Sesame Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry

It was Monday night, and was deciding on what to prepare for dinner when I realized that I love stir-fry and hadn’t made it in a while. Don’t worry if you don’t have a wok, just a large frying pan will do fine. I used my large frying pan. It’s not an exact science but you will need certain key ingredients. I decided to make it and foraged through my pantry, I was missing a few things but substituted a few other things and it worked out just fine. It was delicious .I would have liked bok choy and some other chinese vegetables but used what I had. I had a little red pepper, a few mushrooms and broccoli. Onions would be fine too. Almost any veggies you like, and obviously tofu can be substituted for chicken. This is what I did. If using tofu, use the extra firm type.

Ingredients:

5 Tbsp. soy sauce ( I always use reduced sodium)

2 tsp. toasted sesame oil

5 tsp. honey

1 1/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, I had butcher cut it into strips or you can do it yourself

4 Tbsp. Canola Oil possible . you will need about 2 to cook chicken and then another 2 to cook vegetables, but you may need a bit more, I try to use as little as possible to start you can always add

2 green onions, white parts only thinly sliced and reserve the green tops

1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger ( which I didn’t have , so I used powdered ginger, not as good but it will do)

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup chicken broth ( again you may need a little more but I was able to make it work with 1 cup)

2-4 tsp. cornstarch ( I didn’t have this either so I used 3 tsp. flour and it worked)

1 Tbsp. rice vinegar

vegetables ( whatever you like) broccoli, cut into florets, bok choy, baby corn, onions, red peppers, mushrooms, snap peas, etc.

1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds ( just put sesame seeds in a small frying pan and brown up, watch them it happens quickly)

*1 tsp. chili paste (optional) but adds great flavor

Directions:

in a medium bowl whisk together 3 Tbsp. soy sauce, 1 tsp. sesame oil and 2 tsp. honey , add cut up chicken , toss then marinate for about 1/2 hour

In a seperate small bowl, whisk together broth, remaining soy sauce, 1 tsp. sesame oil,  remaining honey,   vinegar and *chili paste. After whisking together I put in a small saucepan and heated it up till it thickened , I started with 2 tsp. of corn starch and added as it needed to thicken,  cook and stir for about 4 minutes till it darkens in color and gets thick. I let it just sit on stovetop till I needed it.( just stir it occasionally)

Heat up 2 tsp. canola oil in large skillet/wok  and cook chicken in hot oil until browned through about 6 minutes depending on the size of your chicken pieces. Transfer to serving plate

In same skillet as chicken heat 2 more tsp. canola oil add white parts of onions, ginger, and garlic. Cook and stir for a few minutes at medium high without burning. Adjust heat. Then add remaining vegetables and stir fry till they begin to cook , when vegetables are cooked, add chicken and pour sauce over chicken . Cook for a few minutes, and I served over brown rice. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onion tops.