Wanchai Ferry Beef & Broccoli Frozen Stir-Fry Review and Giveaway

Through My Blog Spark sponsored by Wanchai Ferry I was able to review Wanchai's newest flavor from their Chinese Meal for Two line, beef & broccoli.

The beef & broccoli flavor comes with beef strips, broccoli, red peppers, and water chestnuts. The brown sauce includes the flavors of soy and garlic. I felt that there was a decent amount of each main ingredients, which I look for in a frozen meal like this since usually they skimp on the pricier ingredients by loading up on cheaper ingredients. If you're a big meat fan, you probably would feel that there wasn't enough beef strips.

To complete your stay in-take out experience, the meal comes with a packet of pre-cooked jasmine rice that just needs a brief 3 minutes of microwave cooking as the stir fry finishes up. After resting for a minute, the rice comes out fluffy, tender, and ready to go. I've seen instructions for freezing your own pre-cooked rice that I haven't tried, but after this I'll probably start packing up portions of rice for future meals.

Since the entire meal takes just about 15 minutes to make, including the rice, you won't have to wait long to eat. Place the vegetables and meat in a nonstick skillet with 1/3 cup water (I accidentally used 2/3 cup), and any other thinly sliced vegetables, like onions, carrot strips (which I used), or snow peas, etc., to add to the mix. The instructions then say to cook on high for 6-8 minutes, though I felt that the vegetables only needed about 4 minutes because they were starting to overcook and wilt just a bit instead of staying vibrant. Since the contents of the sauce packets are added and allowed to cook on medium for an additional 3 minutes, I found it was plenty of time to allow the ingredients to cook thoroughly if the heat was previously at a constant boil before.
Because I accidentally thinned the sauce out too much, the flavor, while still present and therefore a sign to the quality of flavor, was a bit weak. Overall, though, I thought the flavor of the sauce was pretty good in comparison to a standard Chinese buffet, and other Chinese frozen meals. I did add 1/2 a tablespoon oyster sauce and a bit of sriracha sauce.

So overall the flavor of the sauce and the vegetables tasted really good together, and although I never used to care for water chestnuts, I liked the addition here. If I had cooked the vegetables a bit less it would have come out more fresh-like than what's typical of a frozen meal. The beef strips were good, though those were definitely the tell of it being frozen. I also appreciated that the rice was included since it really sped up the entire process instead of having to cook your own.

A few notes: While there's no added MSG, except what occurs naturally, this would be a plus for those of you staying away from it. However, the sodium content per serving rivals a burrito from a place I won't mention in this post, so in many ways it's comparable to take out, except the flavor is a bit fresher and it's definitely not as greasy.

Also, as no Chinese meal is complete without tea, included are two tea cups, tea balls, and containers of organic green tea leaves to enhance your stay in-take out experience!

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Giveaway Info

Wanchai Ferry and My Blog Spark has also given me the opportunity to host a giveaway for your own packet of stir fry meal for two, a VIP coupon, and two tea sets. You can enter three times to improve your chances of winning, details below (giveaway open to US residents only):

1. Leave a comment telling me you'd like to enter


2. Blog about this giveaway, with a link back to this post, on your blog. Please comment again with a link to your post.


3. Follow me on Twitter if you don't already and twit this giveaway, and comment again with a link to your tweet

Giveaway ends on Saturday, June 6th, and the winner will be announced the following Monday. Good luck!

In the meantime, anyone can print a coupon for $1.60 off a pack of Wanchai Ferry Frozen Stir-Fry.

william shatner's cappuccino muffins

I've been wanting to make these muffins for a while now, partly because I love anything coffee-related, partly because I thought it was cool how these might possibly be from William Shatner. Come on, the man was captain of the Enterprise. After retiring, he became a lawyer in Boston. He gets around, and he still finds time to be in the kitchen!

Of course, I changed up the recipe because I wanted to make these in the manner of a cupcake. Ideally, I wanted to brown the butter, let it cool, and beat with the sugar. I could have simply mixed the browned butter with the milk, but I was aiming for a lighter texture.

What happened next, since I was too hasty and didn't let the butter cool, is that the butter and sugar didn't whip properly because the heat sort of dissolved the sugar. After I added the egg, the mixture looked similar to a congealed mayonnaise mixture. In the end, the batter came together without a problem and resembled a pretty nice cupcake consistency.

Besides the browned butter, I replaced the cinnamon (too warm a flavor for the current heat wave) with cardamom (probably the same thing, but it seems lighter) and used only 1/2 cup chocolate chips. For the crowns I sprinkled 1/2 teaspoon sugar on top of each cup to look pretty. Unfortunately, I didn't remember that I had ground coffee beans mixed with sugar, otherwise I would have gone with the gold.

Based on pictures of other bloggers' cappuccino muffins, I had high expectation that the crowns would beam up into epic proportions. And they did! One of the most beautifully baked up muffin recipes I've ever encountered, and I was pretty happy. I also didn't grease the sides of the muffin tins, which I think is a Cook's Illustrated technique as it allows the batter to "grab" the sides and rise higher, if I recall correctly.

The texture was soft and fluffy, with just enough sweetness to make it appropriate for brek-fast, elevenses, you name it, spread with a sweetened whipped coffee cream cheese-butter spread (which I just thought of at this moment). The espresso flavor wasn't particularly strong, and the cardamom wasn't detectable whatsoever, though I'm thinking the combination of the two flavors with the browned butter, accented by vanilla, is what made the muffins tasty. If you would like a stronger coffee flavor, adjust the amount of espresso powder to suit your tastes. Definitely a repeat worthy recipe, though next time I'll bake the original version for comparison.

Recipe after the jump

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william shatner's cappuccino muffins
His original recipe with my mods

12 muffins

ingredients ~

2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, browned and cooled to room temperature (you can refrigerate the butter to speed up the process, but make sure it doesn't completely solidify)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk, room temperature
1/2 cup chocolate chips
extra granulated sugar

directions ~

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray the bottoms of a 12-cup nonstick muffin tin.


2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, espresso powder, cardamom, and salt.


3. In a large bowl, beat the butter with the sugar for 3 minutes on medium-high speed. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until mixed. On low speed, blend in one third of the flour mixture, followed by half of the milk. Continue alternating the flour and milk, ending with the flour. When a few traces of flour remain, stir in the chocolate chips just until mixed.


4. Divide batter evenly amongst all 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle each top with 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in center of muffin comes out clean. Let muffins cool in tin for 5 minutes before removing to cool on a wire rack.

easy enchiladas

Every have those evenings where you'd rather eat Ramen than cook a meal? I do. So I'm trying to build up a repertoire of easy, tasty, go-to meals that are still worthy of applause, and one of those is enchiladas with a very simple and delicious red sauce.

There was actually another recipe I was following, but after trying the recipe I found on Knitter in the Kitchen I wanted to see how the sauce on the Everyday Food recipe would differ. The premise is the same, oil, flour, chili powder, water and chicken broth, but it differed by the addition of an chipotle chili with a bit of the adobo sauce that added an extra punch. However, the other recipe has a few spices mixed in with the chili powder that I felt gave it a bit more depth of flavor, but I was lazy so all I added was a minced garlic clove, some dried oregano, and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (which really enhances red sauces).

In this recipe, you make a roux with oil and flour, similar to the first recipe I tried except that you blend the chili powder plus spices with the flour before adding the liquid. Since chili powder is oil soluble, much of the flavor is released when added to oil, thus I feel it's better to add it with the flour instead of later with the liquid. Although the flavor was still pretty punchy, it probably had more to do with the chipotle chili and adobo sauce than from the chili powder alone.

As the sauce simmers away for a brief 10 minutes, you can prep the filling and get the pan ready.

Otherwise, I mostly followed the recipe as written, except for the filling I used preshredded chicken (from chicken cooked earlier) and seasoned the onion-garlic-chicken mixture with oregano, salt, and Goya seasoning. I love Goya. I also had more flour tortillas so I used those. For corn tortillas, though, Rick Bayless has a quick method to soften them: Brush either side with oil or spray with oil, then place flat on a baking sheet and stick in the oven for at least 5 minutes, until soft and pliable.

In the oven, the sauce bakes into the tortillas and the finished dish is completely delicious and satisfies any craving you might have for Mexican food. The top is a bit crispy with the cheese and the cilantro sprinkled on top adds another element of flavor. A squeeze of lime would also be great. No, it's probably not completely traditional, but not everything needs to be. An added bonus, this can also be frozen in advance for later. Since I used 10 flour tortillas, you could probably use more corn tortillas as well, though it might not be as saucy (mine wasn't -- next time).

Recipe after the jump

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Tex-Mex Beef Enchiladas
Recipe from Everyday Food with my mods in italics

Serves 5

ingredients ~

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) reduced sodium chicken broth
1 small chipotle chile in adobo, minced, plus 1 tablespoon sauce (from a small can)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 pound lean ground beef
1/2 a packet Goya seasoning
1 teaspoon oregano
Coarse salt and ground pepper
10 flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (6 ounces)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

directions ~

1. Make sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil over medium. Add flour, chili powder, oregano, garlic, and salt and cook, whisking occasionally, 1 minute. Add broth, chipotle and adobo sauce, and 3/4 cup water, and vinegar; bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce heat, and simmer until lightly thickened, about 10 minutes.


2. Make filling: In a 10-inch nonstick skillet, heat remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Add onion, garlic, Goya, oregano, and beef; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until cooked through, about 8 minutes.


3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. (If freezing, don't place any sauce in baking dish.) Spoon 1/4 cup sauce in bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish. Set aside. Make enchiladas: Stack tortillas; wrap in foil, and warm in oven, 10 minutes. Fill each with a heaping 1/4 cup beef mixture (and this was for 6-inch corn tortillas, which I don't even think I did for 10-inch flour tortillas, so do whatever works for you) and 2 tablespoons cheese; tightly roll up.


4. Raise oven heat to 450 degrees. Arrange enchiladas, seam side down, in baking dish. Top with remaining sauce; sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, until hot and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes. (I sprinkled the cilantro on top a few minutes before end of cooking time) Let cool 10 minutes before serving. Serve garnished with cilantro and, if desired, a green salad.

To freeze: make sauce and enchiladas; arrange enchiladas in baking dish without sauce (so tortillas don't become soggy). Place sauce in an airtight container. Cover dish with plastic wrap and foil. Label, date, and freeze enchiladas and sauce. Use within 2 months; bake without thawing.

To bake from frozen: Thaw sauce in refrigerator overnight. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove foil and plastic wrap from baking dish. Pour sauce over top, and sprinkle with cheese; cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover; bake until lightly browned and bubbly, about 15 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes; serve.

If baking right away: Spoon 1/4 cup sauce in the bottom of baking dish; pour the rest over the enchiladas.