Mango Chicken

Copyright 2006 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients:

6 oz. chicken breast (cut into cubes or strips)
2 near-ripen mangoes, cut into cubes
2 T canola oil
4 T or 2 medium-sized bulbs of shallots, finely diced
1 cup zuchinni, diced
1 red bellpepper, diced
1 cup fresh basil, roughly julienned
1 t white pepper
1 T sesame oil
2 T soy sauce
2 T fish sauce
1 T ginger, julienned
1 T cornstarch
1 T oyster sauce
pinch of salt

Marinate chicken with white pepper, sesame oil, soy sauce, fish sauce and ginger. Set aside for 10 minutes.

Heat wok or large skillet with oil. Over high heat, stir fry chicken to brown both sides and remove just as the sauce begins to caramelize around the chicken. (Don’t pour all your marinade in with the chicken; reserve some for later.) Remove chicken and set aside.

Quickly rinse your wok and reheat oil. Then over medium high, toss in shallots and cook until translucent (about 1 to 2 minutes). Turn up the heat and add zuchinni and bellpepper with a pinch of salt. Stir-fry for about a minute, adding some marinade if needed to avoid drying out your wok. Add mangoes and basil and cook for another minute, then add back the chicken.

In small bowl, mix cornstarch with some water to create a slurry to thicken the sauce. Add to wok over high heat until sauce thickens to the consistency you like it. (If you accidentally add too much cornstarch, add some broth to thin out the sauce.) Finish by mixing in oyster sauce and remove from heat.

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

Pair with crisp white wine like a Riesling or Gewurtztraminer.

TIPS: There are many different mango varieties. Some, like the “hayden,” are very colorful and huge. This is the most common variety sold in stores. You know it’s ripe when it has a nice red and yellow color and the green is almost gone. (Be careful, some mangoes are red because of overexposure to the sun, like a sun burn.) The flesh should feel firm to the touch with some give, but not hard. Pick your mangoes like you would pick a ripe peach. Other varieties are ripen when they become yellow, and they may not have the many red or orange colors. Again, pick with touch and smell.