Sweet n Sour Chinese Chicken Stir Fry

The Chinese New Year is just a week away, and this recipe will be a great way to celebrate. This stir fry makes for an easy Chinese 'take-out' dinner... but at home! It was so fun to bust out the wok and create chinese food in my own kitchen. For this dish, I used a batch of a slightly hot 'sweet n sour' sauce, but you could use any sauce you desire. No matter what the sauce, this chicken and broccoli stir fry is quick, healthy, and chop-stick-lickin' good!


Ingredients (for 3 generous servings): 
2 Chicken Breasts (I used 2 large chicken breasts worth of chicken cutlets because they were easier to cut into uniform pieces)
1 Large Head of Broccoli (or 2 small heads)
1/2 Medium Onion, diced
1/2 Red Bell Pepper, diced
2 Tbsp vegetable oil, divided
1 batch of Stir Fry Sauce

 

1. In your wok, heat 1 Tbsp vegetable oil and saute the diced onion and bell pepper:

2. While your onions and peppers are sauteing, lightly steam your broccoli. If you bring your pot of water to a roaring boil and then add the broccoli, it will really only take 1 or 2 minutes to steam them. Seriously, you don't want to over do it here because they will get cooked a little bit more later when added into the wok to stir fry. 

 If they're steamed right, they should get brighter green. If they start to look limp or any shade close to gray or brown... it's a bummer. They're so good when they're bright green and tender but still have that fresh and light crunch to them.  

 3. When your onions and peppers are done, remove from wok. Then heat 1 Tbsp vegetable oil, and stir fry your chicken:

When they have browned on one side, give them a flip and let them cook to browned on the other sides: 

4. When the chicken has cooked all the way through (won't take long since they are little pieces), add all the other ingredients into the wok with the chicken, including the sauce. Stir fry all together for less than minute. 

 

Serve up with some fried rice and enjoy your homemade Chinese 'take-out' 

So colorful and healthy!

Chinese Fried Rice

I have had such a hankering for Chinese food lately! So, I decided that I'd figure out how to make it at home. It was so much fun! And I was surprised at how easy it was to recreate Chinese-restaurant quality fried rice! Also, it didn't use any exotic ingredients, just items that you likely have in your kitchen already. You really should try this at home. 


I think this would be a fun dish to make when you are entertaining, because it is so fun to prepare in the wok and everyone would have a blast watching. Also, the rice is best if you make it the night before and let it cool. HELLO- anything you can make ahead is ideal for entertaining! AND, it is ready so fast that this way you can serve it to your guests right away when it's sure to be fresh and hot! :) Fun to make, fun to watch, fun to eat.  


Ingredient List: 
2 cups precooked, cold rice
2 eggs, beaten
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 cup frozen peas & carrots
1 Tbsp pineapple juice
1/3 cup diced pineapple
3 Tbsp vegetable oil, divided
(**you could add chicken and make this a main course, but I decided to leave my fried rice as a side dish because I served it with a chicken and vegetable stir fry)

In your wok, scramble your eggs and then remove from pan:

Heat 2 Tbsp of the vegetable oil in your wok 

(test to see if it's ready by throwing in a single grain of the rice- if it hisses a little then it's ready). 

Then, add in all the rice and stir fry for a few minutes before adding in 2 Tbsp soy sauce and continuing to stir until it is all mixed in. Again, remove rice from the wok:

Heat 1 Tbsp of the vegetable oil in your wok, and saute your diced onion:

When your onion has become translucent and sweet, add in the cup of frozen peas and carrots: 

When the peas and carrots have heated thru, add in the diced pineapple and 1 tbsp pineapple juice: 

Then invite the rice and scrambled eggs back into the wok:

And stir fry for a couple minutes until everything is mixed well and hot:

Then simply transfer to a serving dish and enjoy while it is hot!

Ni Hao!