Basic Stir Fry

You want stir fry? I got your stir fry right here.

This has no name, because it's just your basic protein stir fry with mixed veg. Recipe after the jump. I also don't have photos for this because my Nikon is in the shop getting a tune up and sensor cleaning. My last trip to Big Sur introduced dirt onto the sensor that the camera couldn't self clean, but anyway, I digress.

On to the food!



You'll need:

Protein of your choice (I used a chicken breast, cut into cubes)
1 egg
1/2 cup cornstarch
3 cups worth of bulk vegetables (I used 1.5 cups of broccoli crowns and carrots, and 1/2 cup of snow peas all cleaned and cut into bite sized pieces) use whatever veg you love to eat!
1/2 an onion, diced
2 tbsp. green onion stalk, finely chopped
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

For the sauce:

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/2 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tbsp. shao hsing rice wine
2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar (cider or plain will also work)
1 tsp. srirracha sauce (or can use 1/4 tsp. red chili flake)
3 tbsp. sweet chili sauce (available in the Asian isle of your grocery)
1 tbsp. cornstarch

Mix all the sauce ingredients together and whisk until the cornstarch is dissolved. Set aside while you do the rest of the stir fry prep.

The most important things to know about stir fry is to make sure the wok is hot, and your burners are hot (I cook with my gas stove setting at the max, which is an 8) and that all the food you cook in the wok is cut to a similar size. The similar sizes of all the ingredients will allow for even and fast cooking.

Now when I stir fry, if I'm making the protein crispy, I like to prep it first so that the protein has time to absorb the breading. Beat the egg in a separate bowl, and then add the cubed chicken. Mix to coat the chicken with the beaten egg. Add a pinch of kosher salt and some black pepper at this point. Add the cornstarch to the chicken/egg mixture, and stir well to combine. It will look like it's too dry, but once the dry ingredients have time to mix with the chicken, it'll cook up nice and crispy. While you're letting this mixture get happy, prep the veg.

I cut the broccoli crowns into florets and sliced the carrots thick. I trimmed the ends off the snow peas and left them whole. I like my veggies to be crunchy, but if you like yours on the softer side cut them into smaller bits. Slice the celery thin. Set aside and begin cooking the chicken.

Preheat your wok, or a large dutch oven or skillet (wok is better, but we make do with what we have), and to that add a few tablespoons of good oil. For stir fry, I like peanut oil, but make sure that whatever oil you use has a high smoke point. High temperatures denature oils and turn them rancid, so be sure you use an oil that can handle heat. Coconut oil, plain olive (not extra virgin), grapeseed, canola, or even lard can handle higher temps.

Cook the chicken in small batches until crispy and cooked through, turning until each tiny nugget is nice and golden brown. At this point, congratulations, you've just made some chicken nuggets (without all the crap!), but I recommend you go through with the rest of the recipe. It's really worth it.

Once the chicken is all cooked, set it aside. Reheat your wok/pan and add another tablespoon of oil to coat the bottom. Add the onion, celery, and carrots (mirepoix) and cook until the celery and onion begin to go transparent. Add the broccoli crowns and cook until desired doneness. I cook mine about a minute. Again, I like my veg crunchy. Add the sauce and cook until the sauce is bubbly and turns from cloudy to a glossy, luscious looking sheen. Return the chicken to the wok/pan and combine. Give them a minute or two for everything to look like it's starting to settle nicely, and then turn off the heat and sprinkle on the green onion.

Serve over hot steamed rice or over a lettuce salad, and sigh in contentment.

The best part about all of this? I made an entire wok full of the stuff. For a family of four, there was enough for each person to get 2 restaurant sized platefuls of food. Think of how much they put into a styrofoam container when you order at one of those take out places, that's how much food you get in one serving. The amount I spent on ingredients at Sprouts earlier: for chicken, broccoli crowns, carrots, onions, spring onions, snow peas, celery: $14.04, and I still have 2 chicken breasts left, 2 broccoli crowns left (I used one), 18 carrots left, 3 more uses of spring onions, 7 stalks of celery, and half of the snow peas left. You know how much 8 servings of food would have cost at your favorite Chinese restaurant? Also, I know what went into this food. It's all wholesome and natural.

So this whole meal was roughly $4 and change to make. Everything only took me 30 minutes.

Cooking from scratch is really a lot easier than one would think, and not as expensive.