Pineapple Chicken Stir-Fry

Copyright 2009 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients
½ lb. chicken breasts, cubed
1 small zucchini, diced (about 1 cup)
1 red bell peppers, diced (about 1 cup)
1 can pineapple chunks (8 oz.)
½ cup peanuts
1 t white pepper
1 T sesame oil
1 T Shao Hsing cooking wine or sherry
1 ½ T soy sauce
1 t ginger, minced
2 T sugar
1 T oyster sauce
1 T cornstarch
2 T vegetable oil
Salt for seasoning
Green onions for garnish

In bowl, mix chicken with white pepper, sesame oil, Shao Hsing wine and soy sauce. Let set for 10 minutes.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil over high heat in wok or large skillet. Then add chicken and brown on all sides, about 2-3 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in wok again, and add zucchini and bell peppers with the ginger and stir fry until vegetables are almost soft, about 3 minutes. Season vegetables with a teaspoon of salt. Then add back the chicken and mix everything together for 30 seconds. Drain pineapple chunks and add them to the wok and blend everything together along with the sugar.

In a small cup or bowl, mix cornstarch with some water to create a slurry, then slowly add this to the ingredients over high heat to create a bit of gravy. When you have the consistency you like, finish off the dish by tossing in the peanuts and the oyster sauce. Plate and garnish with chopped green onions.

Makes 2 to 3 servings. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.

Pair with a glass of Riesling.

TIP: When stir-frying, remember not to crowd the chicken. Cook in two batches if your wok is too small. And avoid the temptation to stir too often. You want to give it some time to get golden brown but not burnt. Also, when cooking the vegetables, you can add a little bit of chicken broth to help soften them quicker. But don’t add so much that it’s soupy.

PEANUTS: Try to use unsalted peanuts, but if you can only find salted ones, get the ones with less salt. If your peanuts are really salty, adjust your overall dish by adding less oyster sauce at the end.