Asian food is my latest challenge to conquer. I never received any training in Asian cuisine and for years my source of Chinese fair was Panda Express. Of course I was young and naive at the time. As I grew, I realized I didn't know much about Asian food even though I loved it so much. Somewhere along the way, I decided I was going to start trying to cook more Chinese food. I wasn't too driven but manage to--slowly--learn more and more.
So here is one of my recipes I'm proud of in my conquest. I absolutely love Teriyaki chicken but I feel some sauce can be a little to heavy. I feel like this recipe is packed with flavor but isn't as heavy and thick as the conventional ones.
Ingredients:
2 lbs chicken breast
2 cups all purpose flour
pinch of salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper
1 tbs peanut oil
1 tbs vegetable oil
Veggies of your choice (I used broccoli, bean sprouts, carrots, bell peppers, and onions)
Sauce-
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbs cornstarch
2 tbs ground ginger
2 tbs fresh crushed garlic (you can use powder but I prefer it fresh)
Cut the chicken in medium chunks--make sure they are the same size so it cooks evenly. Throw the pieces in a bowl with flour and spices and mix well until everything is coated with flour. Let it sit for about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix all the sauce ingredients together and whisk to mix it well. In a hot wok/large skillet heat up 1 tbs peanut oil and 3 tbs vegetable oil and wait for oil to get really hot. If it starts smoking it means it's getting burnt, add chicken right away. Cook chicken on high heat, mixing occasionally, for about 15 minutes and then lower heat to medium-high and cook for another 10 minutes. Remove chicken from wok and throw in veggies on high heat for about 5 minutes. Put chicken back into wok with veggies and add the sauce. Let everything cook together on high heat for about 5 minutes or until desired thickness is achieved. Serve over steamed rice. ENJOY!
