Chicken Sriracha Stir Fry
adapted from this recipe, courtesy of Sarah
Ingredients
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
Marinade:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons xiao xing wine (or dry sherry)
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon Sriracha
Sauce:
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons Sriracha sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons oyster sauce
4 tablespoons grapeseed oil, divided
1 pound green beans, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
2-3 large shallots, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon grated ginger
4 cloves chopped garlic
1 bunch scallions, sliced, for garnish (optional)
Method
In a medium bowl, mix the soy sauce, xiao xing wine, water and Sriracha together. Add the chicken and toss to coat thoroughly. Let stand for at least 30 minutes.
In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together cornstarch, water, Sriracha, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Set aside.
In a wok, heat 2 tablespoons oil over high heat until just smoking. Add green beans, carrots and mushrooms. Stir fry for 5 to 6 minutes, until vegetables are just soft. Remove to a plate and set aside.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in the wok. Add the shallots and stir for about 30 seconds, then add ginger and garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
Add chicken mixture and stir-fry for about 3 minutes, until chicken is just cooked through. Pour in the sauce and stir until thickened, about 1 minute. Turn the heat off, return the vegetables to the wok and toss to combine.
Serve over rice with sliced scallions and extra Sriracha on the side.
NOTES
In case you haven't noticed, I love "bowl and spoon" meals. Give me a grain or pasta with meat and/or vegetables and sauce on top and I am a happy girl. Make it spicy and I am firmly content. So when I saw this recipe posted on Sarah's weekly menu, I was all over it.
This dish reminded me of the simplest of stir fries you can order off a typical Chinese-American takeout menu. But good. I don't know about you, but the few times I did order dishes like this, they were always awful. Goopy sauce. Bland as you can imagine. I thought maybe I was misguided and just ordering the wrong thing. Turns out, as with most things, I just needed to make it myself.
This was so perfect - savory and full of rich flavor, but also fresh and light, with just a hint of heat and a bit of zing from the ginger. I don't add new stir fries to my repertoire very often (yes, I know, I'm very picky), but this one made it in on the first try.
The only thing I may do differently in the future is add water chestnuts. Steve suggested it as we were eating and I think they would be wonderful here. I could also easily see trying this with tofu instead of chicken at some point.
