Stir Fried Chicken With Cabbage
Skinless boneless chicken breast
I small to medium sized head of red or green cabbage
1 medium onion
2 stalks celery
2 cloves garlic
2 carrots
8 ounces fresh mushrooms
2 tablespoons oyster-flavored sauce*
2 tablespoons soy sauce*
1/2 teaspoon sesame seed oil*
1 tablespoon sherry*
1 tablespoon corn starch
1/4 cup cold water or chicken stock
Use whole cabbage if head is small, half if head is medium sized. Cut cabbage in half, and core it. Slice cabbage as thinly as possible. Thinly slice carrots on the diagonal. Thinly slice celery on the diagonal. Wash and slice mushrooms. Peel onion and cut in half. Dice one half of onion, cut other half into chunks. Smash two cloves of garlic and dice. Cut up chicken into bite sized pieces.
Heat wok, and then add peanut oil. Wait until oil heats up, then put in diced onion. Stir-fry for a minute or so. Add chicken. Stir-fry for two to three minutes, and then add sherry. Stir-fry until chicken is done, then remove from wok. Let wok return to temperature, add a little more oil if needed, then add mushrooms and stir-fry for a minute or two. Then add garlic, cabbage, carrots, chunked onion and celery. Stir-fry until vegetables are done, then add cooked chicken. Cover wok.
Dissolve the cornstarch in the water or stock. Add the sesame seed oil, oyster flavored sauce and soy sauce to mixture. Uncover wok and pour in mixture. Stir-fry until a light sauce forms. Serve over rice, oriental noodles, or for something really different, over fried pork rinds.
You can substitute pork or beef for the chicken, or add no meat at all. For a thinner sauce, omit the cornstarch and water. Fresh cabbage is always the best, but this recipe is good for cabbage that is less than fresh too. Cutting it thin and stir-frying it brings out the mild sweetness of the cabbage.
This is a basic recipe. You can add or substitute, as you like.
*Oyster flavored sauce is a very thick, dark brown sauce that has a salty, meaty flavor. It really doesn't taste much like oysters to me.
* I use reduced sodium soy sauce, because I watch my sodium intake. Regular soy sauce is just too darn salty for my taste.
* Sesame seed oil is a basic oriental cuisine flavor. Go easy on it though. It can overpower if too much is used.
*DO NOT USE COOKING SHERRY! You know, the stuff you get in the grocery store. The stuff you can't drink because it's so nasty and full of salt. Use drinkable sherry, the kind you get in the liquor store. A bottle of it lasts quite awhile (as long as you don't take a swig ever time you use it!) and just a tablespoon or two can add a lot of flavor.
