As I planned my menu for this week, I worked exclusively out of Nigella's Express cookbook. I figured that with the office holiday party, various gift exchanges, and a fair amount of Christmas baking I had scheduled, I needed to cut myself some slack in the dinner department. And am I ever glad I did, because last night I made a variation on Nigella's Rib Sticking Stir Fry, which was fabulous! I adapted the recipe a little for the culinary preferences of the house, and so that's what I'm going to share with you here. This recipe is so fast, is cooks in mere minutes.
- 2 Chicken Breasts (I like to use the Smart Chicken brand)
- Package of frozen stir fry vegetables (I used Birds Eye Sugar Snap Stir Fry)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce (I prefer Kikoman's low sodium soy sauce)
- 1/4 cup sake (I've been using this Fu-Ki sake)
- 1 heaping tablespoon chili garlic sauce (I LOVE the Tuong Ot Toi Viet*Nam paste)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2. When the oil is shimmering, toss in your chicken strips, spreading them out across the pan's surface, and sear them on both sides, about 2 minutes a side. (Tip: once you've added the chicken, leave it alone in the pan until it's time to flip it. If you resist the urge to get in there with your spatula and stir it around, it will brown faster and more evenly.)
3. While the chicken is cooking, combine your soy sauce, sake, and chili garlic sauce in a Pyrex measuring cup. Give it a good whirl with a fork to combine. Set aside.
4. When the chicken is done, add in the frozen veggies. Though the veggies are frozen they will thaw quickly in the heat of the wok, and that's all you want, so don't go too far away from your range. You are also allowed now to put the "stir" in stir fry, so get that spatula and go to town!
5. When the veggies have lost their permafrost, add the sake-soy-chili garlic mixture into the wok. Stir away and enjoy your savory perfumed steam facial.
6. Et voila! You're done!
I had some dried Udon noodles that I boiled, drained, and tossed into the wok at the last minute. (Nigella's original recipe uses cannellini beans in place of rice or noodles, but that wouldn't fly in the MF household, unfortunately.)
You could make rice as well, though that would require a little advance planning, since the stir fry is the work of minutes. Udon noodles can be found in the international section of your supermarket, and take all of 3 minutes to cook in boiling water. I use the Hakubaku brand (pictured at right), which I quite like.
So there you go, my dears! I whipped this up last night after lounging on my couch and complaining about my aching feet. It was a nice respite from some of the more traditional Christmas fare I've been chowing down on, and the spicy-soy flavor is really refreshing to the palate after all those glasses of egg nog, and plates of gingerbread pudding and chocolate truffles. It's also quite light, surprisingly enough. Try it tonight!
xoxo,
MF
P.S. For those of you interested in making the original Rib-Sticking Stir Fry, here's the recipe from Nigella Express:
Rib-Sticking Stir-Fry
Serve 2
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
10 oz. chicken or turkey breast fillet, cut into 1-1/2 inch x 1/4 inch strips
4 cups chopped stir-fry vegetables (from a package)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Chinese cooking wine
1 (14 oz) can cannellini beans, drained
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
Heat the oil in a wok, and over fairly high heat add the chicken or turkey strips and toss them about to color. Once the meat has seared, add the vegetables and toss around again until beginning to soften, then add the soy sauce and the wine. The soy will help the meat strips bronze beautifully. Once the heat is back up and sizzling, add the beans and toss everything about to mix before tipping onto two plates. Sprinkle with the herb and serve straight away.
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