Spicy and Sweet Chicken Vegetable Stir Fry

I have been in the mood for Chinese/Japanese food for quite some time now, but everytime I’ve gone into the kitchen to make something it hasn’t been anything Chinese/Japanese inspired.  I don’t know why though, the best way to quench a craving is to have what you are craving!  Yesterday while I had some down time I started looking around the internet trying to find recipes that could inspire me on how to go about a stir fry. 

There are tons of recipes out there and there are so many different ways people go about making stir fry and seasoning it.  I guess the taste and spices that are added are all in the desired taste of the cook.  After looking around, I decided I would give stir fry a try and make a creation all my own.  I must say it wasn’t as difficult as I imagined.  I guess I just get discouraged when I am out and watching the professional chefs at the hibachi grills, watching them is so much fun but I guess they do so much extra for the entertainment factor and that also makes it seem like there is so much more to it.  It’s true what they say, looks really are deceiving. 

I think my first attempt at stir fry was pretty successful.  Now that I’ve finally gotten over my fear or complex of cooking Chinese/Japanese food I will definitely be cooking it more often.  There are some things in this recipe I think I’m going to work on and try to tweek next time, but ya know you have to start somewhere…and I think that’s half the battle.  So here’s the recipe I used for my first attempt at stir fry…please excuse the pictures, the presentation was not at all what I wanted it to be but I wanted to have something to post.  I will post me next attempts at this recipe and hopefully the pictures will be better too!

 

Ingredients: 

8 Chicken Cutlets, cubed

1 Small onion, chopped

1 Small bag fresh frozen stir fry vegetables

(I used a bag that had cauliflower, red bell pepper, sugar peas, carrots, and zucchini)

1 Clove garlic, minced

1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons Chili Garlic Wok Sauce (Mine was from WIlliams-Sonoma)

Salt and Pepper

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1/2 Cup water

1 Tablespoon Corn Starch

 

Directions:

Pour olive oil in large skillet, preheat over medium heat.  Add chicken and season with salt and pepper.  Once chicken is mostly done add the onions and garlic, saute until onions begin to clear.  Add the vegetables, stir together.  Once vegetables are mixed in and cooking add sugar, Chili Garlic Wok Sauce, and more salt and pepper if desired.  Cook combined ingredients for about 5-10 minutes.  

Stir together water and corn starch, pour over chicken and vegatables and cook for 1-2 minutes.  

***Serve over rice.

 

Recipe Courtesy of Lynsey Lou