Jimmy Stav said:
Can someone give me an extremely fucking easy chicken and vegetable stir-fry recipe? The most complicated thing I cook is scrambled eggs. I just bought a cast-iron pan, and want to start using it to make healthy dinners.
Stir frys are so easy and you can do so many variants, it's probably better to give you a basic recipie with some notes on the idea behind it so you can experiment and adapt.
Ingredients:
Chicken breast
Vegetables
- broccoli
- snow peas
- mushrooms
- baby corn
- bok choy
- anything really (you really only need three or four type of vegetables - you'll find that the more you throw in, the more generic it becomes)
- cashew nuts are nice
- bean sprouts are also nice (they turn into healthy noodles)
Two tablespoons of oil (peanut oil is good - you don't want a strong tasting oil like olive oil)
Two tablespoons of oyster or fish sauce - this isn't as scary as it sounds and it stores in the cupboard.
A tablespoon of soy sauce (you don't have to be precise with the oyster and soy sauce - you want to coat the ingredients without it becoming too much. If it looks too dry, add a bit more. Adjust the soy to taste - it's quite salty.
You can also buy bottled stir fry sauces from the super market - anything from satay to whatever takes your fancy. These are easy but I prefer it basic.
Points to remember:
Don't stir too fast - allow the heat to penetrate the food.
You want to vegies to be crunchy but not raw.
Some vegies take longer to cook than others - as a rule put the firmer vegies in first (like carrot) and the softer vegies in last.
Cut up everything first and have it ready to go.
Cut up everything roughly the same size, except things like garlic or ginger.
You don't want to crowd the pan whilst cooking. It might be an idea to cook the chicken first and then remove it from the pan before starting the vegetables if the pan isn't big enough.
GO!
Put oil in pan - heat until quite hot (not smoking but very reactive if you flick a drop of water in it)
Throw in chicken and stir (and fry) until it starts to brown.
Throw in vegetables and stir (and fry) - remember firmer vegetables first.
The whole frying process shouldn't take more than five minutes - give or take.
Reduce heat, add the oyster or fish sauce and the soy sauce (or your store bought sauce). Throw any sprouts and leafy vegetables (leafy parts of bok choy, baby spinach)in here to wilt but not go soggy. Heat for a minute and you're done.
Eat. Some people eat it with rice - I just prefer the stir fry on it's own.
