Taiwanese Three Cup Chicken (San Bei Ji)

Because my husband served his LDS mission in Taiwan, I have been wanting to make more Taiwanese food for dinner. Pinterest makes it so easy! I found this recipe and made it last week. My family LOVED it. The flavors are so wonderful. The only change I would make is to use boneless chicken next time.

Taiwanese Three Cup Chicken (San Bei Ji)
Ingredients
1/4 cup Asian sesame oil
One (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced into rounds
12-15 medium garlic cloves, peeled
1-2 fresh Thai red chilis, stemmed and halved (I omitted these)
2 pounds skin-on chicken drumsticks, thighs, and/or wings, either chopped into 3-inch, bone-in pieces, or thighs halved along along the bone, wings split at the joint, and drumsticks left whole
1/2 cup white grape juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups fresh Thai basil leaves (from 1 large bunch)
Steamed white rice, for serving
Procedures

Heat sesame oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add ginger, garlic, and chilis and cook until very fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add chicken pieces to the skillet in a single layer and cook, tilting the pan if necessary to submerge all pieces in the oil, for 1 minute. Flip chicken pieces and cook for 1 minute longer.

Add white grape juice, soy sauce, and sugar and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce heat to a simmer. Partially cover the skillet to prevent splashes of oil and cook, turning the chicken pieces every few minutes, until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Stir in Thai basil and remove from heat. Serve immediately with rice. Make sure you spoon some of the sauce over the rice. That's liquid gold!

Note: My kids didn't like eating the garlic cloves or the ginger slices. You might consider removing those before serving. I also might mince the garlic next time for more flavor.

Brazilian Barbacoa Beef

We had company coming to visit, so I whipped this up in my crockpot. We had enough to feed 11 people TWICE! We had it in tortillas and over tortilla chips and then later over fritos. I made refried beans to go with it, and had shredded cheese, lettuce, salsa, and sour cream. EVERYONE loved it. This recipe is a keeper. I found the recipe here.

Brazilian Barbacoa Beef
INGREDIENTS:
3 lbs stew beef
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles
1 small white onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 bay leaves
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup beef broth or water

HOW TO PREPARE:

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a slow cooker. Toss gently to combine. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours, or until the beef is tender and falls apart easily when shredded with a fork.

Using two forks, shred the beef into bite-sized pieces inside of the slow cooker. Toss the beef with the juices, then cover and let the barbacoa beef soak up the juices for an extra 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaves.  Use a pair of tongs or a slotted spoon to serve the barbacoa beef.

If not using immediately, refrigerate the barbacoa beef with its juices in a sealed container for up to 5 days. Or freeze it for up to 3 months.

Chocolate Cake

There are so many recipes for Chocolate Cake. This was one that I had clipped from my Taste of Home magazine and since we had company coming over, I thought I would give it a go. I'm so glad I did! It was a HUGE hit. I was in a hurry so I frosted the cake when it was a little bit warm. The result? It was similar to a molten chocolate lava cake at Chili's. Delicious! I found the recipe online here.

3 layers of chocolate bliss.

Chocolate Cake
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup butter, softened
3 cups packed brown sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour (I used half of my Millet Sorghum flour and half of my Best results flour recipes)
3/4 cup baking cocoa
3 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/3 cups sour cream
1-1/3 cups boiling water (I used Choffy instead)
FROSTING:
1/2 cup butter, cubed
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
5 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

HOW TO PREPARE:
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour three 9-in. round baking pans.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, beating well after each addition. Stir in water (or Choffy) until blended.
3. Transfer to prepared pans. Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
4. For frosting, bring water to a boil in a pot and then top with a double boiler pan. Melt butter and chocolates; stir until smooth. Cool slightly.
5. In a large bowl, combine confectioners' sugar, sour cream and vanilla. Add chocolate mixture; beat until smooth. Spread frosting between layers and over top and sides of cake. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 16 servings.