Stir-Fry Chicken and Veggies in Oyster Sauce

One of the easiest and nutritious dish you can serve your kids is stir-fry vegetables (like chop suey back home in Pinas). Jamie Oliver, in his Food Revolution show, taught the people of Huntington, West Virginia (which has high numbers of obesity) to stir fry meat and vegetables as part of his "mission" to transform the town to healthy eating habits. I'm not sure, though, how successful he was in this mission. Anyway, I'm glad that my 2-year old enjoys stir fry, and really eats some of the veggies in it (mostly cauliflower & broccoli, as long as they're tender). Here's one of my stir fry recipes.


Stir-Fry Chicken and Veggies in Oyster Sauce

1 lb boneless chicken thighs or breast, cut into about 1 x 1/2-inch strips
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 cup corn starch
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup oyster sauce
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tsp fresh garlic, minced
1/2 medium-sized onion, chopped
2 medium-sized carrots, sliced into bias
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup cauliflower
1/2 green bell pepper, julienne
1/4 head cabbage, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
salt
pepper


In a bowl combine the soy sauce, garlic powder and black pepper. Add the chicken and mix well. Marinate for 10-15 minutes. Dredge the chicken strips with corn starch. Heat wok or large pan with vegetable oil. Stir fry the chicken until brown (you might need to fry them in batches), then set aside. Remove some oil, leaving only about 1 tablespoon.

Combine the oyster sauce, water, sugar and corn starch in a separate bowl. Stir to completely dissolve the cornstarch. Set aside.

Saute garlic and onion. Add the carrots, broccoli and cauliflower. Stir fry for about 3 minutes. Add broth and let it boil. Add the bell pepper and cabbage and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the chicken. Push the vegetables & chicken to the sides, leaving a hole in the middle of the wok or pan. Stir the oyster sauce mixture to dissolve the corn starch that settled in the bottom of the bowl, and then pour it in the wok. Continue stirring the sauce until it thickens. Fold in the vegetables. Add salt & pepper, if desired. Simmer for about 2 minutes.

Serve with steamed rice.

Tinola sa America

Wow... it's been more than a month since I posted something here. Not that I wasn't busy in the kitchen. I just thought maybe my recipes wasn't good enough to share. Anyway, here's a very simple Filipino dish which my daughter and husband really love. Tinola is a comfort food, and great to eat during a cold or rainy weather. But a couple of ingredients of tinola is not that easy to find here in the States - the green papaya and siling labuyo (Philippine chili pepper) leaves. So I'm sharing you the substitutes to those ingredients, which can make your tinola nutrition packed for your little ones.

Chicken Tinola

Ingredients:
1/2 chicken (whole chicken butterflied and halved), cut into about 6-8 pieces
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1-inch ginger root, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup patis (fish sauce)
8 cups water
1 chicken bouillon cube (optional)
2 medium-sized chayote squash
1 bunch spinach
1/4 tsp ground black pepper


In a non-stick skillet or pan, sear chicken pieces over medium-high heat. Remove from pan and set aside.

In a medium stockpot, heat oil and saute the garlic and ginger root. Add the chicken, fish sauce and bouillon cube. Add water. Adjust your stove to medium-high heat and let the stock boil for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the chayote squash in quarters lengthwise. Peel and remove the seed. Cut each quarters in 2 or 3 pieces crosswise. Add the chayote squash to the pot. Let it simmer until the chayote squash are tender.

Wash thoroughly the bunch of spinach, removing the root ends. When the chayote squash is tender, add the black pepper and the spinach leaves to the pot. Add some salt if necessary. Turn off the heat. Serve with steamed rice.