a wonderful meal! :)

Cream Cheese Won tons (Adapted from Better than Burgers)

8 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 green onions, diced

won ton wrappers (store bought or homemade)

Combine cream cheese, garlic and scallions. 

Place cream cheese mixture into the center of each wrap. (I used the small Pampered Chef scoop.)

Brush the edges of wrap with water and fold into triangles. Press the edges to seal. 

Place the filled won tons inside the cup of a mini muffin tin (or 2 in each  if using a regular sized tin). 

Spray lightly with olive oil or nonstick cooking spray and bake at 325 for about 30 minutes.

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken (Adapted from Life as a Lofthouse)

Chicken coating:

3-4 boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch chunks

salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup cornstarch

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Sauce:

3/4 cup sugar

4 Tbsp ketchup

1/2 cup distilled white vinegar

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp garlic salt

Start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees. 

Rinse your chicken breasts in water and then cut into cubes. 

Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Dip chicken into the cornstarch to coat then dip into the eggs.  

Heat your 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet and cook your chicken until browned but not cooked through. 

Place the chicken in a 9x13 greased baking dish. 

Mix all of your sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk and then pour evenly over the chicken. 

Bake for one hour and during the baking process you will need to turn the chicken every 15 minutes.  

General Tso's Chicken (Adapted from Blog Chef)

Chicken Coating:

2 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch chunks

5 dried red chili peppers

3 green onions, sliced

3 eggs, beaten

½ cup cornstarch

vegetable oil, for frying

Sauce:

1 ½ Tbsp rice vinegar

2 Tbsp white wine

3 Tbsp sugar

3 Tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp cornstarch

In a large mixing bowl combine cornstarch and beaten eggs. Mix well to create a batter. Add chicken bits and coat thoroughly.

In a different small bowl combine rice vinegar, wine, soy sauce, sugar and cornstarch. Mix well and set aside.

Heat some oil in a large skillet. Fry chicken until cooked. Drain on paper towels.

Add 1-2 tablespoons of oil in a separate skillet. Add dried chili peppers to your wok and stir fry for 30 seconds. Add chicken to the skillet and stir fry for a couple minutes.

Add sauce mixture to the skillet and cook, stirring until the sauce becomes thickened and bubbly. 

Sweet & Sour Sauce (Adapted from Food.com)

1 cup pineapple juice

1/3 cup water

3 Tbsp white vinegar

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3 Tbsp cornstarch

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan. (Use a whisk if cornstarch clumps.)

Cook over medium heat until thick, stirring constantly.

Fried Rice (Adapted from Life as a Lofthouse)                                                                                         

3 cups cooked white rice (day old or leftover rice works best)

3 Tbsp sesame oil

1 cup peas and carrots, frozen or thawed

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves fresh garlic, minced

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/4 cup soy sauce

On medium high heat, heat the oil in a large skillet.  

Add the peas and carrots mix, onion and garlic. Stir fry until tender. 

Lower the heat to medium low and push the mixture off to one side. 

Pour your eggs on the other side of the skillet and stir fry until scrambled. 

Add the rice and soy sauce and blend all together well. 

Stir fry until thoroughly heated.