Endless Possibilities

I really didn't want to brave the food store today. It is across from my son's preschool and he only goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I try to shop then to avoid extra trips. He had his first Tae Kwon Do class today, so I needed something simple that could be made quickly after we returned home. I decided on a simple stir fry. The beauty of the stir fry is that you can throw just about anything into it. Pick your favorite protein and vegetables. Here's what I did:

Basic Stir Fry

Two boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
dried shittake mushrooms, soaked according to package directions and sliced
red and orange bell peppers, about 1/3 a pepper each, thinly sliced
1/4 C red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup thawed frozen broccoli
dried red chilies, to taste
garlic cloves, minced, to taste
sesame oil
soy sauce
minced ginger

1. Put enough sesame oil in the wok to coat the surface and form a small puddle in the center. Put in your dried chilies and slowly heat up the oil. (Take care not to burn the chilies as that will basically turn your kitchen into a pepper spray lab. Don't ask how I know this.) Once the oil is hot, add the chicken and cook thoroughly. Add garlic as chicken is cooking.

2. Once the chicken is almost fully cooked, add the mushrooms. Cook about 4 minutes. Add onions, peppers and broccoli. Vegetables should be cooked but still crispy. Add ginger and soy sauce to taste.

I personally like lots of garlic and spiciness. I added about 5 dried chilies and two chopped dried chilies tonight. It was quite spicy. For mild spice, add one or two whole, dried chilies. Do not eat them; treat them like bay leaves. If you can't find or are afraid of the chilies, you can use chile oil or hot sauce to season.

I have recently discovered that using the dried mushrooms gives a better texture and taste to the whole dish. You can use any kind of fresh mushrooms or even canned straw mushrooms. Again, the beauty of this dish is that you can use whatever you really like or have on hand. Leftover cooked veggies work just as well. But toss them in last just to reheat them so they don't loose their texture.