Stir Fry

Blogger now does this nifty little "viewed" thing where I can see how often each post is being looked at... I see that a few people really are looking at this. Even if it's from a google searcher who mis-lands here, hey, I'll take it!  We tried this recipe last night and it was super yummy. Growing up I liked stir-fry, and as I entered my vegetarian phase in college I really liked it. My main problem with it has always been that I've used bottled sauce and either a few fresh or a bag of frozen mixed veggies. Fine, but not stellar. Over the years I've tried a few stir fry recipes thinking they were so-so but not worth the extra effort. My dear mom gave me her copy of Southern Living recently and I came across this recipe. I saw it and thought it looked yummy. It also caught my eye because my 2.5 yr old is on a red pepper kick. I thought she might go for it.

I made it last night and only made a few alterations. Nothing drastic. It was so good. And relatively easy; the recipe says 30 min but I think it took me 45min and that was mainly because I was going back and forth reading the recipe and also trying to contain my 2 children. I really liked how the chicken stayed crispy/crunchy even after being added in with the sauce. And the broccoli was my absolute favorite part of it all! I'll give you my version here and just know that the picture is pretty much what it looked like!

Stir-Fry

Ingredients

• 1 pound skinned and boned chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
• 1/2 teaspoon salt(Omitted)
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1-2 lbs broccoli crowns chopped into smaller pieces
• 1.5 cup chicken broth, divided
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1 small yellow squash, thinly sliced into half moons 
• 1 medium zucchini chopped up in similar fashion to the squash
• 3 carrots, peeled and cut into thin strips (about 2" long each)
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon (or more) Asian chili-garlic sauce (I used sweet chili-garlic sauce I found at the asian food store)
• 1-2 Tbsp mirin vinegar (sweet rice vinegar) --totally optional just added a great flavor
• Hot cooked rice

Preparation

0. chop all veggies and lay aside in groups

00. mix together 2 tsp cornstarch and 1.25 c chicken broth and set aside

1. Sprinkle chicken with salt; toss with 1/4 cup cornstarch.
2. Stir-fry chicken in 3 Tbsp. hot oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat 5 to 6 minutes or until golden brown and done. Transfer to a plate, using a slotted spoon; keep warm. Add Broccoli and carrots and 1/4 cup broth and 1-2 Tbsp mirin; cover and cook 1 to 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Transfer to plate with chicken, using slotted spoon.
3. Add remaining 1 Tbsp. oil to skillet. Sauté bell pepper, squash, zucchini and green onions in hot oil 2 minutes or until crisp-tender.
4. Toss in the mixture from step 00. Add chicken, and Broccoli (with any accumulated juices) to bell pepper mixture in skillet. Cook, stirring often, 1 minute or until liquid thickens. Stir in lime juice, soy sauce and asian chili sauce. Serve with jasmine rice.

Enjoy.