Stir fry has always been one of my favorite meals. I particularly like it in the winter time because it warms you up. I really wanted to dabble in Chinese cuisine, and this is a product of much trial and error.
Chicken Stir-Fry
Ingredients:
1 onion
1 green bell pepper
1 bag of frozen stir-fry vegetables
1 medium-sized container of spinach
1 package of thinly-sliced chicken breast
3 cups of rice
2 tablespoons of canola oil
2 tablespoons of garlic
3 tablespoons of chopped ginger
2 pinches of salt
10 pinches of black pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sesame oil
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6
Directions:
- Dice the onion and the green pepper.
- If you have a rice cooker, start the rice now, as rice can take a while to cook. If you do not have one, follow the instructions on the box or bag that the rice comes in.
- Slice the chicken breast into pieces that are around one square inch each.
- Microwave the bag of stir-fry vegetables for about half of the recommended time. This will ensure that the vegetables will both have texture and be soft. My favorite kind can be purchased at Harris Teeter.
Make sure that all of these ingredients are prepared before cooking begins. This is because each ingredient cooks for different lengths of time and skipping steps can cause certain ingredients to be over-cooked.
- Heat a cast iron skillet or wok with the canola oil on medium-high. Test the pan by putting water droplets into the pan. If they pop, the pan is hot enough.
- Add the garlic, onion and green peppers. Stir until the onions become clear.
- Add the chicken, black pepper, red pepper, salt, ginger, soy sauce and sesame oil. Continue to stir until the chicken becomes a beige color. Adjust spice levels to your personal preference with the red pepper flakes.
- Add the stir-fry vegetables. Continue stirring for a couple of minutes.
- Add in the last ingredient — spinach.
- Turn the heat down to low and cover for about 15 minutes. Make sure to stir occasionally. This will intensify the flavors.
- Serve over rice and enjoy.
Alternatively, you can easily make fried rice with this same recipe. Repeat steps one through 10. Next, add three eggs to the mixture and scramble them. Mix in the rice and serve.
As with my other recipes, this one is very versatile. You can easily substitute chicken with steak, pork, seafood or tofu. You can also add other ingredients to fit the dish to your particular tastes. Bok choy, for example, is a good ingredient to add in. Shiitake mushrooms also work well.
When you make this, you will notice that it makes a gargantuan quantity of food. You can feed all of your friends with this if you want — maybe even an army.
You could also portion it out and have healthy, home-cooked and affordable food for many days. Whenever I make this, I am able to feed myself for two to three days. Think about all of the time and money you spend every week buying meals. Both of these would ultimately be reduced if you made this recipe.
Give this a try, and stay warm!
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