Hoisin sauce and a very Tagish birthday

This is my favorite hoisin sauce:



I found it at an Asian grocery that was one street over from my home in the Midwest. I've tried other hoisin sauces only to be very disappointed and my hoisin chicken recipe just doesn't like to be made with an inferior sauce.

Here's the English side, in case you don't read kanji (which I most certainly do not):


So, if you make this hoisin chicken recipe and you don't use Koon Chun hoisin sauce, don't tell me how bad my recipe is. It's your fault. :)

Hoisin Chicken Recipe

The most important part of this recipe is a GOOD QUALITY hoisin sauce. I use Koon Chun which I've been able to find in both the Midwest and West coast at Japanese or Asian markets. by Annie H

30 min | 5 min prep | SERVES 8

2	tablespoons olive oil
2	lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into one inch pieces
For sauce
5	fluid ounces hoisin sauce
3/4	cup low sodium soy sauce
1	tablespoon sesame oil
1	teaspoon dried ginger
2	tablespoons worcestershire sauce (use the good stuff)
1/4	cup sugar
1/2	cup water
Serve with
6	cups steamed rice

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat.
2. Add chicken and cook half way.
3. Mix sauce ingredients together and add all at once. Cook at a high boil until sauce is thickened. This can take upward of 15 minutes depending on how high your heat is. You can cook this until it’s sticky but that makes it super rich. I leave mine runny. High heat is important for caramelizing the sugar.
4. Serve over basmati rice, with a side of sauteed stir fry veggies.Top of Form

Tag decorating his birthday cake:


There were so many sprinkles that we took those cupcakes over there and just dipped them into the top of the cake. He was so dang pleased with that cake. And I have another child who has turned 5... how old do I feel?

Tag is a really amazing young person. He had such a rough go of it for the first 2.5 years of his life and in some ways we're still ironing out the kinks. He hasn't had an asthma attack from either dogs or cats in almost 2 years, he hasn't had a single trace of eczema in over 3 years, and he is such a joy to our whole family. Frieda loves smiling at his face and voice. Pebbles follows him around the house, parroting and monkeying all day long. He and Princess are such great friends and play for hours. I'm so pleased with the person he is. He has always been affectionate but really goes the extra mile to play with and talk to everyone in a group. He seeks people out and talks to them in a way that, to me, looks courageous. He's so creative and can always come up with games to play, songs to sing, voices and impressions, and remembers people and important things about them. He's a pro on both his bike and scooter and has found ways to manipulate toys that continually astound me. His zeal for life and fun and loving people knows no bounds and I hope his determination to make so much joy for so many people lasts his whole life time.

Happy birthday, Tag. :)

And here's a bonus Tagger:

Princess: I spy with my little eye... something brown.
Tag: A melted tree?
Princess: [struck momentarily speechless] Uh.... what?
Tag: What if aliens came and shot a tree and melted it? That'd be brown.
Princess: You're weird.
Tag: Nooooooo, I'm a cute boy. If aliens set our house on fire I'd blow the fire out. But I'd like to have a melted tree.

Folks, I just don't even know where he comes up with this stuff.