Chicken Stir Fry

 

Ingredients

• 200 gm chicken breast, cut into thin strips
• 1 tsp baking soda (aka bi-carb soda)
• 2 tsp cornflour
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp Chinese rice wine
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 pinches white pepper
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 green onion, sliced into 2 cm sections on the diagonal
• 4-5 baby asparagus, sliced into 3 cm sections on the diagonal
• 1 small cheek red capsicum, sliced into short strips
• 1 small cheek yellow capsicum, sliced into short strips
• a similar amount of fennel root, sliced into short strips
• 1/3 cup roasted cashews, unsalted
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• rice for serving

Method

1. Place chicken in a bowl, sprinkle with baking soda, mix throughly, let stand for 20 minutes while you prep the vegetables and sauce.
2. In a small jug, mix cornflour with water, stir until dissolved. Add oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon rice wine, soy sauce, and one pinch pepper. Mix thoroughly.
3. Rinse the chicken in a colander, pat dry. Rinse out the bowl, dry, then place chicken back in bowl and toss with the other tablespoon rice wine and pinch of pepper.
4. Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan or wok over a high heat.
5. Add the chicken and cook, strring connstantly, for 2-3 minutes.
6. Add the garlic and white parts of the green onion, and cook for another minute, stirring constantly.
7. Add the fennel, capsicum, and cashews, and cook for another minute, stirring constantly.
8. Add the asparagus and green parts of the green onion, and cook for another minute, stirring constantly.
9. Reduce heat, add the sauce, stir thoroughly, and let simmer for about 1 minute as sauce coats everything and becomes thick and glossy.
10. Add sesame oil, stir thoroughly, tip into a bowl and serve with rice.

Notes

The step of standing the chicken in baking soda “velvetises” the meat, making it lovely and tender when cooked, but do rinse and dry it before cooking..

Give the sauce a stir in the jug before adding it, just to mix everything together again.

You can, of course, use any vegetables you want – adjust the timing of adding according to how hard or soft they are.

For the stirring, I found using a wooden spatula and small tongs convenient. Don’t stir madly, just enough to stop it sticking to the pan.

You should end up with quite a lot of sauce in the bowl, good for sopping up with the rice.