In Cantonese style restaurants a whole chicken is boiled with soy sauce and spices. I have always thought that the chicken skin was too fatty. At home, baking the chicken in the oven makes for a crispy skin with the same great flavor.

1 whole chicken (approximately 4 pounds)
4 cloves garlic
2 scallions, including the green top
1 oz. fresh ginger root
Canola oil or Pam cooking spray

Sauce:
½ cup soy sauce (Kikkoman brand)
½ cup water
¼ cup rice wine or cooking sherry
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons red hot chili oil

Preparation:
Trim excess fat from chicken. Rinse with cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Crush, peel the garlic. Wash and trim the green onions, cut into 1 inch pieces. Peel and thinly slice the ginger root. In a small bowl mix soy sauce, water, wine, sugar, sesame oil, chili oil and set aside. Stuff the chicken cavity with the crushed garlic, onions and ginger root.

To Cook:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. For easy clean up, spray cooking spray onto a 9×12 baking dish. Place the stuffed chicken breast side down. Pour sauce mixture over chicken. Bake uncovered, breast side down for 40 minutes. Turn the chicken over, breast side up, and continue to bake for another 40 minutes until the chicken is in golden brown color. Using a large spoon or a brush, baste the chicken with the sauce from the pan a few times while baking. Remove chicken from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes before cutting the chicken into pieces. Remove any excess fat floating on the surface from sauce in pan. Pour the sauce over chicken pieces to serve. The sauce will enhance the flavor.

Makes 4 servings
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 20 minutes

The holidays are upon us and it has been such a busy time (hence the lack of posts)! Our traditional family Christmas Eve dinner planning is in full swing by Grandma Lucy and we wanted to share a light and healthy hors d’oeuvre that your family may also enjoy.

1 pound fresh mushrooms, (1.5 to 2 inch diameter / about 20 pieces)
½ pound small or medium size raw shrimp
1/2 can sliced water chestnuts (2.5 oz. drained & approx. ¼ cup after finely chopped)
1 oz. fresh cilantro (approx. ¼ cup after finely chopped)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon rice wine or cooking sherry wine
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure sesame oil
Canola oil or Pam cooking spray

Preparation:
Wash mushrooms thoroughly and carefully remove the stems. Finely chop the stems. Peel and devein the shrimp, rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Use a heavy knife to finely chop the shrimp. Finely chop the water chestnuts. Wash and trim the cilantro, finely chop.  In a bowl, combine the chopped shrimp with the mushroom stems, water chestnuts, cilantro, cornstarch, rice wine, salt and sesame oil. Mix together thoroughly. Fill each mushroom cap with 1 tablespoon of the shrimp mixture. Pack tightly so that top of filling is rounded like a miniature cupcake. You should be able to use up all the mixture.

To Cook:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange stuffed mushrooms into a 9×12 baking dish. (There will be some liquid from the mushrooms while baking.)
Spray a little cooking spray on top of the stuffed mushrooms. Bake the stuffed mushrooms uncovered for 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the baked mushrooms onto a serving plate and serve it warm.

Makes about 20 mushroom caps
Preparation time: 20 to 25 minutes
Cooking time: 18 to 20 minutes