Black Pepper Chicken Stir Fry

By Andrew Zimmern

This is an easy meal that comes together quickly and — with a pot of rice and some cucumber salad — makes for a simple and delicious meal. I made a monster batch just to see if I could, and while it was unwieldy, I wanted to see if I could make 6-8 portions in a small wok from a big-box retailer. It worked.

I used pea tendrils as my green veg but you can use any veg you like here. I do like to sauté the veg separately and let it rest at room temperature before I add it to my wok — so it doesn’t add any unwanted water to my dish.

The video shows the large batch I made. The recipe is halved. It will feed three people:

Stir Fried Chicken with Pea Tips

Ingredients

2 cups bok choy, snow pea tips or other Asian greens (feel free to add whatever you like: mushrooms, peppers, etc.)
2 pounds chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or sake
2 tablespoons all-natural brewed soy sauce
3 tablespoons corn starch
1 quart oil for frying
4 whole dried chiles
2 tablespoons sliced garlic
2 tablespoons sliced ginger
2 sliced onions
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch scallions, chopped into 1 1/2-inch-long pieces

Wok Sauce

2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or sake
2-3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

Instructions

Flash sautée and cool the vegetables. Season with salt and minced garlic and reserve.

Combine the chicken, rice wine, soy sauce and corn starch. Mix well and set aside to rest for an hour in the fridge, stirring once or twice. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before frying.

In batches, fry the chicken about 3/4 of the way done and set aside. I use medium heat, shooting for 350-375 degrees or so.

Tip out almost all the oil and place the pan over high heat. Flash saute the chiles, garlic and ginger, and set aside.

Sear the onions in the wok over high heat. Add the scallions and toss. Add the black pepper, and add back the chicken and aromatics. Toss well. Add the greens or other veg. Toss well and cook for another minute or so.

Add half the wok sauce and toss for a few minutes until thickened and the dish is piping hot. Reserve the rest of the wok sauce for another dish!

Enjoy your dinner.