Chicken & Basil Stir-Fry

Day 1 of our Feed Us experiment. This recipe, a lovely and ridiculously simple chicken and basil stir fry was submitted by Lilie of A Planet 4 Creation (truly awesome jewelry), and Asian Buzz (her blog). Thanks for feeding us, Lilie! :)

We added a bit of sugar and spice to the chicken marinade, in the way of sriracha hot sauce and honey. We were worried at first that the dish would need more flavor, that lime juice and fish sauce wouldn’t be enough. But we were pleasantly surprised.

You might have noticed that we don’t eat chicken terribly often, and I guess we’re just not huge fans of it. But someone in this household, however, is…

Yes, kitty loves chicken. And turkey, too, for that matter. She’s a poultry fiend. Sometimes I think she smells the stuff before it even comes out of the fridge. Fish? Shrimp? She can take it or leave it. But unwrap a piece of poultry and she will be at your side. Don’t turn your back, either, or she might just reach up and snatch a piece right off the cutting board.

Chicken & Basil Stir-Fry

Makes 4 servings.

INGREDIENTS
1 lime (2 tablespoons lime juice)
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1” chunks
1 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons sriracha hot sauce, or to taste
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon peanut oil
12oz trimmed green beans, each cut in half
2 tablespoons water
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 cup packed basil leaves, sliced
1 tablespoons less-sodium fish sauce
Cooked jasmine rice (optional)

DIRECTIONS
From lime, grate 1 teaspoon peel and squeeze 1 tablespoon juice. In medium bowl, toss chicken with lime peel, soy sauce, sriracha, and honey; set aside.

In nonstick 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add beans and water; cook 4 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes or until beans are tender-crisp. Transfer to bowl.

In same skillet, cook chicken loses its pink color throughout, stirring often. Remove skillet from heat; stir in bean mixture, basil, fish sauce and lime juice. Serve with jasmine rice.

Chicken Stir-fry with Yams, Red Cabbage, and Hoisin

So it might sound unusual, but it’s actually quite delicious. I’ve been noticing sweet potatoes creeping into things more and more lately, and more often than not it’s a pleasant surprise. Like a stir fry. You’re not expecting a sweet potato, yet it works – and it works well.

Just be warned – while leftovers of this dish *taste* good the next day, the chicken turns a lovely and not-so-appetizing shade of purple thanks to the cabbage. Actually, everything in the bowl has a violet hue after one night in the fridge. Paired with the orange yams, well, not so pretty. Just close your eyes. It still tastes as good as it did the night before.

You can also substitute chicken thighs if you tend to like the cheaper prices and richer flavor of dark meat, like we do. It might go against the ‘healthy’ categorization of this recipe just a tad, but oh well!

Chicken Stir-fry with Yams, Red Cabbage, and Hoisin

Recipe from Bon Appetit. Makes 4 servings.

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil, divided
yams (red-skinned sweet potatoes; about 1 pound), peeled, cut crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick rounds, then cut into 1/3-inch-wide strips
1 medium-size red onion, cut lengthwise into 1/3-inch-thick slices
8 ounces skinless boneless chicken cutlets, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide strips
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups 1/3-inch-thick strips sliced red cabbage (about 1/4 medium head)
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS
Heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add yams and onion; stir-fry until yams are just tender, adjusting heat if browning too quickly and adding water by tablespoonfuls if mixture is dry, about 12 minutes. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to skillet. Add chicken, ginger, and garlic; stir-fry 1 minute. Add cabbage; stirfry until chicken is cooked through and cabbage is wilted but still slightly crunchy, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in hoisin sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in 1/2 cup cilantro. Transfer stir-fry to serving bowl; sprinkle with remaining cilantro.