Monday, June 19, 2006

Quick and easy stir fry

To celebrate the arrival of my new Calphalon wok on mail order (hey, it was $40; I couldn’t say no), I had to make some stir fry!

My husband is a reformed picky eater, and stir fry was really the first thing that I could ever get him to really eat that wasn’t pizza or macaroni and cheese. He never cooked for himself and rarely ate out healthy, so I think it was just that he didn’t know what he liked. One night, I cooked him a basic, quick stir fry. He liked it so much that it has become one of our quick, tasty weeknight meals. And it’s so easy that he can even cook it himself!

I don’t have a hard and fast recipe that I follow, and I generally use what I have on hand. Sometimes items get included and sometimes they don’t. I usually make this with chicken, though lean pork chops have been used more than once. I haven’t used beef with it, but I assume it is good as well.

Ingredients:
1-1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast - use your favorite meat or meat substitute - cut into strips and/or cubed
1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips and halved
1 green bell pepper, sliced into strips and halved
2c broccoli florets
1c matchstick carrots - you can shred your own, but already shredded ones saves time
1c sliced mushrooms
1c snow peas - sugar snap peas can also be used here- I usually buy what’s in season and cheapest!
½ onion, sliced into ¼-inch wide strips - I usually use yellow or Vidalia onions
1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 can bamboo shoots, drained
¼-1/3c teriyaki sauce of choice, to taste - Since Kikoman is the best, that is what I usually use. I like the roasted garlic flavor, and if I'm using regular teriyaki, I tend to add a clove of minced garlic to elicit that flavor
1T canola oil
1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Heat the canola and sesame oil in a wok over high heat (if you don’t have a wok, you can also use a sautee pan. A decent starter wok can be found at IKEA for $10). Brown the chicken in the oil, add about half the teriyaki sauce, and reduce heat. Add sliced vegetables, beginning with the broccoli, onions, water chestnuts, and bamboo (the water chestnuts and bamboo will add moisture and will keep things from sticking)- these tend to take longer to cook. Add in the remaining veggies and remaining teriyaki sauce when the onions are translucent. Cover wok with large lid, so contents steam and cook for about 5-10 more minutes.



Serve over rice (I usually use organic brown instant rice, in a pinch, but “real” rice and long grain white rice can also be used!) Add soy sauce to taste.



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3 comments:

Jackie said...

That looks seriously tasty. Have you ever seen/tried Soy Vey? It's a line of kosher sauces, I really like their teriyaki sauce (although it's quite salty). The basic soy sauce is good, too.

Caroline said...

No, I haven't seen it, but it sounds like it's worth trying! I'll have to check at el Farmer's Market this week. I can just use my reduced-sodium Kikoman to compliment it :)

One of my other favorites is the Stonewall Kitchen's Roasted Garlic Teriyaki sauce. It's expensive, but totally yummy.

Anonymous said...

If you're in a hurry or don't have a variety of fresh veggies available (I live in a small town), Wal-Mart has frozen stir-fry veggies that are good. There are different kinds, broccoli stir fry, asparagus stir fry, etc., that are all mixed veggies.