This morning Lorraine asked me to make a chicken stirfry. Cool! I purchased things a few weeks ago with intention of making something Thai-ish, so I had ingredients. She picked up chicken breast and we were set!

This one is different from everything I’ve done previously, for two reasons:

1. I added unsweetened coconut milk, which is not a normal ingredient for a Chinese-style stirfry.

2. I blended the sauce ingredients instead of adding individually to the wok. I got this from my recent stroganoff recipe, and it makes cooking a LOT smoother. This will bleed over into everything I cook from now on.

I’m 2 for 2 — this is 2 nights in a row Lorraine asked me to write down what I did and add it to the family cookbook!

Yes, this is served with sake, so I’m adding Japanese to the mix!

Chicken Stirfry with Coconut Milk

CHICKEN:

• 1 lb boneless chicken breast, sliced in 1/8″ slices
• oil
• 15 oz can baby corn, drained, cut in thirds
• 8 oz can diced water chestnuts, drained
• 14 oz can straw mushrooms, drained
• 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, cut in bite-sized pieces
• 1/4 cup soy sauce

SAUCE:

• 3 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 cup oyster sauce
• 5 shots Texas Pete
• 2 Tbsp mirin (sweetened rice wine for cooking)
• 2 Tbsp lime juice

The above is what I used this time. I’ll never do things exactly the same way again, adjusting according to vegetables available at the moment. I am out of hoisin sauce, which I normally add, so I added more oyster sauce. All amounts are approximate as I make this up as I go, guessing how much I actually used.

Chow the chicken in oil in a wok over high heat, until cooked through. Some will brown, some will not. It doesn’t matter. Remove the chicken from the wok and keep warm.

While the chicken is cooking, mix the all sauce ingredients except garlic in a large bowl until smooth.

Add a bit more oil if the wok appears dry. Add all veggies then season with soy sauce. Stir the veggies every minute or so for 5 minutes. Do not over cook! Crisp tender is the goal. Remove from the wok (I put into the same bowl as the chicken and stir to mix).

Drain juices from the chicken and veggies & add to the wok. Add the garlic and chow for 1 minute. Pour in the sauce and cook for 3 minutes or until thick.

Add the chicken & veggies and stir to coat. Cook 1 minute.

Serve over rice, udon, or rice noodles.

Notes:

We served over rice noodles. The ones we used look like wide fettuccine. Soak in water 30 minutes then boil in water for 2 minutes. DO NOT overcook rice noodles! Unless you like mush.

Vegetables are cook’s choice. We like straw mushrooms, but got out of using them as the sons did not. Now that we are empty nesters, Lorraine and I are falling back into our pre-K habits!

This made 3 servings. It should probably serve 4 …. but it was good.