This recipe is one of my go to weeknight meals. Stir-fried chicken, plus a stir fried vegetable side and white rice - I can have dinner on the table in about 45 minutes. The key to this recipe is the stir fry technique; once you have the stir fry technique internalized, this recipe comes together quickly.
Recipe: Stir Fried Chicken with Peppers and Onions
- 1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken (thigh or breast)
Marinade:
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dry sherry
Sauce: (Soy/Sesame sauce)
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon dry sherry or rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 large onion
- 1 large red pepper
- 2 large cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (For meat stir fry)
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil (For veg stir fry)
Instructions: (Again, see the stir fry technique for an overview)
1. Prep protein: Slice the chicken into ½" thick strips, then toss in a large bowl with 1 tablespoon soy and 1 tablespoon sherry.
4. Prep garlic: Mince garlic, and mix in small bowl with 1 teaspoon vegetable oil.
5. Cook the chicken: Put 1 tablespoon oil in a large (12" to 14")nonstick skillet, and heat on high until the oil is just smoking. Addhalf the chicken, let it sit for 1 minute, or until well browned, then flip and brown the other side, about another minute. Remove to a plate, then cook the second half of the chicken, and remove to the same plate. Wipe the pan clean with a wad of paper towels. (If you have a 14" skillet, youmay be able to do this in one batch - just don't crowd the pan.)
6. Cook the vegetables: Add the 2 tablespoon oil to the pan, and let heat on high for 1 minute, or until the oil is shimmering. Add the onions, let sit for 1 minute (or until well browned on one side), then push to the edge of the pan. Add the peppers to the middle of the pan, and let sit for another minute, or until well browned. Stir the onions and peppers together, then cook, stirring occasionally, until they are crisp-tender, usually about another minute.
7. Cook the garlic: Make a hole in the center of the pan, and add the garlic-oil mixture. Let sit for 30 seconds, or until you start to smell the garlic cooking. Mix into the rest of the vegetables.
8. Sauce: Add the reserved chicken with its juices into the pan, stir to combine, then pour the sauce into the pan, stir to combine, and let cook for another minute or two, until the sauce is bubbling.
9. Serve!
Serving Suggestions:
White Rice
Vegetable side
Variations:
*Extra quick sauce: skip the sauce above, and use 2 tablespoon hoisin sauce and 2 tablespoon soy sauce, whisked together. (Or, just use all hoisin sauce).
Notes:
*Cook in a nonstick skillet instead of a wok. American stoves don't produce enough heat to brown anything in the small, flat bottom of a real wok. If you have a real wok burner, and a carbon steel wok from China, then go for it!*
*But - if you have all that, why are you reading THIS recipe? You already know what you're doing!
*Nonstick cookware safety: Don't heat your nonstick cookware to temperatures over 500*F - it may start to break down, and release harmful gases at that point. That's why we add oil to the pan - it starts to smoke between 350*F and 450*F, giving you a visual guide to when the pan is hot enough to use.
Inspired by various sources. See my stir fry post for the list. That being said, when I do a weeknight stir-fry, I give a quick thanks to Pam Anderson for introducing me to the technique.
through the links on this site. (Like my 
food service container that I bought at Sam's club, but a large stockpot will work as well.
, and my Weber Kettle with rotisserie attachment is 
).
as the container when I brine a turkey; a 14lb bird will just fit in it.)
attachment): Set up for indirect cooking by turning the outside burners on the grill to high, and leaving the inner ones off. Put the aluminum drip pan over the middle of the grill, over the unlit burners. My Weber Genesis had 3 burners, so I would turn burners 1 & 3 to high, and leave burner 2 off. If you had 4 burners, you'd have 1&4 on, 2&3 off. And so on.
with 
with the 
Steven Raichlen: 
Cook's Illustrated: 
, among countless others
for the fresh ones, and I usually do in the winter. Instead of step 1, just drain the tomatillos; they're ready to go straight from the can. This subsitution, and using the food processor to do most of the work, makes this recipe very fast to put together - 15 minutes end to end, maybe less.
and her cooking class at 
to the importance of properly made stock, but is it really that much better? 
cookbook.
)
, for step 2. Set it to go off at 180*F, and then you don't have to watch the pot boil. I had close to 12 quarts of stuff that had to be heated up, so it took nearly an hour for it to come to a simmer. (Which was OK - I made the 
: Pressure Cooker Chicken Stock)
. Kuhn Rikon is the BMW of pressure cookers, and I'm sure it's wonderful...but. It would give you only two more quarts, and it costs $400 (!). I lust after that pot, but I really, really can't justify the price.*
)
magazine, June 2006.
[Amazon.com]
is sometimes called plum sauce, or chinese barbecue sauce. I've "sold" it to the kids that way, when they insist on having "barbecue sauce" with a dinner like this. I prefer to mix in some ketchup and soy sauce to thin it out if I'm using it as a barbecue sauce - it can be too thick if served straight up. You'll be able to find it in the asian section of any good-sized grocery store nowadays, but I try to get mine from the local asian market - it's sold in larger bottles, for less money.
from Cook's Illustrated.
)
)
by Steven Raichlen)
, which you can usually get a good deal on at Bed Bath and Beyond. It doesn't have to be nonstick, but it helps the cleanup.
. In it, she describes 
, where he describes what you are taught at a real culinary school. It explained what I had learned*: training is about the basic techniques for specific ingredients, and the flavor combinations that go with different cuisines. Put those together, and you have a professional chef!** 
, because it is larger than most chimney starters. It holds 5 quarts of charcoal, which exactly the right size for cooking this recipe.
. I wouldn't use mesquite - it has a very distinctive taste that I don't think goes well with this recipe.
.*
(not the awful stuff in oil in jars -fresh pre-peeled garlic), either in a plastic canister, or vacuum wrapped, this is a great time to get it. Just make sure you inspect it carefully before you buy it. It goes bad very quickly. Check the expiration date, and watch out for water, brown spots, or (worst) mold.
. Inspired by Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet.
