Stir-Fried Chicken and Veg
This recipe can be infinitely tweaked and changed according to the vegetables you have at hand or feel like eating. After you blanch the bok choy, snow peas and broccoli, be sure to have all your ingredients prepped and arranged next to the stove. Big bonus: It weighs in at only about 260 calories for a generous serving – amazing, considering how tasty it is. Once you have everything prepped, the cooking is very quick – about 10 minutes. Serve it with steamed white or brown rice, if you like – or solo.
Serves 4.
Ingredients
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut across the grain into 1/2-inch thick slices, and any very long slices cut in half
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine or (or substitute an extra teaspoon of rice vinegar)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Freshly ground white pepper
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon salt
A one-inch-long piece of ginger, peeled and lightly smashed
1/2 pound baby bok choy, trimmed and quartered vertically
3/4 pound broccoli, stems peeled and cut horizontally into 1/2-inch slices, florets separated into bite-sized pieces
3 to 4 ounces snow peas, ends trimmed
2 tablespoons peanut or canola oil
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
6 ounces daikon, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 small carrot, peeled and julienned
1 teaspoon sambal oelek (optional, or substitute Sriricha or a finely chopped small fresh Thai bird chile)
2 tablespoons fish sauce
Instructions
1. Marinate the chicken: In a medium bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon of the oyster sauce, the soy sauce, rice vinegar, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil and a few grinds of white pepper. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Set it aside to marinate.
2. Blanch vegetables: Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a medium pot over high heat and add the baking soda, the salt and the piece of smashed ginger. Drop in the bok choy. As soon as the water returns to a boil, fish out the bok choy with a strainer or slotted spoon, put it in a colander and run cold water on it to stop the cooking. Set it aside. Now drop the snow peas into the boiling water, wait just 3 or 4 seconds, then fish them out and run cold water on them. Set aside. Now drop in the broccoli. When the water returns to a boil, wait 10 seconds, then drain in a colander and run cold water on them (no need to fish them out; you're done with the water). Remove and discard the ginger.
3. Stir-fry the chicken: Heat one tablespoon of the peanut or canola oil in a wok over the highest heat, and whirl the oil around the wok to coat it. When you see the first wisp of smoke, add the chicken, and stir-fry for about 3 minutes, until it is just cooked through. Remove it to a bowl and set aside. Turn off the heat, and wipe out the wok with a paper towel.
4. Stir-fry the vegetables: Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the wok over the highest heat, and whirl it around to coat the wok. Add the minced ginger and garlic, and stir-fry for a few seconds – you don't want it to burn. Add the onion and stir-fry about a minute, until it starts to look translucent. Add the daikon, and stir-fry about two minutes. Add the carrot, broccoli and bok choy and stir-fry about two minutes, then add the snow peas and stir-fry about 10 seconds. Turn the heat to medium.
5. Put it all together: Add the chicken to the wok (including any juices that have collected) and stir to combine. Add the remaining tablespoon of oyster sauce, the sambal oelek, the fish sauce and a few grindings of white pepper and toss it all in the wok to combine it well. Continue cooking and tossing about 20 seconds, then turn off the heat, transfer the stir-fry to a serving bowl and serve immediately.