Velvety Stir-fry Lemon Chicken

No long story or background to waste your time in scrolling past.

Where it may not look wildly colorful, it's madly flavorful. Just toss this together and enjoy a feast.

Velvety Stir-fry Lemon Chicken

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless chicken, sliced very thinly and cut into bite-sized squares (I aim for about 2 centimeters square)
1/4 cup minced sweet onion
juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1 – 2 Tablespoons)
about 1/4 cup water (plus more set aside for cooking, if needed)
1/4 teaspoon crushed fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 egg white, beaten
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions, mostly the white parts
1 – 2 cups fresh baby bok choi (or your favorite other leafy greens), sliced into ribbons
about 2 tablespoons cooking oil or fat (I used duck fat, but go with what you have & like) for stir-frying
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a small mixing bowl, combine sliced chicken, sweet onion, lemon juice, water, ginger, and garlic. Stir well, until Set in refrigerator to marinate at least 15 minutes, or up to 3 hours.

In a separate small bowl, beat egg white until frothy. Add to chicken and stir until egg completely distributed over chicken bits.

In a large wok or frying pan on high heat, bring oil to the point where it begins to shimmer. Using your hand or a slotted stirring spoon, scoop out chicken from mixing bowl, leaving any excess liquid behind in the bowl, and toss into hot oil, stirring constantly until chicken is completely cooked but not browned.

Add in the remaining liquid from the bowl, and stir until it simmers and shows signs of thickening (at this point, you may need to add a little extra water to prevent sticking, and to make a little "gravy" to coat your rice).

Stir in scallions and bok choi, and, as soon as the bok choi begins to show signs of wilting, remove from heat.


Serve on your favorite rice.  Serves 2 or 3.

Helpful hint for chicken prep: If you're working with fresh chicken breasts or thighs, pop them into the freezer for about 20 to 30 minutes, to firm the meat up before slicing it. Or, conversely, if you're raiding the freezer for your chicken, allow it to rest on the counter for the same 20 to 30 minutes before slicing.You can consistently get very thin slices this way.

The Absent-Minded Shopper's Tangy Celery Slaw

Some recipes happen because I'm absent-minded…

Occasionally, Mom and I forget what's in the fridge when we're at the store, so we end up with a surplus of something perishable. This week, it was celery. Imagine realizing you had two great honkin' bunches of celery, and no inclination to make a hundred servings of "Ants on a Log"!

And not only did we buy too much celery, but Pop's garden has already started yielding a few tasty morsels, so we had a superabundance of baby bok choy to work into the menu this weekend. Therein lay a dilemma easily solved, if one is inclined to slawg away in the kitchen for a few minutes, chopping veggies and fruits. And so inclined I was.

 

Tangy Celery Slaw

Ingredients:
 

slaw:
4 to 6 cups celery, sliced thinly (leaves included)
3 cups baby bok choi leaves, coarsely shredded
2 cups crisp apple, julienne sliced
1/2 cup scallion greens

dressing:
1/2 teaspoon simple syrup*
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon hot mustard
2 Tablespoons olive oil (I used blood orange flavored oil, because I had some on hand)
juice of 1 medium lemon (about 3 Tablespoons)
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon celery seed
salt, pepper to taste



Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, combine sliced celery, bok choi leaves, julienned apple, and scallion greens. Toss/stir until completely mixed.


In a small mixing bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients. Pour over salad and stir to completely coat.

Allow to chill in refrigerator at least an hour. Toss in bowl again before serving.





*simple syrup: put equal parts sugar and water in a small saucepan. On high heat, stir to make sure sugar completely dissolves. Bring to full boil for at least 1 minute. Allow to cool completely. Can be kept in refrigerator a very long time, and used in making all sorts of desserts and drinks (especially lemonade). Can also be diluted (3 parts distilled water /1 part syrup)  for hummingbird feeders.

Variations:

If you don't have baby bok choy as an option, you can easily substitute young spinach, kale, or whatever other tender greens you prefer.

For apples, I cut up a pair of mid-sized Cosmic Crisps, because they were on special and they showed more color in this particular dish than would the Granny Smiths that were the same price. If you have another favorite baking apple, though, I encourage you give it a go.

Crumble a bit of feta or blue cheese into the dish right before serving, if you want to add some protein.

Chopped toasted almonds can give added crunch to this slaw, and raisins or other dried fruits like blueberries, cherries, or cranberries can add a spot of tenderness and/or tang, according to your tastes (but if you use the fruit, I'd suggest reducing or eliminating celery seed from the dressing).

..........................................

Like many slaws, this salad is excellent the next day, as well, so don't throw away any leftovers you might have.


Go ahead. Have some fun playing in the kitchen. You know you want to.