Description
Tender chicken, crisp vegetables, water chestnuts and bamboo shoots come together in a savoury sauce that’s quick enough for a weeknight. Keep the vegetables slightly crisp so you get plenty of texture in every bite.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Chicken and Marinade
- 1.1 lb - 500 g chicken fillet, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp salt
- Pinch of white pepper
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 TB oil
- 1 TB soya sauce
- 2 tsp corn flour
- 1 TB water
Vegetables and Sauce
- 1/4 cabbage, preferably Napa cabbage, thinly sliced
- 1 large carrot, julienned
- 1 onion, halved, quartered and separated into pieces
- 1/2 red pepper, cut into chunks
- 1/2 yellow pepper, cut into chunks
- 1/2 green pepper, cut into chunks
- 2/3 cup (100 g) water chestnuts, cut into fine matchsticks
- 2/3 cup (100 g) bamboo shoots, cut into fine matchsticks
- 2 cups (200 g) bean sprouts
- 1 tsp garlic and ginger paste
- 1 TB oyster sauce
- 1 tsp corn flour
- 2 TB water
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 2 to 3 spring onions, chopped
- 2 to 3 TB neutral cooking oil, as needed
- Salt, as needed
Instructions
- Thinly slice 500 g chicken fillet against the grain and place it in a bowl. Sprinkle with 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, toss well to coat, and leave for 10 minutes. Rinse the chicken thoroughly under cold water, then pat it really dry with paper towels. This little extra step helps keep the chicken tender without leaving a bicarbonate taste.
- Add 1 tsp salt, a pinch of white pepper, 1 tsp sugar, 1 TB oil, 1 TB soya sauce, 2 tsp corn flour and 1 TB water to the chicken. Mix well until every piece is lightly coated. Leave it to marinate while you prepare the vegetables.
- Slice 1/4 cabbage into strips and julienne 1 large carrot. Cut 1 onion into halves, then quarters, and separate the pieces. Cut 1/2 red pepper, 1/2 yellow pepper and 1/2 green pepper into chunks. Slice 100 g water chestnuts and 100 g bamboo shoots into fine matchsticks.
- Heat a little of the 2 to 3 TB neutral cooking oil in a wok over medium high heat. Add the onion with a small pinch of salt and stir fry for about 1 minute.
- Add 1/2 red pepper, 1/2 yellow pepper and 1/2 green pepper and stir fry for 2 minutes. Transfer the onions and peppers to a bowl. Don’t cook them until soft or you’ll lose that lovely crunch.
- Add another small splash of the cooking oil to the wok, then add 100 g water chestnuts and 100 g bamboo shoots with a small pinch of salt. Stir fry for 1 minute, then remove them and add them to the cooked vegetables.
- Add another little splash of oil if the wok looks dry. Add 200 g bean sprouts and stir fry for 1 minute. Transfer them to the bowl with the other vegetables.
- Add the remaining cooking oil to the wok, then add 1/4 cabbage and 1 large carrot. Sprinkle 1 to 2 TB water around the edge of the wok to create a little steam. Add a small pinch of salt and stir fry for about 2 minutes, keeping the vegetables crisp. Remove them from the wok.
- Give the wok a minute to get properly hot again, then add the marinated chicken. Spread it out as much as you can and resist the urge to constantly stir it. Turn the pieces as they start changing colour, then stir fry until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the centre.
- Push the chicken to one side of the wok. Add 1 tsp garlic and ginger paste to the open space and stir fry for about 1 minute until fragrant. Mix it through the chicken.
- In a small bowl, whisk together 1 TB oyster sauce, 1 tsp corn flour and 2 TB water until smooth. Make a well in the centre of the chicken and pour in the sauce. Let it bubble for about 30 seconds, stirring gently, until it thickens slightly.
- Return all the cooked vegetables to the wok and toss everything together until the chicken and vegetables are evenly coated in the sauce. Cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, just until everything is hot. Don’t keep cooking it or those crisp vegetables will turn limp.
Notes
Prepared, tried, and tested by Melanie
