AWESOME band friendly recipe for Chinese takeout lovers!

 I made this last night. Followed the recipe to a "T" except I substituted sugar snap peas for the broccoli. I even watched a youtube tutorial about how to chop chinese veggies correctly. I also sauteed strips of chicken breast in a cornstarch,soysauce,brown sugar mixture (1T each) and added the cooked chicken to the veggies at the end. Serve with brown rice.

It was AMAZINGLY good. You'd swear it was greasy chinese take-out!!!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/wolfgang-puck/stir-fried-chinese-vegetables-recipe/index.html


Disco

Thanks for sharing, Disco! I will have to give this a try. Looks yummy!

Did the chicken stay tender? I tried a few different stir-fry recipes earlier on in my journey, but all the sodium in the soy sauce, Hoisin sauce, etc seemed to dry out the chicken and make it very tough. I think the key may be to add those sauces in for flavor right before serving, as opposed to actually COOKING the chicken in it. I will have to play around a little.

 OHHHHH!!! I totally forgot something important and you reminded me. Have ya'll ever noticed how dry chicken is at home, but grilled chicken is so moist at resteraunts?

I discovered the secret. I BRINE my chicken breasts for an hour before cooking. Dissolve 1T sugar and 1 T salt in 4 cups water and soak chicken in this in the fridge. Do NOT overcook the chicken. I cooked it in the marinade on HIGH heat/sautee and it is fall apart juicy and moist. cut in strips, cook only a few mintes while stirring constantly. I promise...try the brine thing. It draws moisture into the cells in the chicken.

Brining is ABSOLUTELY the secret to perfect chicken AND pork.  I use brown sugar and salt and I usually throw in a couple of smashed garlic cloves and a bay leaf that I've torn in half (tearing it releases the oils).  If you are grillng the meat, once it comes out of the brine, pat it dry and season it with some salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.  It's INSANELY delicious and you'll never spend money on those sodium-heavy marinades again!!

This recipe sounds delicious, I'll have to give it a try!!

 Thanks!..I learned that you can't have too many veggies either. The skillet was MOUNDED with bok choy and cabbage and it cooked down to nothin!!! Next time I'm adding way more veg.

That's like when I sautee spinach.  I use an ENTIRE bag of that baby spinach and it cooks down to just barely 2 servings.  Bok choy and cabbage also have a lot of water in them so they do the same thing.  Mushrooms and onions too...

Thanks for the tip - I've never brined anything before! I can't wait to experiment a little.

Edited to ask: How long do you brine it for? If I left it in during the day while at work, would that be enough time?

Hi

This brining technique sounds great. I have a Q:

Do you cut the chicken in small strips/pieces before brining, or after?

Thanks
Cat.