# Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry



## kitchenelf (Apr 26, 2005)

CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI STIR FRY
Serves 4

*Marinade Ingredients:*
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup dry sherry or rice wine
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Oyster Sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
Add 3 boneless chicken breasts, sliced into thin strips to this marinade

*Aromatics:*
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

*Other Ingredients:*
3 tablespoons of oil
1 bunch of broccoli, cut into florets
1 red pepper, julienned
1 large onion, cut into chunks
1/4 cup halved cashew nuts



Procedure:

1. Preheat wok or frying pan over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil and add chickenand, reserving marinade for later use. Stir-fry for 3-4 minutes until chicken is no longer pink. If you slice the chicken really thin 3 minutes may be way too long.  Cook in batches if necessary. Remove and set aside.

2. Add remaining tablespoon of oil and stir-fry the aromatics for 10 seconds or until fragrant.

3. Add the vegetables and stir-fry 3-4 minutes.

4. Add the reserved marinade and reserved chicken and cook until sauce thickens, stirring frequently.

5. Toss with cashews and serve over white rice.


----------



## pdswife (Apr 26, 2005)

YUMMMMY!

Thanks!


----------



## kitchenelf (Apr 26, 2005)

You are welcome!


----------



## Mylegsbig (Apr 27, 2005)

sounds delicious this will be my first endeavor into the world of stir frying


----------



## Alix (Apr 27, 2005)

CASHEWS!!! Now why didn't I think of THAT??? I always use almonds, but I think cashews would be amazing in there. Thanks KE.


----------



## Mylegsbig (Apr 28, 2005)

i tried to stir fry last night and added in the garlic first like most sites say...it turned black in five seconds lol


----------



## jennyema (Apr 28, 2005)

Mylegsbig said:
			
		

> i tried to stir fry last night and added in the garlic first like most sites say...it turned black in five seconds lol


 

Well, we HAVE stressed a HOT wok or pan!   

I crush up a couple of garlic cloves and mince one.  And crush a hunk of ginger and mince a bit.

I put the crushed garlic and ginger in the hot oil where this recipe says "add aromatics"  then I stir around constantly.  *STIRRING will help prevent burning!!*

When they are brown, I take them out and discard.  The oil is flavored, which much of the point in this step.

Then I add the minced product with the vegetables.  Sometimes I put the minced product in the marinade.

*BUT TELL US HOW IT TURNED OUT OTHERWISE!!*


----------



## Mylegsbig (Apr 28, 2005)

jennyema said:
			
		

> Well, we HAVE stressed a HOT wok or pan!
> 
> I crush up a couple of garlic cloves and mince one.  And crush a hunk of ginger and mince a bit.
> 
> ...




Jenny, what do you mean stressed a hot wok or pan? I'm confused.  My pan was very hot, the peanut oil was smoking.   The garlic turned black in 5-10 seconds with me stirring and shaking constantly... after i saw that, i gave up on the endeavor and i switched to just sauteeing the veggies at a lower temperature.


----------



## jennyema (Apr 28, 2005)

I meant that the general good advice was to get the pan very hot, so you did it right.

It's not that uncommon for minced garlic to burn.  That's why I flavor the oil with bigger chunks -- the bigger the piece, the longer it can cook w/out burning.

So you were totally on the RIGHT track and didn't need to stop, as the veggies will not burn .... but you aren't supposed to know that  so it's a good thing you salvaged dinner. 

I'd try the recipe again but try what I do, which is flavor the hot oil with some chunks of aromatics, taking them out before they burn (they can get dark brown) and add a bit of minced product either in the marinade or with the veggies.

I am sure others will have more suggestions on how to avoid burning the garlic.  But it is a common problem.

*Hot pan, stir like crazy.*

Believe me, it works.


----------



## Mylegsbig (Apr 28, 2005)

jennyema said:
			
		

> I meant that the general good advice was to get the pan very hot, so you did it right.
> 
> It's not that uncommon for minced garlic to burn.  That's why I flavor the oil with bigger chunks -- the bigger the piece, the longer it can cook w/out burning.
> 
> ...



I've got a wok coming to me in a bit.  I'm going to hold off until then ^^


----------



## kitchenelf (Apr 28, 2005)

If you get the urge to try it again just add the garlic along with the veggies - don't put the garlic in first.  It's different when you don't have that wok shape.  Too much surface exposed to the burner makes it tougher to keep things from burning.  You were doing it right, just the wrong pan.  You will LOVE your wok!


----------



## jennyema (Apr 28, 2005)

Woks are great, but the garlic may still burn in it! 

Till then, here's a Julia Child recipe:

Take a couple of zuccini and shred them using a box grater or a food processor.

Put in a colander, sprinkle with 1t salt, smush up with your hands to distribute the salt. What you are trying to do is get rid of the moisture, salt will bring it out.

Set aside.

Fry 2 strips of bacon till crispy. Crumble finely and set aside. Either discard the bacon grease or keep maybe a teaspon of it.

Slice a small onion thinly.

With paper towels, push down onthe zucchini to extract moisture -- or spin in a salad spinner.

In a nonstick skillet, sautee the onion on low-medium heat(lightly salt it) till soft in either the reserved bacon grease or in olive oil (about a teaspoon).

Turn the heat to High.

Add the zuccini and crumbled bacon to the onion and sautee very quickly, stirring often. It will only take a minute or two to cook. Add some pepper and taste to see if it needs salt.

It's fine to totally omit the bacon and to instead xperiment with the addition of other things (fresh basil, shallots, thyme, red peppers, etc).


----------



## GB (Apr 28, 2005)

Both Jennyema and Kitchenelfs advice is great. If you add the veggies and garlic at the same time then you will have a lot less chance of burning the garlic because some of that heat will be taken up by the veggies.

If you go with Jennyemas suggestion then you might even want to take it one step further just while you are learning. What I suggest is get your pan hot, but not as hot as we have all been suggesting. Put your oil in and get that hot then throw your garlic in. Stir it constantly. Once you start to smell the garlic then you can take a slotted spoon and remove it. NOW you can crack the heat up and stir fry the rest. The oil will still be flavored, but there will be less of a chance of burning it. Then once everything is just about done you can throw the garlic back in if you want.

Don't give up. Cooking is a learning experience. Everyone here has burned their garlic at one time or another. Just keep trying and you will learn what works and what doesn't.


----------



## Wilbur (Apr 30, 2005)

*Oyster Sauce Sub?*

Thanks for the recipe!  I make stir-fry quite a bit, but tend to use the stir fry sauces that you just pour (Kikkoman, House of Tseng).  I'd like to be less lazy and mix up my own.  

I've never tried oyster sauce.  Does it have much of a seafood flavor or is it more salty?  Any good substitutes?


----------



## kitchenelf (Apr 30, 2005)

Wilbur said:
			
		

> Thanks for the recipe!  I make stir-fry quite a bit, but tend to use the stir fry sauces that you just pour (Kikkoman, House of Tseng).  I'd like to be less lazy and mix up my own.
> 
> I've never tried oyster sauce.  Does it have much of a seafood flavor or is it more salty?  Any good substitutes?



Hi wilbur - Oyster sauce is on the salty side - doesn't taste fishy to me but I don't normally stick my finger in it and taste it - it's got a great flavor and you will definately see the difference if not used.  I'll dig up another recipe that uses it so you won't waste your bottle, how's that? lol  Really no substitution I can think of - sure you can add other flavorings - it would just be a revised recipe.  

Here is the other recipe that I absolutely LOVE that also uses oyster sauce Oriental Pasta Salad


----------



## GB (Apr 30, 2005)

I agree with Kitchenelf here. Oyster sauce is salty and does not really taste fishy. There really is no sub. It lends a unique flavor to dishes when used that you just can't duplicate any other way. You use just a little bit when you do use it.


----------



## Wilbur (Apr 30, 2005)

kitchenelf said:
			
		

> Here is the other recipe that I absolutely LOVE that also uses oyster sauce Oriental Pasta Salad


 
It's my lucky day.  Two recipes for the price of one!  Thanks, Kitchenelf.  

I'm going to go ahead and buy a bottle of Oyster sauce.


----------

