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Sunday, January 16, 2011

East Meets West

Chinese cuisine is probably one of my favorite food to make - not only because it is so delicious that I always eat it all, but also because it is my version of comfort food. Oh, not to mention the fact that I do have all kinds of mom's and grandma's recipes. Growing up, dinner was always served family-style in the dining room: a bowl of steamed rice, three different types of dishes on the table, and a bowl of hearty soup. Mine is going to differ somewhat.


Spicy Chicken over Rice, served with Cilantro Slaw and Chicken Cheese Balls

My westernized version of chinese food combines three types of flavors on the plate, featuring the ingredients chili peppers, cilantro, and chicken. Spicy chicken is served over steamed rice, accompanied by cilantro slaw and chicken cheese balls. The cilantro slaw is a typical Chinese "small plate" that is meant to be served right away like dinner rolls to keep people entertained while waiting for the main dishes to arrive. These small plates are usually served cold, with fairly light flavors that lean more toward sweet and/or sour flavors to avoid overpowering the hot entrée. Although I served it with the main dish, it is a refreshing appetizer as we waited for the spicy chicken and rice to cool down. I also created almond crusted chicken balls with melted cheese in the center. This hot snack is addicting and fun to eat.


Almond Crusted Chicken Cheese Balls

I am participating in the 10 with 5 Challenge created by Rosy + Tart, where I would need to create 10 dishes with no more than 5 ingredients each! So here is my first 10 with 5 recipe:

Chicken Cheese Balls
(Ingredients: 8oz skinless and boneless chopped chicken thighs, almond slices, cheddar cheese cubes, 2 tsp of  milk, 1 tbsp of garlic paste or chopped garlic)
Recipe: 1) Grind chopped chicken with milk in a food processor, season with salt & pepper. 2) Mix in garlic and form mixture into small balls (add crushed almond slices if mixture is too sticky). 3) Insert one cheese cube into the center of each ball and roll the ball in almond slices until these slices cover the entire area. 4) Bake in preheated oven at 375F for 20 minutes.

13 comments:

  1. The Chicken Cheese Balls are calling my name. Seriously. :)

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  2. Wow, those are really unique! Love it!

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  3. I love this idea! They look like they would be sweet but they're savory.

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  4. An excellent creation here, love the fusion flavors in this dish! The chicken cheese balls crusted with almonds look just scrumptious - I absolutely have to make it for 5 star foodie junior (my daughter)!

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  5. What a delicious sounding recipe! Your dish looks beautiful! Great photo!

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  6. I grew up with family style meals at home too... now I still cook a lot of Vietnamese food but with Mikee we change it up a little and have big bowls with rice and other things...Something that just happened without thinking about it...i wonder why that is? :)

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  7. Your almond crusted chicken and cheese balls look absolutely mouthwatering!

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  8. I want to eat a dozen of those right now!

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  9. That chicken ball looks great :)
    This is my first challenge too, i think there are a few of us in this one. Good luck & Happy Cooking.

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  10. That almond crusted chicken cheese balls are to die for! I ate something similar but they were crusted with cashews. They tasted sooooooo good!

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  11. Wow, this is a whole lot better than the last time East met West! Apparently they met at a coffee shop and exchanged pleasantries, but really didn't have anything to talk about. They both just kind of awkwardly sat there.

    Yeah, this is definitely a whole lot better than that time!

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  12. I'm terrible at Chinese food. We had really great Chinese restaurants in my neighborhood growing up so we always ate out. And in a 10 with 5 challenge, one of the ingredients was always ketchup at my house. It seems that no one ever taught my parents to cook either. I like your east meets west idea though. I'm going to reinvent the foods I ate as a kid, rather than try to recreate them.

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  13. Such a wonderful plateful of good eats. I like every aspect of it. _ the spicy chicken, the chicken cheese ball and that very asian cilantro slaw.

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