Chicken Stir-Fry with Black Pepper Sauce

Once a week I like to make a stir-fry for the family. Some families eat casseroles, we eat stir-fry.  I like to think stir-fry is the healthier version of a casserole.


Here are some hints to get dinner on the table fast with a stir-fry:


*have raw meat already cubed in the freezer and ready to go. I like to have on hand chicken, pork tenderloin and beef sirloin cubed in 1 to 1 1/2 pound packages. The night before or in the morning, put bag of frozen meat in the frig to thaw.


*vegetables- I always try to have assorted vegetables in my crisper drawers that would be good in a salad, stir-fry or to even snack on. Tonight I used sugar snap peas that I picked from my garden and a red bell pepper that was in the drawer. I had onions in the pantry so I was good to go. If for some reason there are no fresh veggies in the drawer I could use frozen veggies and they work just fine (you just have to cook them a little longer and on a bit of higher eat to get rid of the extra moisture).


*sauce- I usually have everything in my pantry to pull together a flavoring sauce of some sort. Tonight I made a black pepper sauce that is really good! We eat a lot of Asian food, so I always have Asian condiments on hand, such as soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, oyster sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil etc. All of these items you can now find in the regular grocery store in the Asian section. Don't be afraid to buy oyster sauce or fish sauce, just use it, it gives a great, rich, deep flavor that you can not pull off with just soy sauce. Tonight I swapped out soy sauce for Ponzu sauce which is really a citrus-flavored soy sauce. This is what Ponzu sauce and Oyster sauce look like:

Chicken Stir-Fry with a Black Pepper Sauce
(adapted from food.com)
1 - 1 1/2 lbs. 1/2 in cubed uncooked chicken (can use pork tenderloin, beef sirloin)

3-4 T. cornstarch
1 large Onion, wedged pole to pole
3-4 cups of favorite stir-fry veggies, chopped or sliced
2-3 T. canola oil
hot steamed rice
Sauce:

¼ cup oyster sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp black pepper
½ tsp white pepper (optional)
1 tsp rice wine vinegar

Place diced chicken a bowl and toss with cornstarch and set aside. Whisk together sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat about 1-2 T. of canola oil over medium high heat in wok or large skillet. Add half of the chicken, don't stir it for about 1 minute (this will help it brown up a bit). After a minute stir and cook until chicken is no longer pink and a little browned. Remove to a plate covered with some paper towels. Repeat these steps again with the second half of the chicken.*

Add a little more oil to the hot pan and add onion. Stir fry for about 1 minute then add remaining fresh veggies.  The key here is to cook the veggies till crisp tender; do not over-cook, you still want a slight crunch to them.

Add chicken back to the pan and then add black pepper sauce; stir to coat. Serve over rice. Makes 4-6 servings

*Note- if you add all the meat at once, the meat will steam by giving off to much liquid. I know cooking half and then half seems like a pain, but it is so worth it- trust me. :)

You will love this!

-Lisa