Chicken Stir-Fry with Mushrooms and Toasted Almonds with homemade chicken stock
Tender chicken stir-fried with two kinds of mushrooms in a glossy soy sauce, and whole almonds toasted in a dry pan until golden that stay crisp in the sauce. A dish from an old Chinese restaurant made in one wok.
Put the chicken, the onion, carrot, celery, parsley, bay leaves and peppercorns and the water in a pot and bring to a boil. Skim off the foam that rises during the first 15 minutes with a spoon.
StovePot
2
Turn down and simmer gently 2.5–3 hours.
Stove
💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
3
Strain the stock.
Colander
To assemble
4
In a bowl, mix the chicken cubes with the starch and soy sauce and let stand 15 minutes.
Bowl
5
In a small bowl, mix the stock, soy sauce, starch, sugar and sesame oil into a smooth sauce.
Bowl
6
Toast the almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat 4–5 minutes, stirring, until they turn golden. Transfer to a plate.
StoveFrying pan
💡Toast over medium heat and keep things moving: nuts, pine nuts and spices go from toasted to burnt in seconds. Transfer to a plate right away, since the hot pan keeps toasting.
7
Heat the wok over high heat until very hot, then add the oil.
StoveWok
💡A very hot wok and a few vegetables at a time: crowded vegetables release water and steam instead of charring, and lose their crunch.
8
Stir-fry the chicken cubes in batches, 3–4 minutes per batch, until golden, and transfer to a plate.
Stove
9
Add the red pepper, mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms and keep stir-frying 2–3 minutes, until the vegetables are tender but still crisp.
10
Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry 1 more minute, until fragrant.
Stove
💡The garlic and ginger go in last: in the heat of the wok they burn within seconds.
11
Return the chicken cubes to the wok.
12
Pour the sauce into the wok and keep tossing 1–2 minutes, until the sauce thickens and coats everything.
Stove
13
Add most of the nuts and stir, sprinkling the rest on top.
14
Serve immediately with white rice, sprinkled with green onion.
457calories
43 gprotein
14 gcarbs
26 gfat
● protein 37%● carbs 12%● fat 50%
Per serving, servings (calculated for this version)
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Stove· 💡 Workaround, changes the dish: Portable hot plate (one weaker burner) · Camping gas stove (One burner, outdoors) · Electric pressure cooker (multicooker) (One pot, no real shallow frying)
Frying pan· Also works: Wok (None)· 💡 Workaround, changes the dish: Pot (High sides, slow evaporation and weak browning)
Wok· Also works: Deep skillet (sauté pan) (Less heat on the sides; stir-fry in small batches)
Bowl· Also works: Pot (None)
By the steps, as the recipe is built now: another version or addition can change the list.
