Month: January 2016

Sweet Fire Chicken (Panda Express Copycat)

It’s easy to make Sweet Fire Chicken (Panda Express copycat) at home, with chicken breast, bell peppers and pineapple in a sweet Thai chili sauce. It's easy to make Sweet Fire Chicken (Panda Express copycat) at home, with chicken breast, bell peppers and pineapple in a sweet Thai chili sauce.

We recently had a day of snow, followed by 2 days of ICE here in Portland, which made trips to the grocery store nearly impossible. While searching my cupboards, I realized we had all the ingredients for a copycat version of Sweet Fire Chicken from Panda Express, so I made it for my husband and myself.  It was fantastic (which made the whole “iced in” thing not so bad)!

This sweet fire chicken dinner was absolutely delicious! A little sweet, and a little spicy! Even though we were “house-bound”, it was just as good (if not better) than getting takeout! Yummy good!

It was a very easy recipe to prepare (even if my fingers got a bit messy during the process!) Here’s how you make this dish:

Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page

How To Make Sweet Fire Chicken

Cut up boneless skinless chicken breasts into bite sized cubes.  I used two large chicken breasts for 4 servings.

Chicken breasts for sweet fire chicken are cut into cubes before cooking.

Chop and slice the red pepper and green onions, and then set them aside until you are ready to use.

Red bell peppers and green onions are chopped to add to the sweet fire chicken.

Dredge all of the chicken pieces in flour, making sure to to coat all sides.

Chicken breast cubes are dredged in flour before cooking them for sweet fire chicken.

Dip the flour coated chicken pieces in beaten eggs. THIS is the “kind of messy” part! I started with tongs, then switched to using my fingers for this step.

Once the flour coated pieces of chicken has been dipped in the egg mixture, dredge them again in the flour mixture. Got it? Flour. Egg. Flour. Amen.

Flour coated chicken (for sweet fire chicken) is dipped in egg mixture before cooking.

The chicken (for sweet fire chicken) is dredged in flour for a second time, before cooking.

Cooking The Sweet Fire Chicken

Cook the chicken in batches. Cook about 2 minutes per side until brown and crispy. Try to not let the pieces touch each other (or they will bond and cook together).

Chicken pieces (for sweet fire chicken) are cooked in hot oil in a large skillet in batches.

When done, place cooked chicken pieces on paper towels to drain. Repeat this step until all of the chicken is cooked.

Cooked chicken (for sweet fire chicken) is drained on paper towels after cooking.

Clean out the skillet, then heat the olive oil in it. Cook the red bell pepper and pineapple for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the Thai sweet chili sauce to the skillet, and stir to combine.

Red bell pepper, pineapple and sweet chili sauce are heated for the sweet fire chicken sauce.

This is the sweet chili sauce I used for the sweet fire chicken. It can be found in most grocery stores Asian Food specialty sections.

Mae Ploy sweet chili sauce was used in this recipe for sweet fire chicken.

Ready To Serve The Sweet Fire Chicken

Add in the pieces of chicken and gently stir, to coat the chicken, bell pepper and pineapple with the sauce. Heat through and garnish with sliced green onions. Remove the sweet fire chicken from the heat, and serve!

Browned chicken is added to the sauce in skillet, to make sweet fire chicken.

Serve the sweet fire chicken with rice or noodles, and ENJOY! It tastes wonderful (and it’s really not too spicy… honest!). The flavors are wonderful!

Sweet fire chicken is served on top of white rice.

The recipe makes 4 generous servings of sweet fire chicken. The dish is easy to prepare, economical, and tastes DELICIOUS! Who needs take-out when you can make it yourself? Sure hope you will give this recipe a try.

Have a great day. Be a positive influence today, in a world that’s hurting in so many ways. Take care, friend.

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Author's signatureRecipe Source (and with thanks to) Chungah An, at http://damndelicious.net/2014/08/02/panda-express-sweet-fire-chicken-copycat/

↓↓ PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW ↓↓

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Sweet Fire Chicken (Panda Express Copycat)
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
30 mins
 

It's easy to make Sweet Fire Chicken (Panda Express copycat) at home, with chicken breast, bell peppers and pineapple in a sweet Thai chili sauce.

Category: Entree
Cuisine: Asian
Keyword: sweet fire chicken
Servings: 4 servings
Calories Per Serving: 565 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
For chicken:
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 pound boneless , skinless chicken breasts (I use 2 large), (cut into one inch cubes)
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 2 large eggs , beaten
For sauce, etc:
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 red bell pepper , chopped into one inch pieces
  • 1 1/2 cups pineapple chunks (fresh or canned/drained)
  • 1/2 cup Thai Sweet Chili Sauce (note: I added 1/4 cup more!)
  • 2 green onions , sliced thinly
Instructions
  1. Dredge chicken chunks (a few at a time) into flour, coating all sides. Place each floured piece into beaten egg mixture (a few at a time), then back into the flour again, coating all sides. Repeat until all chicken is coated and ready to cook.
  2. Heat vegetable oil on medium-high in a large skillet. When oil is hot, add the chicken pieces in batches (try to not let the pieces touch). Cook for about 2 minutes per side until golden brown. Remove cooked chicken to a paper towel covered plate, and repeat process until all chicken is cooked.
  3. In a large skillet (if using same skillet, clean it first), heat the olive oil on medium-high heat. Add chopped red bell pepper chunks and pineapple chunks. Cook these for 3-4 minutes (this will help soften the peppers).
  4. Add Thai chili sauce. Add chicken pieces. Stir gently, to fully combine ingredients and coat with sauce. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until heated through.,
  5. Garnish with green onion slices, and serve while hot on a bed or rice or noodles! Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Sweet Fire Chicken (Panda Express Copycat)
Amount Per Serving (1 serving)
Calories 565 Calories from Fat 144
% Daily Value*
Fat 16g25%
Saturated Fat 7g44%
Cholesterol 154mg51%
Sodium 463mg20%
Potassium 825mg24%
Carbohydrates 73g24%
Fiber 4g17%
Sugar 45g50%
Protein 31g62%
Vitamin A 1250IU25%
Vitamin C 60.5mg73%
Calcium 61mg6%
Iron 3.1mg17%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!It's easy to make Sweet Fire Chicken (Panda Express copycat) at home, with chicken breast, bell peppers and pineapple in a sweet Thai chili sauce.

 

 

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Mushroom Risotto with Pan-Seared Shrimp

You’ll love delicious, creamy mushroom risotto, with arborio rice, mushrooms, butter, wine and Parmesan, topped with seasoned, pan-seared shrimp.
You'll love delicious, creamy mushroom risotto, with arborio rice, mushrooms, butter, wine and Parmesan, topped with seasoned, pan-seared shrimp.

In all my years of cooking, I have NEVER made risotto, even though I’ve thought about  it many times. So- I recently tried a mushroom risotto recipe I found on Pinterest, added some pan-seared shrimp to it, and LOVED it!

Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page

Mushroom Risotto Is Not As Hard To Make As You Might Think!

This mushroom risotto with pan-seared shrimp was far easier to make than I originally thought it would be… I will make it again!!

The only hard thing about making risotto (and it’s not hard at all), is the continual stirring of the rice as you add in broth and wine as you cook. If you have all the ingredients ready to go before beginning this recipe, it’s really no big deal! Here’s what you do to make this absolutely delicious mushroom risotto dish:

How To Make Mushroom Risotto with Pan-Seared Shrimp

Clean and cut the mushrooms into quarters. Melt butter and olive oil in large saucepan. Sautè mushrooms until lightly browned (several minutes).

Mushrooms, sautèeing in saucepan

Salt the mushrooms, then continue cooking for a couple additional minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the pan, and set aside. The salt helps moisture to be released from the mushrooms. Here they are, cooking and looking good. They will make the mushroom risotto taste really good!

Stirring sliced mushrooms for risotto in pan

After removing the mushrooms from the pan, add and melt the additional butter and olive oil. Sautè the chopped onion in this butter/oil mixture for 5 minutes on medium-high heat, stirring often.

Sautèeing chopped onions for risotto in saucepan

Time To Add The Rice

Now add the ARBORIO rice to the pan. YES, you have to use arborio rice to make this risotto, folks.

Arborio rice being added to red saucepan, for risotto

Stir the rice in with the onions. Cook this for a couple minutes, stirring often, until rice begins to turn a light brown.

Onions and arborio rice being cooked for mushroom risotto

Cooking The Risotto

Now here’s the important step. Add wine to the pan, and let the liquid boil and be absorbed. Then add a cup of the broth into this mixture, while stirring constantly. Continue to stir the rice. When almost all of liquid has been absorbed, add more broth 1/4 cup at a time.

Cook and stir the risotto, adding 1/4 cup broth at a time to the rice as the liquid is absorbed. Continue doing this, until finally all the broth has been incorporated into rice. This will take about 25-30 minutes in total, and the finished risotto should be nice and creamy.

When done, all the broth should have been used, and the risotto should be tender, but not smushy. There should still be a tiny bit of liquid left in pan.

Wine and broth added to risotto mixture in pan

Finish Making The Mushroom Risotto

Add the cooked mushrooms to the risotto. Now you are almost done making your delicious mushroom risotto!

Cooked mushrooms added to risotto in saucepan

Add the grated fresh Parmesan cheese, and some salt and pepper (to taste). Stir ingredients well, to combine. Remove the pan from the heat.

Cover the pan, and let the mushroom risotto sit for 4-5 minutes. While the risotto is “resting” (such hard work being stirred so much, right?), cook the shrimp.

Parmesan cheese being added to risotto and mushrooms in pan

Pan-sear The Shrimp

While the risotto “rests”, cook the cleaned, de-veined, and seasoned shrimp in butter and olive oil in a separate skillet. Cook for abut 2-3 minutes per side on medium high heat.

Seasoned shrimp to add to the mushroom risotto, are pan-seared in large skillet.

Serve Mushroom Risotto With Pan-Seared Shrimp

Spoon out individual serving portions of the mushroom risotto into (or onto) serving dishes and place 4-5 pan-seared shrimp on top of each serving. Garnish with some parsley, and additional grated Parmesan cheese. Serve the mushroom risotto while hot, and ENJOY!!

Creamy mushroom risotto served in bowl, with pan-seared shrimp on top

Sure hope you will give this mushroom risotto a try. This dish is so creamy, full of flavor… and EASY! I am so glad I tried making mushroom risotto (finally), and am excited to now be able to create even more risotto dishes.  I am thankful to have learned the original technique for making risotto from Martha, at “A Family Feast”.

Have a great day, and thank you for stopping by. Please come back soon, and don’t forget to check out ALL my recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page.

Make This Dish Your Own!

This mushroom risotto dish is such a versatile recipe. If you want the risotto as a side dish, simply omit the shrimp! If you want it to be a vegetarian dish, simply omit the shrimp! If you don’t like shrimp… how about using pan-seared chicken pieces? There are so many ways to enjoy this dish! You might enjoy my recipe for chicken and asparagus risotto, too!

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Author's signatureMushroom Risotto Recipe Source: http://www.afamilyfeast.com/mushroom-risotto/

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Mushroom Risotto with Pan-Seared Shrimp
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
45 mins
Total Time
1 hr
 

You'll love delicious, creamy mushroom risotto, with arborio rice, mushrooms, butter, wine and Parmesan, topped with seasoned, pan-seared shrimp.

Category: Entree
Cuisine: American
Keyword: mushroom risotto
Servings: 4 servings
Calories Per Serving: 595 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
For mushrooms:
  • 1 8 ounce pkg. mushrooms (baby bella or white button-I used white button)
  • 1 Tablespoon butter
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • Salt
For Risotto:
  • 2 Tablespoons butter
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 large brown onion , finely diced (total of 1 cup diced onion)
  • 1 cup Arborio rice (no substitutes!)
  • 1/3 cup dry white wine
  • 2 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth
  • 3/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
  • Salt and Pepper , to taste
For Shrimp:
  • 1 Tablespoon butter
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 pound medium shrimp (about 12-16)
  • Garlic powder , dried parsley (enough to lightly season shrimp)
For Garnish:
  • Dried parsley flakes
  • Grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
  1. Have all ingredients ready/prepped before beginning.
  2. Prepare Mushrooms: Clean mushrooms, then cut into quarters (include stems). Melt 1 T. butter and 1 T. olive oil in medium skillet. Cook mushroom (stirring often) on medium-high for several minutes until lightly browned. Sprinkle with a bit of salt, then cook for another minute. Remove pan from heat, and set aside.

  3. Prepare Risotto: Melt olive oil and butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add rice; cook and stir for a couple minutes until rice begins to turn a light brown color. Pour in white wine. Let liquid come to a boil, then be absorbed into rice.

  4. Pour one cup of broth into rice, and stir constantly. Make sure to keep the heat at a medium simmer. Each time almost all (but not all) of the liquid has been absorbed, add 1/4 cup more broth, stirring constantly. Continue this process (rice absorbs liquid, adding more liquid) until broth is gone. This will take about 25-30 minutes. When done risotto should be tender (and there should be only a little bit of liquid remaining). Turn off heat, then add mushrooms, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Stir well, to combine. Put a lid on pan, and let sit for 5 minutes. While risotto is resting, cook the shrimp.

  5. Sprinkle shrimp lightly with garlic powder and dried parsley flakes and mix together, to coat shrimp. Melt butter and olive oil in hot, medium-high skillet. Add seasoned shrimp. Cook quickly, about 2-3 minutes per side, until done.

  6. Spoon risotto into (or onto) individual serving dishes. Place 3-5 pan-seared shrimp on top of each portion. Garnish with additional grated Parmesan cheese and parsley flakes. Serve hot, and enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Mushroom Risotto with Pan-Seared Shrimp
Amount Per Serving (1 serving)
Calories 595 Calories from Fat 297
% Daily Value*
Fat 33g51%
Saturated Fat 13g81%
Cholesterol 108mg36%
Sodium 825mg36%
Potassium 469mg13%
Carbohydrates 49g16%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 4g4%
Protein 21g42%
Vitamin A 495IU10%
Vitamin C 3.6mg4%
Calcium 278mg28%
Iron 3.5mg19%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!You'll love delicious, creamy mushroom risotto, with arborio rice, mushrooms, butter, wine and Parmesan, topped with seasoned, pan-seared shrimp.

Save

Save

Save