Stir fry!

I’m a little late to the party on this post, but hey, Happy New Year anyway. Friday was the Chinese New Year, so I decided to make some chicken stir fry with my fancy schmancy new Wok. I’ve wanted a new Wok for a while now, and finally bit the bullet at Costco. It’s amazing! I can’t believe I waited so long to buy one. Let me tell you, it makes this so much easier.

And btw, if you’ve seen my bio page you already know I’m clearly not Chinese. So no, this is not authentic. It’s just good and really easy.

You will need:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken, chopped into equal bite-sized pieces
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp corn starch
Rooster sauce to taste
2 large zucchini, chopped into 1-inch cubes
1 or 2 medium onions, sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 jalepeno, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup chopped cabbage
*or sub any vegetables you might like in here

For the sauce:
1/2 Soy Sauce
Splash (or more) of fish sauce
Rooster sauce to taste
1 tbsp white sugar (or more if you like it sweet)
1 tbsp cornstarch

**And you will need your FULL ATTENTION. Turn off the Kardashians, people, because this is going to be hot and fast.

Not unlike Ms. Kardashian. Oh no she didn’t! Yes, yes I did. Sorry Mrs. Kanye, your baby is really adorable.

Here we go!

Chicken!

Start by cutting up a pound (or more) of boneless, skinless chicken. I use chicken thighs, but use whatever you like. Don’t let me wax poetic about the virtues of thigh meat. It’s way better. I suggest you try it. Marinate the chicken with a quarter cup of soy sauce, two tablespoons of cornstarch and a splash of rooster sauce. Or, if you’re like me, a quarter of a bottle of rooster sauce.

Zesty!

Mix the whole shebang and let sit while you work on everything else.

Next, chop up one medium onion, two large zucchini, three cloves of garlic and one jalepeno. I also had some leftover cabbage, so I threw that in there too. There are no rules in the Thunderdome, after all.

Now the key is to chop everything about the same size, so everything cooks evenly and is easy to pick up with your chopsticks. Put the vegetables in a bowl. Of course, your garlic can be chopped smaller.

Vegetables!

Then, create the sauce you’ll pour over the top in a separate bowl.

Soy, fish sauce, sugar and rooster sauce.

Add the soy sauce, fish sauce, rooster sauce and sugar to a bowl. Taste it. If you think it is too sour, add some more sugar, a tiny bit at a time. This isn’t rocket science, folks. You can do it! I swear! Now, I will tell you that if you have added a ton more vegetables to the recipe, you will probably need more sauce, so adjust the proportions accordingly. When the sauce tastes about right, add in the cornstarch and mix thoroughly.

Cornstarch in the sauce.

Next, get that wok flaming hot with a tablespoon of oil! Remember how we like a really hot pan, right? We’re going for wok hei, or the little brown bits of food that have been properly cooked in a wok. You’ll see, I’ll show you.

But first, let’s stop for a moment to admire my new pan. It’s so pretty. Well hello, Wok. Thanks for joining the Mealy household. You’re going to be very, very busy.

Working in batches, add the chicken to your screaming hot pan. It will sizzle and pop and burn the crap out of your arm. That’s okay. Wear long sleeves. Turn it down if you must, but only a little bit! Don’t be a weeny. Spread the meat on the bottom of the pan and don’t touch it for a minute. Let the chicken develop that nice golden brown-ness (wok hei!).

Notice the small amount of meat, maybe half the batch. After a minute or so, start stirring the meat quickly, then let it settle again for more browning! Look at you, giving your food wok hei like a pro.

Toasty brown-ness = tasty.

When that batch of chicken is done, remove it to a waiting dish with a cover. Add the rest of your chicken and repeat. Easy, right? Make sure that pan is hot!

When you’re done with the meat, start the same process with your vegetables, a small batch at a time. Treat them just like you treated the meat, allowing the vegetables to cook until they get brown bits. Now, don’t overcook them. Just get them browned and fragrant before putting them in a waiting dish with a cover. Repeat until all the vegetables are cooked.

Next, dump EVERYTHING back in the medium/high pan.

Pour on the sauce, enough to generally coat the mixture but not drown it. So pour half in, then a little more, etc. Toss until the sauce is bubbling, everything is hot and the sauce looks a bit thickened.

Carbs!

Grab the nice white rice you made in the background but forgot to mention.

Chicken and zucchini stir-fry glamour shot.

Serve the stir fry over white rice. Splash some sesame seeds on top because that’s what the husband likes. Use your prettiest red chopsticks and enjoy!

See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?