Well, would you look at this! I not only had time to cook, I had time to create a new recipe *and* remembered to take pictures of the process so I could write a blog post! And then for the cherry on top, I have time to actually write the blog post! It's a November miracle, folks... Work is usually so crazy busy this time of year I'm lucky if I'm grabbing some Pop Tarts or a banana if I'm not getting fed while I'm there.
So. I decided to call this one Sweet n' Hot Chicken Stir-Fry. I was originally going for a sweet & sour kind of deal, but then I segued into more hot than sour, so there you have it. As always, I skipped the rice to save on carbs (but you'll see later I ruined that by doing potatoes), but you should feel free to serve it over rice or pasta or whatever if you'd rather.
It looks like kind of an ungodly amount of ingredients, but it really isn't. Most of what you see is for the marinade/sauce, with just chicken, onion, garlic, bell peppers, bamboo shoots, and water chestnuts making up the actual food part. I should note that I really wanted something green here (ideally broccoli, but I was willing to go with green pepper), but it seems I neglected to purchase anything green. When I looked in my kitchen, all I found was a lone bag of frozen peas, and that just didn't seem right. So no green.
Usually I use all Maggi seasoning, but it tends to get too salty in quantity, so for this I did half Maggi and half low sodium soy sauce. Then honey, mild olive oil, rice vinegar, allspice, thyme, cayenne, and smoked paprika to round out the marinade.
First thing I did was whisk the marinade ingredients. It takes a lot longer than you'd think, because getting oil to emulsify with soy sauce is all kinds of special. Also, it tends to splash your countertop as well as your shirt while you do it if you get a little too wild. Not that I would know anything about that.
Anyway, it makes just shy of 1 1/2 cups of sauce, which I originally thought was going to be perfect. It probably would be if you were serving this over rice, but without it there was just going to be too much. That's how I ended up adding the potatoes.
I don't know what was up with the boneless, skinless chicken breasts I bought last time, but they were huge! This was one half, and it was easily a pound or better. I cut it in half lengthwise, then sliced against the grain into about 1/2-inch thick medallions.
I returned the chicken pieces to their freezer bag, then poured in about a cup of the marinade. I then sealed the bag and squished it around to make sure all the chicken pieces were submerged, and popped it into the fridge for about four hours. You could probably go as long as eight hours, but I would do any longer. You can also get away with as little as an hour, but four was pretty darn perfect.
Since I was using my nonstick skillet, I didn't add any oil to the pan. I just took the chicken pieces out of the bag of marinade with my fingers, letting most of the excess drip back into the bag, then added them directly to the preheated pan. I let it cook about 3 minutes, then flipped and cooked about another three.
This is important! Don't throw away the marinade! You're going to need it later. I just resealed the bag and left it sitting on my counter until I was ready for it.
There's a picture missing here, and I don't know why. I remember taking it, but it wasn't in my phone when I went to transfer them to my laptop. This wasn't all one step; I added the onion and garlic and stir-fried for about 3 minutes, then added the bell peppers and stir-fried for another 5 minutes.
Then I added the bamboo shoots and water chestnuts, and continued stir-frying for 10 minutes to make sure the chicken was cooked through and all the vegetables were heated and tender.
Here's where your marinade comes into play. I added about a tablespoon of cornstarch to the bag and shook it until it was completely blended. Then I poured it into the pan and let it simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce was thickened. I didn't pay attention, but I think this took about 10 minutes. Something like that.
I toasted the sesame seeds (not pictured, just put them in a small dry skillet over medium heat and toss them until they start to release their oil and fragrance), then sprinkled them over the top. If you're going for presentation rather than just flavour, don't do this until you serve the stir-fry. I ended up stirring again and the sesame seeds mostly disappeared by the time they got to our plates.
About that extra half-cup of marinade... Potatoes! I chopped about a pound of red potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled, and tossed them with it. Then I baked them at 425F for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning and drying out, until they were tender.
They're a pretty tasty side dish, although I wish I'd thought to toss some toasted sesame seeds in with them as well. I'm going to post these as a separate recipe, because it'll be easy enough to separate out what I did into thirds. I'll definitely be making these without the stir-fry at a later date; they were yummy!
See what I mean about wanting something green in there? It's a little monochromatic for my preference. I mean, it's not like I go out of my way for presentation when I'm just making dinner at home, but I do like to have a mixture of colours and textures as a rule. Next time!
Hot n' Sweet Chicken Stir-Fry
Serves 4
Marinade/Sauce:
4 tablespoons mild olive oil
2 tablespoons Maggi seasoning
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika (I used Spice Merchants)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon allspice
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, halved and sliced against the grain 1/2 inch thick
1 medium onion, diced
1 large clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup red bell pepper, diced (half)
3/4 cup yellow bell pepper, diced (half)
1 cup bamboo shoots (about half a 20 ounce can), drained
1 (8 ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
Combine marinade ingredients in a zip-top plastic bag; add chicken pieces, squeeze out excess air, and manipulate bag to coat chicken. Marinate in refrigerator 1-8 hours (four is ideal), turning bag a couple of times.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Remove chicken from marinade, allowing excess to run off (DO NOT discard marinade!). Add chicken to pan and cook for 3 minutes per side.
Add onion and garlic to pan and cook, stirring frequently, 3 minutes. Add bell peppers and cook, stirring frequently, an additional 5 minutes. Add bamboo shoots and water chestnuts and cook, stirring frequently, 10 minutes until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender.
Add cornstarch to reserved marinade and shake bag to combine well. Pour into pan and cook, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes or until sauce is thickened.
Either sprinkle sesame seeds over pan or wait until serving to sprinkle over plates; serve immediately. If desired, serve over rice.
Serving Size: 441g
Calories: 489
Calories from Fat: 218
Total Fat: 24.2g
Saturated Fat: 4.6g
Trans Fat: 0.0g
Cholesterol: 101mg
Sodium: 611mg
Total Carbohydrates: 30.6g
Dietary Fiber: 2.9g
Sugars: 4.0g
Protein: 36.8g
Sweet n' Hot Potatoes
Serves 4
1 pound red potatoes, scrubbed, quartered, and sliced 1/2-inch thick
2 tablespoons mild olive oil
1 tablespoon Maggi seasoning
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika (I used Spice Merchants)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Preheat oven to 425F; coat a casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Add potatoes, then rest of ingredients and stir to coat well. Bake for 40-45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until potatoes are tender.
Serving Size: 197g
Calories: 147
Calories from Fat: 65
Total Fat: 7.3g
Saturated Fat: 1.1g
Trans Fat: 0.0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 257mg
Total Carbohydrates: 19.0g
Dietary Fiber: 2.3g
Sugars: 1.3g
Protein: 2.5g
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