Friday, July 13, 2012

Five Spice Chicken Stir-Fry



From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is a great meal to serve at the end of a busy day. It comes together almost effortlessly and it is the kind of quick meal that the Silver Fox and I enjoy when we are home alone. When there are just two of us at the table, I reduce the quantity of ingredients used in this recipe by 2/3 and we still have a substantial meal to share. While I suspect no warnings are necessary, fussy young eaters seem to think hemlock is lurking in this stir-fry and no amount of cajoling will open those locked lips. Have you ever wondered where they learn to do that? I just finished a "one for you, one for me, and one for Felix" routine worthy of an award nomination, but it was to no avail. The lips are still locked and the eyes are beginning to glare with that unspoken "try and make me" challenge. Back on point, these are the occasions when it is great to be a grandmother. Grandmother's instinctively know that God created fried-rice and steamed dumplings for a reason. I call it strategic retreat. No child has ever starved on my watch, so dumplings, with vegetables so finely chopped they don't even know they're there, are the order of the evening. I'll add a bit of plum sauce because it makes everything taste better, don't you think? The broccoli battle, bested only by the Trojan wars, can be fought another day by some other person in another time and place. Tonight peace will reign. All things being equal, this is a nice family meal, despite the bad reviews coming from the peanut gallery. I hope you'll give it a try. Here's the recipe.

Five-Spice Chicken Stir-Fry...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon dark sesame oil
1-1/2 pounds chicken tenders, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 cups broccoli florets
1 large red bell pepper, sliced
3/4 cup onion slices
3/4 cup snow peas
1 can (8 ounces) sliced water chestnuts, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder (See Cook's Note below)
1 cup fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water
3 cups hot cooked white rice

Directions:

1) Heat sesame oil in wok or large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Add chicken and stir-fry for about 8 minutes,or until chicken is no longer pink in center. Remove chicken from wok.
2) Add broccoli, bell pepper, onion, snow peas, water chestnuts and garlic to wok and stir-fry for 5 to 8 minutes, or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Sprinkle with five-spice powder. Cook and stir 1 minute longer.
3) Return chicken to wok. Add chicken broth and heat mixture to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water in small bowl and stir into broth mixture. Boil 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly until sauce thickens. Serve over rice. Yield: 6 servings.

Cook's Note: Five-spice powder is a Chinese spice mix designed to capture the yin and yang of Chinese cooking. It includes all five flavors - sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, and salty. Here are the components to 5-spice powder: 2 teaspoons of Szechuan peppercorns, roasted and ground, 8 star anise, ground, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, 1 tablespoon ground fennel seeds. Five spice powder can be found in Asian markets and is available for purchase online.







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23 comments :

Rumana Rawat said...

Hello...
What a lovely and healthy dish feeling like grabbing the plate...

Angie's Recipes said...

A delicious and flavourful stir-fry, Mary. Love 5 spice.

knancy said...

Chinese Five Spice is heaven! A little bit goes a long way, though! I am surprised the children wouldn't love this. But, kids can be, as you said, turned on to things later. As a child, I hated green peppers - I love them now and have for years. Changes taste as we as humans do.

Mary @ mary mary quite contrary said...

What a colourful and mouthwatering dish ! I have one teenager who would still just pick out the chicken and try to hide the veggies somehow on her plate, and the other one would be coming back for seconds of everything....how did that happen ? haha. I always love your recipes Mary ! Thank you for making me giggle about the kids !

QembarDelites said...

That is a very delicious and simple dish and healthy too! Plus must be very fragrant with the 5-spice powder! Hope you have a wonderful weekend Mary:)

Life's a shoe said...

sounds good and something I could attempt to make but what's in a chinese 5 spice powder?

Chiara said...

what a delicious and healty dish! Blessings....

Choc Chip Uru @ Go Bake Yourself said...

Can nevber go wrong with 5 spice my friend and you exemplify that :D

Cheers
Choc Chip Uru

Kit @ i-lostinausten said...

A healthy & appetizing dish! :)

Ellen B Cookery said...

Stir fries were always a big hit in our home while the girls were little. This was usually a weekend meal after a day on the boat. I'd always bring along a bunch of raw vegetables for them to munch on and cut up extra for dinner that evening. Since the veggies cut in advance, preparation time was quick.

Unknown said...

lol..Kids! They just don't know what they are missing sometimes :) This sounds like a great stir fry - I haven't made one in a while.. I need to make this very soon!

Kim said...

I love this kind of recipe. Full of veggies (I know, it's not always kids friendly because of this), full of flavor, fast on the table. Like it!

SImple and Serene Living said...

This sounds delicious, Mary.

Unknown said...

fabulous, so fresh and delicious, way better than take out!

Deana Sidney said...

I love 5 spice... what a great quick dish and the fragrance is divine!

Tricia @ saving room for dessert said...

A absolute favorite dish of mine! So pretty. Always better at home :)

Suzie said...

The story about the kids had me laughing! The dumplings are a great idea. I had to fib about venison for years but, once he found out he loved it and still does :) Your dish looks wonderful Mary.

Diane said...

Now I have a good supply of 5 spice so this recipe will be easy for me to do. Thanks. Take care. Diane

Catherine said...

Dear Mary, This sounds delicious! A really wonderful way to serve up chicken. Blessings my dear, your friend, Catherine xo

mia xara said...

Lots of flavor as well as color combined in this dish..The way I see things is, if the kids don't like a dish, there's more for me and my husband..lol..Have a great weekend!

What's Baking?? said...

you make my mouth water by just looking at your pics of wonderful food. Have a great week, Mary!

Jane said...

I've been wanting to make a stir fry for a long time, and just haven't gotten around to it! I need to just do it! Looks really good!

Gloria Baker said...

This look yummy Mary!!

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