cooking with mike - chicken and mixed veggies with sticky rice

photo by Stephanie

so, i fancy myself a sort of amateur chef and enjoy cooking for others.  i might as well share some of the success stories here for my faithful readers.

i just bought a new wok at IKEA ($4.99 regular price, not sale) and was looking forward to trying it out.  we had all of the sauces we needed for stir fry and some chicken tenderloin, so i went out and bought some carrots, broccoli, a white onion, a yellow bell, and a couple of vine ripened tomatoes.

i don't measure at all, so i'm not going to be able to give you any exacts on the recipe.  but here is the gist of the thing.

for the chicken marinade:
soy sauce -tamari, not shoyu (it's what i had)
apple cider vinegar (because i didn't have rice wine vinegar)
lemon juice
sugar
peanut butter
miso paste
garlic
onion powder

for the "pot sauce:"
1 part soy sauce
3 parts pineapple juice

i marinated the chicken from the time i ate leftovers for lunch until dinner time.

first, i blanched the carrots and broccoli for color retention and so it would stir fry quickly.  then i sat back and drank some beers while those chilled in the fridge.  then i cooked the chicken until it was basically finished.  i pulled it out and sat it aside.  then i added the carrots and broccoli for a bit alone.  after it got a good coating of oil, i made a pool of the pineapple mixture in a cleared center of the wok.  as it thickened i added the rest of the veggies.  after the tomatoes crushed and became part of the sauce, i added the chicken back and mixed it to serve.

the benefit of removing the chicken and only adding it at the end is that the meat tastes like meat and the vegetables taste like vegetables.  in fresh Chinese cooking, this flavor retention is important and is a key part of the style.

the rice was nothing special.  i am using a Japanese medium grained rice.  i cook it on the stove top, because i don't have a rice cooker.  but, it is really easy to do.  add rice and water 1:1 (a normal serving size for a person is around 1 cup, i add a little extra in case the edges dry out or burn).  cook it around medium until the rice puffs up and you don't see anymore water.  voila!

if you're looking to buy Asian ingredients in Tulsa, most of the time you can look no further than Reasor's (international isle).  i buy my rice and more obscure items at Nam Hai (21st and Garnett).  for laymen, buy rice that is white and has Chinese writing on it.  i prefer medium grain (used for sushi).  short grain ends up looking like couscous when i cook it.  also, don't buy basmati rice unless you're making Indian food.  it's not sticky and often has things like jasmine added in for flavor.