Monday, November 30, 2015

Hoisin Ginger Chicken Stir Fry

Yum

My family loves a good stir fry like this Hoisin Ginger Chicken stir fry to satisfy their mealtime hunger.  I love that it's quick and easy to make and in less than 20 minutes I can have a pot of rice cooked and a stir fry loaded with fresh veggies on the table.   I also love that it's my own "take-out" which saves us from running up to the Chinese restaurant a few miles away to satisfy our craving for Chinese food. 

I used lean white meat chicken in this dish, but you can easily substitute boneless/skinless thigh meat if you prefer dark meat.  I used the veggies I had on hand to make this stir fry and that was your basic celery and carrots that I always seem to have in the fridge to make loads  of other dishes.  You could easily add a number of other veggies like broccoli, snow peas, baby corn, cabbage water chestnuts etc.. 

I always say use my recipe as an outline and then adjust it to what you have in your fridge and pantry.  This stir fry is flavored with hoisin sauce and ginger.  Since we eat a lot of Chinese/Thai inspired dishes at home, I keep a well stocked pantry of Asian soy sauces, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, sriracha, sambal oelek, fish sauce, sesame oil etc..   I also keep lots of fresh ginger than I have peeled and frozen in my freezer so I can easily make a dish that calls for fresh ginger.  Tip: If you prep your ginger and freeze it, it will last you for a very long time (more than a year) in the freezer. 

This quick stir fry was just what this busy mom needed to feed my family this past week.  As long as my family keeps requesting stir fries, I will keep making them at least once or twice a week.  They are a great way to make quick and nutritious meals that can feed my family as well give me some yummy leftovers when I am home alone for lunch during the week.  I call that a win-win in my book.



Hoisin Ginger Chicken Stir Fry
Recipe by Ramona from Kitchen Simmer

Ingredients:
2lbs chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
2 Tbs cornstarch
salt and black pepper to season chicken 
4 Tbs Hoisin sauce
1 heaping Tbs fresh grated ginger
2-3 Tbs soy sauce
1 cup water or chicken stock (more if you desire more sauce)
2 stalks celery sliced
2 carrots sliced or cut into matchsticks
red chili flakes to taste

Directions:
Step 1: Sliced chicken into bite size pieces.  Then season lightly with salt and black pepper.  Add cornstarch and toss well.  Heat 2-3 Tbs canola oil in large wok style pan and add chicken and stir fry until it starts to cook.
Step 2:  Add celery and carrot and stir fry with chicken.  Then add the hoisin sauce, ginger. red chili flakes and soy sauce and stir well.  

Add water or chicken stock and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat. 


Step 3:  Taste for salt and seasoning.  Serve hot with cooked white or brown rice.  Enjoy.   Serves 6-8 people.

Freezing Ginger How-to:  freezing ginger is one of my favorite kitchen tips.  To prepare it, just wash and peel the skin.  Then put it into a freezer safe bag and you have fresh ginger when ever you need.  All you do is pull it out of the freezer and use a grater/zester to get the desired texture you want.  I don't like my ginger too big so I always use a small size grate.  





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