Symbolic Chinese New Year Stir-Fry Recipe

I have been making a chicken stir-fry dish for years that was created from my desire for a Chinese flavored dish one night - when there wasn't a Chinese recipe available. I should mention right off that this particular recipe can be made with many variations; the most obvious one being the type of meat you use. I typically use chicken with this recipe, but have also used shrimp and beef. You can mix them for even more variety - but you would need to cook the meats and fish so that the timing is right. In other words; shrimp will cook much faster than chicken and you don't want dried and shriveled up shrimps or undercooked pink chicken. Here are the ingredients you will need to serve about 6 people a full dinner (adjust quantities based on amount of people and whether other food will be served), and then I will discuss technique and variations:

1 package Japanese Udon or other Asian noodles

2 pounds fresh or frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins

Soy sauce (you can use reduced sodium type)

Oyster sauce

Sesame oil

Powdered ginger

Crushed garlic (you can use the jar type)

Salt

Black pepper

One can of water chestnuts

One can bamboo shoots

One package, or about two cups of bean sprouts

One package fresh sliced mushrooms

Two celery stalks

Finely chopped cilantro (about 1/4 cup)

To begin with, get all of the cooking utensils and ingredients ready. You will need a large pot for the stove, a large skillet or wok, large bowl that will eventually hold your complete stir-fry, spatula, large cooking spoon, colander, sharp chopping knife and measuring cup. This recipe is something I do in stages, so I end up using the least amount of cooking ware, and this also helps if you have a smaller cooking area. The first thing I always do with this recipe is cook the noodles according to package directions. Then I let them drain in the colander and leave for later. My next step is to cook the chicken. You will be using the cooking sauce over and over as you stir-fry each group of ingredients.

For the chicken, thaw or take your fresh chicken and chop into smaller pieces. It is easier to cut when it has been cooked, so what I end up doing is just chopping it into bite size pieces as it cooks. This also allows me the opportunity to check it for doneness. With chicken - it is never done if you can still see any pink or it resists easy cutting. If it is overcooked - it is dry and chewy. This process usually takes about 20 minutes. I put about a 1/4 cup of soy sauce, tablespoon of sesame oil, two tablespoons of oyster sauce, teaspoon of crushed garlic, teaspoon of ginger, and salt and pepper to taste. I usually wait on the salt - there is already salt in the soy sauce, but I like fresh ground black pepper - so about two teaspoons if you are like me on the pepper.

Let the skillet or wok heat up with the sauce ingredients until it begins to sizzle, stirring frequently so that the sauce does not burn. Add chicken. You will need to continue to frequently stir and turn the chicken - more so as it cooks. Once you have checked all the chicken for doneness and chopped them into bite size pieces, add them to your large bowl. I used to use a stainless steel one and let it sit on the toaster oven set to "warm" so that it would stay while I finished the rest. You can also use a warmer dish. Pour excess sauce in with chicken.

Next, to stir fry the vegetables, you repeat the same process with the sauce and skillet. Keep in mind that the vegetables will have water in them and dilute the sauce a little, so if you want to use salt at this stage you can - but again - be aware that you still have salt in the soy sauce. Put the chopped celery in first, as it will take a little longer to cook, then the mushrooms and canned vegetables. Continuously turn and coat the vegetables with the sauce. Add sprouts and cilantro the last few minutes. This process should take no more than 7 to 10 minutes. Add the vegetables and excess sauce to chicken in warming bowl, stir together.

For the final step, repeat the sauce and skillet, but this time you are adding your noodles that have been waiting in the colander. You do not want to stir-fry your noodles for very long; just long enough to coat them lightly and warm them up. Turn off the heat and leave noodles in the skillet. This way you can serve the noodles on the bottom, and spoon the chicken and vegetable mixture on top.

There are many ways to be creative with this recipe. You can try different ingredients for the sauce for example. I have used brown sauce in place of the oyster sauce. I have added a teaspoon of chili sauce to rev it up. Check the Asian foods aisle at your market and see what there is to offer. You can also add different vegetables. If you like broccoli in you stir fry for example, just add it first, as it will take longer like the celery to cook. I have also used both green onion and white onion - the white onion goes in first, the green onion would go last. You can also hold some cilantro aside and put a few sprigs on top or add some sesame seed sprinkles as a garnish when you serve. Or, your guests can help themselves to the noodles and the stir-fry in the bowl.

One final note: you will want to plan on about an hour from start to finish when you make this, possibly a little longer the first time you try it. Enjoy, and have a wonderful Chinese New Year!