chinese stir fry. and seven months of work.

|
*** This post was sitting in my drafts for a while, and I just thought it should just finally be posted. Honestly, this was exactly eleven weeks, five days ago.
 
Months of sweat, blood and chai tea - and the sweet ending, my own book. A book that contains the collective memory of so many of so many at Trinity - a yearbook. There was something cathartic about giving it away, almost as if I am giving the embodiment of all my hard work, and along with it the stress. I can now breathe.
For dinner, I wanted to eat comfort food and something starchy, something that would relax me and fill my stomach with goodness. 
Enter, the stirfry. Stir fry literally means to cook in a wok. So its not a stir fry if you don't have that darling of the stove for cooking. There are two methods of cooking - chǎo () and bào () - depending on the speed, heat (and woks can get really really hot), and amount of tossing (luckily I learned that skill from my expert pan-tosser-man). I'm not sure what category my skill set falls into, but I can state for sure that this is a stir-fry, as I used my big monstrosity of a wok from Ming Wo (a really great kitchen store in Chinatown - go if you get a chance).
 
The stir-fry is a perfect mix of veggies, sauce, meat, and the starch, rice. Fluffy, delightful rice. Drizzled with a sweet, salty, and slightly sour sauce. Dang, I think this stir-fry was more of a crowning achievement than the yearbook! Of course, no leftovers. And just look at all that chlorophyll-y goodness.

Chinese Stir-Fry

1 large chicken breast
3 garlic cloves (minced)
1 tbs/ soy sauce
1 tbs. oyster sauce
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. lime juice

1 tsp. garlic (minced)
1 med. onion (chopped)
1/2 c. celery (chopped)
1/2 c. cauliflower (chopped)
1/2 c. broccoli
1/2 c. bean sprouts
1/2 c. baby bok choy (chopped)
1/2 tsp/ Chinese dark soy sauce
1 tbs. oyster sauce
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. lime juice
 2 tbs. water
2 tbs. peanut oil
1 bunch scallions (cut into 2-inch length)
chopped peanuts

1. Marinade the chicken for at least 1 hour or overnight in the first five ingredients. 
2. Heat up the wok, add 1 tbs. of the peanut oil, and cook the chicken until it is just barely done. Remove and cut into strips. Mix the last 8 ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.

3. Put the rice on to cook (not explaining this process, much too lazy.). Add garlic and onions, and fry until lightly brown. Add the cauliflower and celery. Stir for about 1 min. Add the rest of the veggies, small bowl of sauce, and strips of chicken. Cook until veggies are done.

4. Serve over rice. Drizzle lots of sauce on. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts for effect and taste. Pray. Eat. Enjoy.

1 comments:

Rice Palette said...

Hi Samantha! I enjoyed your paragraph regarding the meaning behind "stir-fry". I didn't know there were two methods.. to me, it was just one ;)

The recipe looks great and healthy!