Wednesday, September 24, 2014

thai ginger chicken stir-fry | gai pad khing

I seriously think I will never tire of cooking!

There are so many new things to try. Recently I have been wok-king more because of a sudden interest in South East Asian food.
I guess because I cook so regularly, there are many dishes that I can (and do) cook without having to put much thought into, and it is inevitable that I would feel a bit bored with the same-old same-old.

Hence I started looking around for different ways to cook stuff, and this was probably triggered when I had lunch with my friend, Jaime, recently and we ate this steamed lemongrass fish that was pretty darn good.

So I sort of turned my thoughts towards Thailand and Vietnam and today I am sharing a recipe on a quick stir-fry chicken dish that reminds me so much of Thailand with the dominant flavor of fish sauce. Fish sauce is such a strange thing. I cannot stand its pungent smell but when it is added to whatever one is cooking, it smells so darn good!
Anyway, enough chatter. If you want to cook this super quick and easy stir-fried dish, here's how.

As with most stir-fries, start with prepping all the ingredients - the garlic, shallots, ginger, red pepper, spring onion and chicken.
In a small bowl, mix together fish sauce, oyster sauce and honey (or sugar).
Add some vegetable  oil to a hot wok or skillet. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken and spread the chicken to a single layer. Allow the chicken to cook, undisturbed, for a minute.
Add the garlic and stir constantly for another minute. By this time, the chicken will be slightly brown but not cooked through.
Add the remaining ingredients, as well as the sauce.
Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the red pepper and onion are tender-crisp.
Serve hot, with rice.
This is a really good option to cook if you are craving some Thai flavors, or if you are looking for a change from the same-old same-old.

RECIPE
Thai Ginger Chicken Stir-fry (Serves 4-6)
Adapted from the kitchn

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons (30ml) fish sauce
1 tablespoon (15ml) oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons grapeseed, canola or other high-heat oil
8 ounces (225g) boneless skinless chicken breast or thigh, cut into bite-size pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small bunch of spring onions, ends trimmed, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
1 cup thinly sliced red pepper (about 1 small pepper)
1/2 cup thinly sliced onion (about 1/2 small onion)
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, cut into matchstick-size pieces
Cooked white rice or brown rice, for serving

Method:
1. In a small bowl, mix together fish sauce, oyster sauce and honey (or sugar).
2. Add some vegetable  oil to a hot wok or skillet. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken and spread the chicken to a single layer. Allow the chicken to cook, undisturbed, for a minute.
3. Add the garlic and stir constantly for another minute. By this time, the chicken will be slightly brown but not cooked through.
4. Add the remaining ingredients, as well as the sauce.
5. Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the red pepper and onion are tender-crisp.
6. Serve hot, with rice.


1 comment:

  1. This is definitely a delicious dish. I totally agree with you about the fish sauce with its pungent smell but taste heavenly in cooking.

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