Continuing our tour of recipes inspired by Asian cuisine, this time around we're looking at a classic stir fry. Brimming with everything from tender chicken and rehydrated mushrooms to peppers and a sauce rich in ginger, garlic, and dark soy sauce, this dish can be on the table in less than half an hour. And, if you're like me and enjoy making rice in your Instant Pot or similar kitchen appliance, you can have brown or white rice to serve it over ready in that time too. What's not to love?
As is often the case, you can tweak this recipe a bit. If you want to use chicken breasts, you can do that. Be aware that they tend to dry out easily and you simply cannot get the same tender texture you get with chicken thighs, but not everyone is a fan of dark meat and that substitution can be used instead. If you don't have mirin, you can skip it or just double the amount of hot honey (which can be regular honey if you don't want the extra heat). If you don't have dark soy sauce, you can use regular … the sauce will just be a bit thinner. You can use fresh mushrooms instead of rehydrated ones, but I love the texture of the rehydrated mushrooms in this dish. Any color bell pepper will do - I just think red is pretty. You can also skip the sesame seeds, but I think they are pretty too … and add a little crunch.
I like making hot tea to enjoy with this quick-cooking yet complex-tasting dish. Apart from that, I don't know that anything else is required to call it dinner. If I'm lucky, I have a lunch or two of leftovers to look forward after I've made it and I'm not above doubling this recipe to make sure I have that and more. I hope you enjoy it too!
Ginger Chicken & Mushroom Stir Fry
- 2 ½ tablespoons canola oil
- 3 garlic cloves - halved lengthwise
- 1 (3-inch) piece unpeeled fresh ginger - coarsely grated
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs - cut into 1 ½-inch pieces
- 2 cups sliced dried shiitake mushrooms - soaked in 2 cups boiling water (reserve water)
- ⅔ cup water
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce - plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon hot honey
- 1 red bell pepper - seeded and sliced into thin strips
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 3 scallions - cut into 1" pieces
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- Freshly torn cilantro, for garnish
- Steamed brown or white rice - for serving
Heat the canola oil in a wok or large sauté pan or skillet over medium. Add the garlic and ginger; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Push the garlic and ginger to one side of the pan; increase the heat to high and add the chicken pieces in a single layer. Cook, undisturbed, until browned in spots, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is no longer pink, about 3 minutes.
Stir in the mushrooms, ⅔ cup of the reserved mushroom soaking water, mirin, dark soy sauce, and and hot honey into the pan. Bring to a boil over high. Reduce the heat to medium; cover and simmer, undisturbed, for 5 to 8 minutes.
Uncover the pan, and increase heat back to high. Add the peppers and sesame oil; cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has reduced into a thick sauce, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the scallions. Season to taste with additional soy sauce, if needed, and sprinkle with sesame seeds and torn cilantro. Serve over steamed rice.
- Yields: 4 servings
- Preparation Time: 25 minutes