Interesting Things For you Late @ Night: Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Chinese Buffet at Home | Free Online Recipes

It is no secret that I have an obsession with Chinese cuisine. The place that started it all was a local Chinese buffet here in Michigan. After frequent visits to the buffet over the years, I finally decided to take a stab at cooking my own Chinese dishes at home. The majority of the dishes were delicious and I began cooking different Chinese meals every week, but I had always wanted more variety just like the buffet. I had always wondered, “what if I could create a Chinese buffet at home?” I have wanted to do this for along time so I was very excited when I was chosen to be part of the 24,24,24 event presented by Foodbuzz.
In this article I will explain how to create your own Chinese buffet at home. I have posted 10 different recipes which include main course, appetizers, soups, side dishes and a dessert. All of these items can be found at almost any Chinese buffet in the United States. The entire meal was all cooked in the same day and took me approximately 7 hours of straight cooking. Luckily I had 1 person to help me or it would have taken even longer. In the end it was well worth it, the result was a delicious meal that my entire family enjoyed. The biggest hits of the night were the Kung Pao chicken, crab rangoons, and egg drop soup. This is great for anyone that wants to host a dinner party. Enjoy.

The Menu:
Main course-
Sesame Chicken
Orange Chicken
Kung Pao Chicken
Meat on a Stick (Chicken Skewers)
Appetizers-
Crab Rangoons
Egg Rolls
Side Dishes-
Garlic Green Beans
Fried Rice
Egg Drop Soup
Dessert-
Buffet Style Doughnuts

The Recipes:

Sesame Chicken-

Ingredients:
2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons raw sesame seeds
2 green onions (sliced)
Marinade-1 teaspoon chicken base
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sesame oil
ground white pepper (to taste)
¼ teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon raspberry wine (or any fruity flavored wine)
Batter-
½ cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg (beaten)
½ cup water (or as much as needed to make batter smooth)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
salt (to taste)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Sauce-
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons sugar
Salt (to taste)
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar
a sprinkle of ground black pepper

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Cut chicken breasts into 1” chunks and in a glass bowl combine all of the marinade ingredients and mix well. Add the chicken and coat evenly. Cover and marinade for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
Step 2: Meanwhile, in separate bowl combine all of the batter ingredients and mix thoroughly. The batter should be thick enough to coat the chicken but thin enough to flow around the pieces. Set aside.
Step 3: Using a fork or tongs remove the pieces of chicken from the marinade and dip them into the batter to coat evenly (one by one). Deep fry the chicken in batches in your deep fryer for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. (or you can fry in hot oil at about 325 degrees in your wok for about 3-4 minutes or until golden brown
Step 4: In your wok combine the sauce ingredients and warm over medium heat. Bring to a boil while stirring and simmer until sauce slightly thickens.
Step 5: In the wok or in a serving dish coat chicken with the sauce and garnish with sliced scallions and sesame seeds.

Orange Chicken-

Ingredients:
Chicken-
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1-1/2” cubes)
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 eggs (beaten)
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Oil (for frying)
Orange Sauce-
1 ½ cups water
2 tablespoons orange juice
¼ cup lemon juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon orange zest (grated)
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon ginger root (minced)
½ teaspoon garlic (minced)
2 tablespoons green onion (chopped)
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Combine flour, salt, and pepper. Dip chicken in egg mixture and shake in flour mixture to coat. Deep fry chicken in batches at 375 degrees in a deep fryer (or use a wok) until completely cooked.
Step 2: Meanwhile, in a large saucepan combine 1 ½ cups water, lemon juice, orange juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. Blend well over medium heat for a few minutes. Stir in brown sugar, orange zest, ginger garlic, and onion. Bring to a boil.
Step 3: Combine 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and mix thoroughly. Slowly stir cornstarch mixture into sauce until it thickens. Pour sauce over breaded chicken, and if desired add red pepper flakes and garnish with green onions.

Kung Pao Chicken-

Ingredients:
1lb boneless-skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1” pieces)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons sesame oil
3 tablespoons green onions (chopped)
3 garlic cloves (minced)
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon powdered ginger
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1/3 cup dry roasted peanuts

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: combine the chicken and cornstarch in a small bowl and toss to coat. Heat sesame oil in a wok over medium heat, add chicken and stir fry 5-7 minutes or until no longer pink inside. Remove chicken from wok.
Step 2: Add green onions, garlic, red pepper flakes and powdered ginger to the wok and stir fry for 15 seconds.
Step 3: Combine vinegar, soy sauce and sugar in a small bowl. Mix well and add the sauce to the wok.
Step 4: Return chicken to the wok and coat with sauce. Stir in roasted peanuts. Heat thoroughly. Top with additional green onions if desired and serve over white rice.

Meat on a Stick (Chicken Skewers)-

Ingredients:
1lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 (10 ounce) bottle teriyaki marinade
1 teaspoon garlic (minced)
1/8 cup creamy peanut butter
½ teaspoon sesame oil
Wooden skewers

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Cut chicken breasts into long strips. In a large bowl combine teriyaki marinade, garlic, peanut butter and sesame oil. Place chicken breasts into bowl and coat with the mixture. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
Step 2: Soak skewers in cold water. Slide each strips onto a skewer.
Step 3: Cook on a grill until chicken is fully cooked. You can also do this with a broiler.

Crab Rangoons-

Ingredients:
12 ounces of cream cheese (at room temperature)
50 wan ton wrappers
1 cup imitation crab meat (or canned)
2 green onions (minced)
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon soy sauce
1 egg (beaten)
oil (for frying)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a bowl cream the cream cheese, soy sauce, green onions and garlic powder. Stir in the crab meat (if using imitation crab it should be chopped into pieces).
Step 2: In a separate bowl beat 1 egg. Lay out a wanton wrapper so it forms a diamond shape and place 1 teaspoon of filling just below the center of each wrapper.
Step 3: Brush the opposite corners of the wanton wrapper with the egg mixture. Fold over the edges of the wrapper to form a triangle and seal tightly.
Step 4: Deep fry the rangoons in batches at 375 degrees for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.

Egg Rolls-

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 package egg roll wraps
1 bad shredded cabbage and carrot mix
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
1 egg (beaten, for sealing)
2 eggs (cooked and scrambled)
Oil (for frying)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Fry ground beef with salt, pepper and garlic powder until beef is completely browned (tip- add the salt, pepper and garlic powder to your taste. You want the flavor to be strong but not overpowering).
Step 2: In a large bowl combine cabbage and carrot mixture, cooked ground beef mixture, and scrambled eggs.
Step 3: Lay out an egg roll wrapper. Place 1-2 tablespoons of filling in the corner of the wrapper, but not so the filling is actually touching the corner. Fold over that corner and roll about half of the way up. Fold over the left and right corners to the middle. Using a brush or the bottom of a spoon, brush the cornstarch/water mixture on the edges of the wrapper. Finish rolling up tightly and secure to make sure there are no leaks. Repeat until all the egg roll wraps are used.
Step 4: Deep fry egg rolls in batches until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Garlic Green Beans-

Ingredients:
1lb fresh green beans (washed with strings removed, ends trimmed)
Sauce-
1 tablespoon black bean sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon garlic (minced)
1 tablespoon ginger (minced)
2 green onions (minced, white part only)
½ teaspoon chili paste
3 tablespoons oil (for frying)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a small bowl combine black bean sauce, soy sauce, sugar and rice vinegar. Set aside.
Step 2: Heat your wok and add 2 tablespoons of oil. Add green beans and fry for 10 minutes or until beans have reached your desired tenderness. Remove beans from the wok.
Step 3: Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the wok. Add garlic, ginger and green onions. Stir fry for 15 seconds. Add chili paste. Add the sauce mixture a cook for a few seconds. Return beans to the pan tossing to coat. Serve.

Fried Rice-

Ingredients:
5 cups cooked leftover white rice (that’s at least 1 day old)
1 medium onion (diced)
6 cloves garlic (minced)
2 eggs (beaten)
1 cup frozen peas and carrots (thawed)
½ tablespoon tumeric
Soy sauce (to serve)
2 tablespoons oil (for frying)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Add a little bit of oil or cooking spray to a heated fry pan. Add beaten eggs and scramble until fully cooked. Remove from heat and set aside.
Step 2: Heat a wok and add oil. Add garlic, onion, and peas and carrots. Stir fry until vegetables have reached your desired tenderness. Add rice and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add turmeric and eggs. Mix well.
Step 3: Serve with soy sauce.

Egg Drop Soup-

Ingredients:
3 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
1 dash white pepper
1 green onion (sliced)
2 eggs (slightly beaten)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a sauce pan heat chicken broth, salt, and white pepper. Bring to a boil.
Step 2: Pour beaten egg in a thin stream into the broth (or drizzle with a fork). Stir with a fork until the egg forms shreds. Add green onions and serve.

Buffet Style Doughnuts-

Ingredients:
1 (10 count) refrigerated biscuits
1/3 cup sugar
Oil (for deep frying)

Cooking Instructions:
Step 1: Heat oil to 350 degrees. Fry disquiets 2 at a time until browned on each side. Drain on paper towels.
Step 2: Pour sugar into a container. Once the doughnuts have cooled toss them lightly in the sugar 1 at a time coating both sides.