Summer Stir-Fry

Copyright 2007 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients:
6 oz. chicken breast, cubed
2 ears of sweet white corn
1 red bellpepper, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 T sesame oil
1 T fish sauce
1 T Shao Hsing wine or other sweet cooking wine
2 t soy sauce
2 t sugar
1 t pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 T cornstarch
2 T Canola oil

In a small bowl, marinade chicken with sesame oil, fish sauce, Shao Hsing wine, soy sauce, sugar and pepper. Set aside for at least 10 minutes.

Remove corn from the cobb by running your knife along the side of the cobb. Set aside.

Warm 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet or wok over medium high heat and then add garlic. Then add chicken pieces and brown on each side for about 2 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

In the same pan, add another tablespoon of oil and increase heat to high. Then add zucchini and bellpepper and saute for about a minute. Then add corn. Add a pinch of salt for taste. Return the chicken to the pan and blend all the ingredients.

In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with a bit of room temperature water to create a slurry. Over high heat, add the cornstarch mixture to your pan a little at a time to create some gravy.

Remove from stove and serve. If you want, you can sprinkle the top with some chopped peanuts or toasted sesame.

Makes two to three servings. Serve with jasmine steamed rice.

Pair with a glass of Riesling.

TIP: Managing your liquids is important in stir-frying. You don’t want to drown your ingredients and create a steaming effect in your wok. So with the measurements I give in my recipes for the marinade, for example, never throw in the entire marinade at once. Add enough liquid to keep the ingredients from sticking to the pan, but only add a little at a time if needed. Retain any leftover marinade for later as you’re cooking. Also, the zucchini will give off more water than other ingredients, so you don't want to cook it that long or it'll be mushy and make the rest of your ingredients wet. Stir-fry is all about balancing and dancing with your ingredients!