My husband and son love a dish called Hunan Beef if we ever indulge in Chinese take-out. Well, I wanted to make it at home and see if I could make it a bit healthier since we usually see a lot of oil in our take-out box. The first step to making it lower in fat was using chicken breast instead of beef. I don't cook beef so that was easy for me to swap out. : ) I also swapped out a lot of the oil for a nice spicy "Hunan sauce". I think with this Hunan Chicken on my recipe list the take out menus are getting tossed away.
The Hunan Sauce:
4 Tbs Soy Sauce
1Tbs of Chili Sambal (or to taste) You can substitute with some chili flakes to taste
1 Tbs rice vinegar
1/4 cup Shao Hsing Chinise cooking wine or sherry
2 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbs brown sugar
2 Tbs Hoisin Sauce
1 Tbs Oyster Sauce
Also have ready: 1 Tbs of grated garlic and 2 Tbs of grated ginger for the stir fry. 1Tbs of cornstarch with 4 Tbs of water to make a slurry to thicken the sauce at the end of the stir frying process.
Marinate 2lbs of thinly sliced chicken breast for 30 minutes with:
1 Tbs of soy sauce
black pepper
1 Tbs cornstarch
You can add any veggies you want to your stir fry. I recommend broccoli, carrots and water chestnuts. This is what is used in my local Chinese take out. I also added some sliced mushrooms.
In a wok or large pan, heat 2-3 Tbs of canola oil on high heat. When the oil is hot, add the marinated chicken and stir fry for 3-4 minutes.
Then add the grated garlic and ginger and stir fry for another 2-3 minutes.
Now add the prepared Hunan Sauce. Stir fry for another 2-3 minutes (your chicken should be almost cooked by now). After the sauce has had enough time to cook , add the cornstarch/water slurry and stir well.
Now add your veggies and saute. If you want the veggies tender crisp just stir fry for another 2 minutes, taste for seasoning and turn off the stove. Then put a lid on the pan and allow the broccoli and carrots to "steam" in the pan for a few minutes before serving. If you want your veggies more cooked through then cook on the stove longer until the veggies are to your desired texture.
Serves with Rice and Enjoy. Serves 6-8 people.
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New to me...looks extremely yum.....
ReplyDeletehmmm yummy, I will try to make it...I have special recipe it famous porridge in my country check this out http://meinfoculinary.blogspot.com/2011/04/manados-porridge-tinutuan.html
ReplyDeleteI keep cooked rice in my fridge at ALL times so that I can have chinese as soon as a recipe I want crosses my path. It looks like my rice will have a buddy tonight.
ReplyDeleteHunan Chicken is my favorite. And I love that you've made it healthy!!! :)
ReplyDeleteHello, just stopped by to visit. So what was the verdict? Did your husband and son like the healthier version? Are they ready to have hunan beef cooked at home and give up the "to go"? Let me know how it turns out? Your version looked great by the way
ReplyDeleteHi Everyone, Thanks for all the great comments and feed back. The dish turned out really well and my husband and son were satisfied. Now they still may want take-out because I don't cook beef in the house. Poor guys, they have to eat their "red" meat out of the house. : )
ReplyDeleteToo bad I am a vegetarian but I can tell this is really well made- My little bro is a BIG chicken lover will book mark the recipe to try next time he visits :)
ReplyDeleteNicely done.
US Masala