Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.
A pleasant surprise when I showed up at the shop this morning. A note from UPS saying theyd left a package for me with a neighbor. Hmmm..not expecting anything, but you never know. A box from Amazon! That can only mean one thing – wish list gifties!
And, indeed, it was something off my wish list. A Lodge cast iron wok. Why a cast iron wok? Because when you dump a pound of room temperature (or chilled) chicken into the average cooking vessel the temperature drops considerably. The cast iron, though, has the thermal mass to bounce back in a hurry and keep me on my merry stir-frying way. I like the cast iron for that reason, and also it really is disaster cookware…I can cook on open flame, hot colas, gas range, propane burner, etc, etc.
What do I stir fry? Well, I like stir frying because I love rice and need something to throw on top of it. Stir frying lets me scrounge through the fridge and pull out a few vegetables or fruit, throw in some chopped animal protein, figure out a sauce, and -zap- dinner is served. Here’s what has become my favorite recipe:
This is for stir fry. Five steps:
1) Pick about 3/4 to 1# of your favorite protein. I went with chicken. Thinly sliced. I guess you can use tofu, but if you do, youre a wuss.
2) marinate. Whisk 1 egg white, 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry, 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Toss with the protein, cover, chill for an hour.
3) 3 cups of vegetables. You pick. Carrots, celery, bell peppers, scallions, onions, mushrooms, bok choy, cabbage, leeks, snow peas, asparagus, plum tomatoes, spinach, broccoli, peas….I went with red & green peppers and onions. Slice em up.
4) Choose a sauce:
Clear Sauce, Sweet/Sour Sauce, Brown Sauce, Oyster Sauce, Spicy Sauce
I went with spicy:
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons ea: soy sauce, rice vinegar, Chinese rice wine/sherry
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons Asian chili sauce
5) Stir-fry it
Heat 3/4″ peanut oil over medium heat. Add protein, slowly stir until opaque. Transfer to plate, discard oil, wipe pan.
Heat pan over high heat, 1-2 min. Add two tablespoons oil, 4 clove minced garlic (2 if using other sauce than spicy), 2 tablespoons minced ginger, 2 minced scallions, and a pinch of salt and sugar. Stir fry about thirty seconds. Add vegetables, starting with ones that take longest to cook. Stirfry until tender-crisp.
Add protein and sauce and stir until sauce is thick and veggies/protein cooked through. (about three minutes) Thin with broth if needed. Garnish with sliced scallions, peanuts, sesame seeds or cilantro.
This worked really well. Its the first Chinese style dish ive ever cooked that when done looked and tasted like it came out of a take-home carton.
I wouldnt have spent twenty minutes transcribing this if I didnt think it was mighty good, so theres the bona fides.
Annnnnnnd….a big thank-you to DG!
