I was looking for a recipe using bok choy in a stir fry and one from the Internet looked pretty good. But before I was through making changes a whole lot of ingredients and procedures were modified to better reflect good Chinese cooking. It was time to make the dish and enjoy it.
Done! And I am quite pleased. Now Food Nirvana has a chicken stir fry ... a very nice chicken stir fry. In fact, the chicken comes out extra tender due to marinating it in baking soda and water.
I have one item to point out ... do not overcook the vegetables when you first stir fry them. If they become limp they are overcooked in this recipe.
Ingredients: (makes 4 generous servings)
For the Rice:
1 1/2 cups of uncooked basmati or jasmine rice
3 cups of chicken broth
For the Marinade:
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/3 cup of water
For the Sauce:
2 tablespoons of honey
1/2 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon of white pepper
1 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
2 tablespoons of dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon of light soy sauce
1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon of Shaoxing cooking wine
1 teaspoon of cornstarch
For the Stir Fry:
3 tablespoons of canola oil, divided
2 tablespoons of Shaoxing cooking wine
2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut cross grain into 1/4" thick slices, then cut the slices into strips 1/4" wide
1 pound head of bok choy, washed and cut into 1 inch strips (including the green parts)
2 large carrots peeled in strips, then cut the strips in half
6 scallions (both white and green parts), diced
2 tablespoons (or more) of toasted sesame seeds
¼ cup of chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
Directions:
Pre-heat the serving dish you plan to use for the stir fry in a 180 degrees F warming oven. Similarly, pre-heat wide, shallow individual serving dishes you will provide for your guests.
Make the marinade of baking soda and water in a two quart bowl. Cut the chicken breasts cross wise into 1/4" x 1/4" thick strips, removing/discarding any fat or other waste. Mix the strips of chicken with the baking soda marinade and let the mixture sit in the bowl for 30 minutes, stirring briefly every ten minutes.
Prepare the rice by first bringing the chicken broth to a boil in a two quart saucepan. Add the rice and stir it, then cover the saucepan with a tight fitting lid. Move the saucepan to the smallest burner on the stove and set it to the lowest heat. Let the rice steam for 15 minutes, then remove it from the heat and keep it covered for five minutes. Put the rice into a serving dish, cover the dish with plastic wrap, and put it into the warming oven.
In a one quart mixing bowl, whisk the honey, ginger, garlic, sea salt, white pepper, oyster sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, one tablespoon of Shaoxing wine, the cornstarch and dark and light soy sauces together until well combined. Set the mixture aside to add to the stir-fry later.
Heat the wok over high heat until it begins to smoke.
Heat two tablespoons of canola oil in the wok. Add the marinated chicken strips and stir fry them for 3 to 4 minutes, or until they are cooked through. Lower the heat to medium and then set the chicken strips aside in a bowl.
Add one tablespoon of canola oil to the wok. Let the wok heat for two minutes.
Add the bok choy, carrots, and scallions. Add the two tablespoons of Shaoxing wine to the wok around the perimeter of the vegetables. Stir fry continuously for 3 to 4 minutes to cook the vegetables until they are crisp-tender, but do not overcook them.
Put the stir fried chicken strips into the wok and mix everything together.
Stir the sauce briefly to mix in the cornstarch a second time.
Set the heat to medium high.
Add the sauce to the wok mixture and stir fry for 2 minutes to coat the chicken and vegetables with the sauce and to slightly thicken it.
Serve the stir fry in the pre-warmed serving bowl, then in the pre-warmed individual serving dishes over rice, with a sprinkling of (optional) cilantro and toasted sesame seeds.
Provide a small bowl of dark soy sauce for guests who may want additional seasoning.
A nice chilled white wine like Pinot Grigio is a fine beverage to accompany this meal. Also, serve glasses of ice water.
Enjoy!