Loaded Chicken Stir Fry

Over the holidays there was a lot of food.  Good food.  Heavy, big meal, food. Getting back from visiting family there were some food fails.  The pizza dough was soggy, the steak was tough, Chuck was thinking he lost his touch. I was still a believer.  He thought he must have used it all cooking a ridiculous pork roast for my family.  They were all completely won over (as if they weren't before). I'll post that soon.  When he suggested finding something lighter for dinner and started looking at stir fry ideas, I was thrilled.  

The end result was pure magic.  We both agreed it was the best thing he had made in a while (and everything he makes is great). He even said he liked it enough to put it into weekly rotation.  It's HEALTHY!

I took lots of pictures and even more notes.  The one thing we talked about at the end is that it is SPICY.  We both love hot food but agreed that if we were going to make it for anyone else we (haha, I shouldn't be saying "we" so much... I only salt and peppered the chicken because Chuck had raw chicken hands) would tone it down. Probably cut the chili garlic sauce in half.

Here it is:

Loaded Chicken Stir-Fry

Ingredients
     2            Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
                   Kosher salt 
                   Fresh ground pepper
                   Canola oil (a couple of drizzles worth)
     1T          Ginger, freshly grated 
     3            Garlic cloves, grated
     4T          Chili garlic sauce
     4T          Soy sauce (we used low sodium)
     4t           Sesame oil
     2t           Honey
     4T          Sherry
     4t           Corn Starch
     6oz        Snow peas
     1 head   Bok Choy, coarsely chopped
     1 head   Broccoli florets in bite sized pieces
     2            Carrots, thinly sliced
   10            Green onions, divided
     1            Orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
     1            Jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced, seeds and ribs removed (we left the ribs on one of 
                        the thin slices)
     1 c.       Jasmine Rice 
     1 1/2c. Chicken Stock (we used Village Harvest brand rice, amount of chicken stock may 
                        differ depending on the rice you use)

Directions
     1:     In a small bowl, whisk together chili garlic sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, sherry, corn 

                    starch, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of pepper, and set aside.

 

     2:     Prep all veggies and set aside. Slice the green part of 6 of the green onions for this 

                      part.  Thinly slice the remaining green onions for garnish  Tip from Chuck:  It's 

                      so much less stressful to cook when you fully prep everything before you get 

                      anything else started.

     

     3:     Grate ginger and garlic, place in a small bowl and set aside.

     4:     Slice chicken thinly and add a light dusting of Kosher salt and pepper to each side.  

                      Tip from Chuck:  Allow meat to warm at room temperature before cooking.  

                      This prevents the meat from "seizing up" and becoming chewy when it hits the 

                      heat.

 

     5:     Start rice by adding the chicken stock to a pot, cover it, and bring to a boil.

     6:     Add a drizzle of canola oil to a wok.  Turn on heat to med/low.  Once oil has been 

                      heated, add the grated ginger and garlic. (Check the chicken stock.  If it's 

                      boiling, add rice, return lid to cover, and reduce heat.)  Add chicken to the wok 

                      and stir to coat with the garlic and ginger.  Stir frequently while chicken cooks.  

                      Once the chicken is cooked thoroughly, transfer it to a plate off of the heat.

     7:     Add another drizzle of canola oil to your now empty wok.  With heat still med/low, 

                add broccoli, bell pepper, jalapeno, carrots, scallions and baby carrots.  Allow to 

                cook for a couple of minutes and add the thicker pieces of the bok choy (they take a 

                little   longer to cook than the leaves).  Stir frequently.  When the veggies are 

                cooked about halfway to where you are going to want them, add the snow peas, and 

                stir to combine.  After a minute or so, add the bok choy leaves and another pinch of 

                Kosher salt. (Check your rice, it should be close to being done).  

     8:     After bok choy leaves soften, add the chicken back to the wok and combine in with     

                 the vegetables.

     9:     Add the chili garlic sauce and stir to coat.  The corn starch in the sauce will cause the 

                      sauce to adhere to your chicken and veggies rather than create a soupy mess.  

                     Turn the heat off and continue to stir together so the sauce thickens a little more.

     10:  On a plate, place a scoop of rice.  Top with the stir-fy mix and add a sprinkle of green 

                     onion slices as a garnish.