chicken stir fry

i’m a huge fan of ikea.  unfortunately in nashville, the closest ikea is four hours away in atlanta.   nashvillians are crazy about ikea.  there is a rumor that one is coming to nashville, and there is also a company that specializes in personalized ikea shopping for nashvillians.  anyways,  we took a road trip there a few weeks back and i picked up one of these bad boys.  honestly, i think i’m most excited about making homemade mac n’ cheese in it.  but i broke it in making chicken stir fry.

i’m not sure what to think of my first wok experience.  it did produce a tasty result and it was a lot less messier than cramming all of the ingredients into a 12″ non-stick pan.  but the shape of the pan made it very difficult to cook all of the chicken evenly at once (especially cornstarch coated chicken which made a nice big blob.)  i would recommend keeping the 12″ non-stick pan on the next burner and cooking the chicken the rest of the way, while you prep the veggies and wait for the sauce to thicken.  i’m sure over time i’ll be trying other recipes and will learn how to adapt to the new pan.

with that said, here’s the recipe:

• 3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/4 c cornstarch
• 2 tbs soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• sesame oil
• 1 c thinly sliced carrots
• 1 small onion, cut into wedges
• 1/2 red pepper, cut into strips and halved
• 1 can water chestnuts, drained
• 1/2 c chicken stock
• red pepper flakes

1. cut chicken into chunks, place in a gallon-sized ziploc bag.  add cornstarch and toss to coat.  combine soy sauce, ginger and garlic.  add to bag and shake well.  refrigerate while you prep your veggies.
2. prep veggies.  you can use whatever veggies that you’d like.  i’m just a fan of this combination.
3. in the wok, heat 2 tbsp of sesame oil; stir-fry chicken over medium-high heat until brown on the outside.  transfer to 12″ pan nearby.
4. add an additional tbsp of sesame oil to wok, add vegetables and cook for 4-5 minutes.  add chicken stock.  return chicken to the pan.  cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.
5. serve over rice and top with red pepper flakes, as desired.

enjoy!