Recipe-blogging: two new-to-me simple “stir-fries” and a secret ingredient

Looks nasty, doesn’t it?  But it tastes better than it looks.

This is “peanut chicken stir-fry” as it’s titled in the cookbook, though what I describe below is simplified and adjusted for the plain tastes of the family.

The basics:

1 pound chicken breasts or thighs, cubed/cut-up

1 16-oz bag of frozen broccoli

Sauce:

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (or 2-3 garlic cloves, in which case, fry briefly before the chicken)

3 tablespoons soy sauce

thickener:  1 tablespoon cornstarch + 1 tablespoon water

Cook chicken in skillet, until no longer pink, draining off/reserving juices as needed (I used the juices in place of part of the water of the sauce).  Then add broccoli and cook until done to your family’s tastes.  (The original recipe asks for fresh broccoli and says to cook to “crisp-tender” — we cook ’til tender-tender.)  Combine sauce ingredients and add to skillet, and stir ’til sauce is smooth.  Then add cornstarch/water mixture and cook ’til thickened.  Serve with rice or noodles.

The picture in the cookbook looks lovely; mine looks like mush.  But we liked the taste.

Second recipe (no picture, but it would look about the same sort of mush) and secret ingredient:

Chicken chop suey

Again:

chicken breast or thighs, cut up

16 oz bag of veggies, e.g., “stir-fry vegetables”

Sauce:

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tsp brown sugar

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 cup chicken stock (which means, in these parts, water + 1 tsp powder)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Cook chicken ’til no longer pink, add veggies, cook ’til done.  (I hesitate to say “stir-fry” because this is a skillet, and not following any proper “stir-fry” techniques.)

Mix all sauce ingredients, add to pan, cook ’til sauce is thickened.

Secret ingredient:  I made this recipe multiple times and always thought it was kind of bland until I discovered that there are two kinds of sesame oil.  There’s the sort sold in the “oil” section of the supermarket, next to the other fancy oils like grapeseed oil, which is nothing to write home about, and there’s the sort sold in the Asian foods section, which imparts the flavor that makes this dish work and actually taste respectably like something “Chinese.”

So there you go — for your weekly meal-planning.