When my friends Marc and Becky moved to my neighborhood, it became immediately apparent that I'd be spending a lot of time in their new apartment. Wallets were tightening and my friends and I needed to meet up in a place that didn't charge money. Hamsterdam, as the apartment came to be called, became our new social club. In Hamsterdam there was always laughs and booze, plus a huge flat-screen television and a cute little puppy named Ripley. And the kitchen was much nicer than mine. Of course, I had to clean it because they never cooked. The kitchen was just the dumping ground for take-out garbage. One night, I decided to make everyone dinner and a new recipe was born onto the roster.
--1 1/2 lbs. Chicken Breasts, cut into slices
--Peanut Oil
--1 tbsp Fresh Ginger, minced
--Honey
--Dark Soy Sauce
--A head of Broccoli, cleaned and chopped up (I prefer using just the florets)
--1 cup Snap Peas (I like the tips removed)
--3/4 cup Unsalted Cashews
--Fresh-Ground Black Pepper
--Corn Starch
I'd recommend using a Wok if you have one, because I don't have one and it's really hard to stir-fry when you can't keep the pan hot enough. If you don't have one, use the largest deepest frying pan you have and turn the heat up high. When the pan is hot, add some peanut oil, then add the ginger and the chicken. Toss it around for a minute to loosen and separate the chicken from itself, then squeeze a whole bunch of honey all over it. Then add a couple glugs of soy sauce. Toss around until the liquid has evaporated and the pan gets hot again. Squeeze honey over it again and add another couple glugs of soy sauce. Stir-fry some more. When the liquid has evaporated the second time, the chicken should be cooked completely (but check a thick piece to be sure). Remove chicken to a bowl. Let the pan get hot again and add a little more peanut oil. Throw in the broccoli and snap peas and still fry for a minute or two. Add the chicken and the cashews and keep that food moving! Grind some fresh-ground pepper over it all. If you get too much liquid in the pan, add a little corn starch to thicken. The stir-fry should be removed from the heat when the the vegetables are cooked but still have a crisp bite to them. Serve over White Rice that has been flavored with Sesame Oil.
2 comments:
Ben, I see that you are like me in liking the broccoli florets. However, I'd like to share this tip with you that I just learned from Auntie Bucksnort. Peel the broccoli stems, and chop them into tiny matchsticks. These raw broccoli bits add some nice crunch to a salad and are quite delicious.
I don't dislike the stems, but usually the pan is pretty full. I like the florets because they sop up some of the sauce when the pan isn't hot enough to evaporate liquid efficiently.
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