Stir Fry Sauce

Stir Fry Sauce

1/2 cup chicken broth
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp sherry or Chinese cooking wine (I skip this or add a little extra soy sauce)
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp distilled white vinegar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1+ tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp peanut oil (I just use more sesame oil instead)
3 Tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger or 2-3 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1tsp - 1 Tbsp minced garlic (opt.).

In a small bowl, combine the stock with the soy sauce, sherry, sugar, cornstarch slurry, vinegar, and sesame oil. Stir to dissolve the sugar.

In a medium saucepan, heat the peanut oil until shimmering. Add the ginger and crushed red pepper (and garlic) and cook over high heat, stirring, until fragrant and golden. Add the stock mixture and boil over high heat until thickened and glossy, about 1 minute.

A reviewer on Allrecipes.com (where I got this from) said: I usually add some garlic and some fresh orange juice instead of all that stock and 1/4 t. salt - I think this is really nice because it gives you a lot of sauce - I don't like a dry stir fry, especially over rice.

Kung Pao Chicken

This recipe is very tasty and is quite similar to the Spicy Chicken with Snow Peas recipe I just posted. I love the hot chile paste and I always love water chestnuts!

Kung Pao Chicken

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into chunks
2 tablespoons white wine (or not - I just left this out)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil, divided
2 tablespoons cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
1 ounce hot chile paste
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
2 teaspoons brown sugar
4 green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts
4 ounces chopped peanuts

To Make Marinade: Combine 1 tablespoon wine, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon cornstarch/water mixture and mix together. Place chicken pieces in a glass dish or bowl and add marinade. Toss to coat. Cover dish and place in refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

To Make Sauce: In a small bowl combine 1 tablespoon wine, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon cornstarch/water mixture, chili paste, vinegar and sugar. Mix together and add green onion, garlic, water chestnuts and peanuts. In a medium skillet, heat sauce slowly until aromatic.

Meanwhile, remove chicken from marinade and saute in a large skillet until meat is white and juices run clear. When sauce is aromatic, add sauteed chicken to it and let simmer together until sauce thickens.

Perhaps less cornstarch or more water if you like it thicker and make double or triple the sauce.

Spicy Chicken with Snow Peas

We had a big bag of snow peas to use so I tried a few new recipes. I'm realizing that chile paste is a great way to really kick up the spiciness.

Spicy Chicken with Snow Peas

Olive oil
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 pouch (3.5 ounces) boil-in-a-bag long grain brown rice
2 Tablespoons sugar
3 Tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
2 Teaspoons chile paste with garlic
1 teaspoon bottled fresh ginger
Cooking spray
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1.5 cups matchstick cut carrots
1 cup thinly sliced red bell peppers
2 cups snow peas, trimmed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup unsalted, dry roasted peanuts, chopped

Place 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a nonstick skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot, add chicken cubes and cook until all sides have turned white and the center is no longer pink, about 7-10 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
Start cooking rice according to directions on the package, but omit the salt and fat. Once rice is done cooking remove from heat, but keep warm.

Combine sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, chile paste and ground ginger in a small bowl.

Coat the skillet with cooking spray and add sesame oil, heat over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and bell peppers, saute for 2-minutes. Add the cubed chicken and snow peas to the pan and saute for an additional 1-minute. Remove carrot, pepper, chicken, snow pea mixture from the pan and set aside.

Return pan to the stove; over medium-high heat add soy sauce mixture to the pan and bring to a boil. Cook mixture until it has reduced to 1/4 cup (about 1.5 minutes) stirring constantly.

Divide the rice amongst four plates and place chicken/vegetable mixture over the rice. Drizzle 1 Tablespoon of sauce over each plate and top with 4 teaspoons of chopped peanuts. This recipe serves 4.