I just love it when someone at a food/recipe website showcases a recipe that’s both great-looking and features a simple selection of authentic ingredients ALL of which I adore! That’s my definition of an instant go-to…
You’ve head the saying ‘love at first sight’, right? This dish (as many I feature, more a technique than a rigorous recipe) had me at the headline photo!
Couldn’t be easier. Couldn’t be more universally-pleasing or versatile!
Only a few ingredients
But they could be almost any ingredients!
Get this: All you need to stir-up a classic swavoury, Chicken Stir-fry is the following barely-there selection of classic ingredients;
Chicken
The recipe calls for cubed Chicken Breasts. but I prefer boneless thighs or a mix of breast and thigh meat. Both for flavour and overall richness.
Low-Sodim (medium or light Soy Sauce)
I’ve always been a cautious about dark/regular Soy Sauce. Too much sodium for me, and a smack-you-in-the-face flavour I find overwhelms other ingredients in a dish. I see this in the author re-commendations for a new recipe/basic technique, and I know they’re in my wheelhouse!
Sesame Oil
Yes! A great accent flavour, especially when dealing with something more delicate like chicken or seafood or veggies.
Honey
You want a sweetener that checks all the authenticity and tradition boxes, this is it. Unless, of course, you’re cooking for someone with bee allergies. Then, you can dare to substitute in Maple Syrup. Or go with some other sweetener guaranteed not to offend anyone you’re planning to feed…
Broccoli
A classic Asian ingredient, especially when you take a little trouble to source Asian Broccoli from an Asian grocery, or Broccolini from the produce department of a ‘better’ conventional supermarket. Be sure, when stir frying it, to blanche it in some rapidly-boiling water and then allow the surface moisture and steam to fuully evaporate before throwing it in the WOK. Otherwise, your stir fry will poach rather than fry!
Red Sweet Bell Peppers
An underrated Asian-associated ingredient you can use in dishes from stir-fries to salads. I love it. It has more, sweeter, fruitier flavour than the other colours – Green, Yellow, Orange or whatever you may be considering using. Alas, the price f Red Bell Pepper has always been ‘premium’ cpmparedto plain Green. But it’s worth it to me!
Cashews
Your go-to nut for Asian applications. Although many Asian recipes from a whole rainbow of eastern cuisines call for peanuts, and insist they’re more authentic. Cashews are also full of ingredients Peanuts haven’t even head of!
Fresh Garlic
This detail should always be stressed – rather than going the other way and taken as read – especially in Asian recipes. It can make or break a dish that features a majority of other fresh ingredients\. A,d also wys toast your fresh garlic, at least a few seconds, until you can small and almost taste it’s fresh, umamiful oils…
My take
Just follow the procedure the author of the source recipe recommends for throwing this one together, and enjoy.
Remember, you can make this one a vegetarian or vegan dish by leaving out the animal protein and maybe adding another classic stir-ftying veggie or two.
Make lots. Because everybody loves this dish. One reviewer admitted: “My kids, who have become picky eaters, said this was a ’10 out of 10′ – which is a pretty stunning endorsement!”
~ Maggie J.