So Many Dishes

It’s been a week! Life always seems to happen in spurts, and last week was definitely of those times. It started last Monday, when Ken had everyone’s “favorite” medical procedure, a colonoscopy, plus an endoscopy. Results were all good, fortunately. The next day, one of our cars went into the body shop for repairs. We got the car back on Friday, and it looks great. The experience confirmed that we’re definitely not ready to go to one car yet.

The real drama of the week involved buying a new refrigerator. We really needed to replace the lemon we had, but I definitely didn’t need all the hassle we ended up going through to get the new fridge delivered and installed. When the original delivery people arrived on Thursday, they told me they couldn’t install the new fridge because we didn’t have a water shutoff valve behind the fridge. I pointed out the valve under the sink, but they claimed that wasn’t good enough. They left, I put all the food back into the old fridge, and called the plumber. Long story short, we rescheduled the delivery for Friday, and the plumber was going to come and do the installation. However, the Friday delivery men had no problem installing the refrigerator. We love having a working ice maker again, and it’s a big change to have to really dig into the container of frozen yogurt to get a scoop. The last month or so with the old freezer, dipping frozen yogurt wasn’t appreciably different from dipping the regular kind.

It was easier to replace our dinnerware. I liked the plates we had for the last few years, and that I’ve used for so many of my pictures. I called it faux Polish pottery, because it looked very much like a Polish dinnerware pattern, but a lot less expensive. It wasn’t very durable, however. A majority of the pieces were chipped. We hadn’t discussed replacing it, though, until we were on Sanibel. We really liked the dinnerware in the condo we rented. It was a starfish pattern from Pfaltzgraff, and Ken said he wished we had plates like that at home. One thing led to another, and I started searching. It turned out that Pfaltzgraff had several shell patterns, and we decided on one of those. We’ve been using the new plates for a week now, and we love them.

We needed a new recipe to celebrate the new plates, one that fit our current dietary needs. Ken found one in The Chicken Bible, a chicken stir fry featuring bok choy and bell peppers, with plenty of ginger in the sauce. It turned out to be a winner.

I made only minor changes to the recipe. The package of boneless chicken breasts that I had was only 12 ounces, rather than the pound called for, but that was plenty. I suspect my bok choy weighed more than a pound, but I used it all; I also included an extra half of a bell pepper, because it’s a veggie we love. The biggest change was to the amount of sesame oil that I included. The oil gets added to the sauce mixture, and also to a mix in which the chicken marinated briefly. I added the half teaspoon called for in the sauce, but the marinade called for two tablespoons. The taste of sesame oil, in my opinion, can overpower other flavors, so I substituted a tablespoon of canola oil for one of the tablespoons of sesame oil. Ken said I should do it this way every time. And he’s anxious for me to make it again.

As with any stir fry, the secret is in the preparation. With everything prepped and at hand, the dish came together in less than 15 minutes.

Gingery Stir-Fried Chicken and Bok Choy

Sauce

• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional

Stir-fry

• 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons neutral oil, divided
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sherry
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 3/4 to 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed and sliced thin
• 1 pound bok choy, stalks sliced 1/4 inch thick on bias and greens cut into 1/2 inch strips
• 1 large red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/4 inch wide strips.

For the sauce, whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl; set aside.

For the stir fry, combine 1 teaspoon neutral oil (I used canola oil), ginger, and garlic in a small bowl; set aside. Whisk soy sauce, sherry, sesame oil, 1 tablespoon neutral oil, and cornstarch in a large bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat.

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a wok or large skillet over medium high heat until just smoking. Add half of the chicken, increase heat to high, and cook, tossing constantly, until no longer pink, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove to a clean bowl and cover with aluminum foil. Repeat with 2 teaspoons oil and remaining chicken.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in now-empty pan over high heat. Add bok choy stalks and bell pepper and cook, tossing constantly, until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Push vegetables to the side and reduce heat to medium. Add ginger-garlic mixture to clearing and cook, mashing mixture into pan, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir mixture into vegetables. Add bok choy greens and cook until beginning to wilt, about 1 minute.

Add chicken and any accumulated juices to the pan. Whisk sauce to recombine, then add to the pan. Increase heat to high and cook until sauce is thickened, about 30 seconds. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

I served the dish over jasmine rice. I don’t think I’ll make any changes when I make this again. There will definitely be a next time, and it won’t be far in the future.

Happy eating!