I can’t believe it’s been two weeks since my last post! It’s not for lack of material, just lack of time. We’re having a very busy, very fun summer. This week, Abby, Nicole, and their friend, Amy, are with us and that’s been great. Ella and Hailey are always happy when their cousins are here and I’m loving being able to develop more of an adult relationship with them. I make fun of their dad (my brother) a lot, which they enjoy. Very mature of me, right?
Anyway, I’m excited for preschool to start so I can get into more of a regular groove and try to post something every week. Meanwhile, I’m doing lots of cooking and taking lots of pictures so I promise there will be lots more recipes to come…
Here’s my go-to sauce for stir fry. It also works great tossed in noodles or as a dipping sauce for chicken or shrimp satay, just make sure you bring it to a boil first and allow the cornstarch to thicken it. I’ve included a very basic stir fry recipe using chicken and veggies I had on hand. You, of course, may substitute pork, beef, shrimp, scallops, tofu, etc. for the protein and use whatever veggies you like. Serve it over rice or noodles and you have a complete, healthy meal.
Ginger Peanut Sauce
Grate the ginger and garlic, squeeze the lime and combine with the rest of the ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend until combined. You may also just use a mixing bowl and whisk, but you need to make sure your ginger and garlic are very finely grated. I also recommend mixing @ 2 tsp water into the cornstarch until it’s smooth before adding to the rest of the ingredients to prevent clumping.
Set aside and prepare stir fry…
Heat @ 2 TB peanut oil (or a light oil like canola or vegetable, olive oil may produce an undesirable flavor) in a wok or deep-sided nonstick pan until very hot, almost smoking. Start by adding the veggies and protein that take longest to cook. In this case, sliced onions, bell peppers and chicken breast (could also include carrots, celery, pork, etc.). Cook @ 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add broccoli and mushrooms (could also include snow peas, cauliflower, bok choy, shellfish, etc.) and cook another few minutes, stirring and tossing the pan. You want the chicken to be cooked, the onions translucent, and the green veggies cooked but still crisp.
Add sauce slowly, stirring as you go, until you’ve reached the desired amount (some like it light, some like it heavy) and cook until sauce is thickened and glossy. You will, most likely, have sauce left over that you can refrigerate and use again in the next week or so.
