busy"Cilantro Lime Chicken Stir-Fry"
Ingredients:
Sauce:
1/2 cup water
zest of one lime
juice of one lime
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
pinch of cayenne
Stir-Fry:
Half a 1 1/4 pound package of chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 sweet onion, sliced into half-circles
1/2 bunch cilantro, snipped (about 2 cups)
1 can bean sprouts, drained
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
Directions:
Rinse the lime. Zest and juice it.
In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 cup water, zest of one lime, juice of one lime, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/4 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, and a pinch of cayenne. Set aside.
Cut the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces and set aside.
Place the onion halves flat side down and slice to make half-circles. These will break into crescents in the wok. Set aside.
Snip 1/2 bunch of cilantro into a large measuring cup until you have about 2 cups. Set aside.
Open the can of bean sprouts and drain. Set aside.
Heat the wok.
Peel 2 cloves of garlic and mince them. Set aside in a small bowl. Make sure your wok spatula will fit inside it.
Pour 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil into the wok. Add the minced garlic. Stir-fry briefly.
Add the sliced onion. Stir-fry until the slices break into crescents and just start to turn translucent.
Add the drained bean sprouts and stir-fry to combine.
Put in the chicken bits. Stir-fry until they turn white.
Add the cilantro. Stir-fry until it wilts.
Pour in the sauce. It will pool in the bottom of the wok. Stir-fry briefly to coat the other ingredients. Put the lid on the wok and allow to steam for 2-3 minutes.
Remove the lid and stir-fry until the sauce turns thick and glossy, clinging to the other ingredients. The chicken should be fully cooked and the vegetables tender. This can be eaten alone or served over rice.
Observations:
This recipe has a vivid, fresh flavor with lime and cilantro prevailing. It reminds me of things I ate in Mexico.
The flavors in this recipe draw on Mexican herbs and spices including lime, paprika, cumin, black pepper, cayenne, garlic, and onion. Compare Mexican and other spice profiles.
Limes have a bright, sour taste and many nutrients. Something about wokking seems to magnify the flavor. We might use just half a lime next time.
Garlic is one of my go-to aromatics for stir-frying. Using the fresh root is both healthy and delicious, much better than preserved versions.
Putting a pound and a quarter of chicken into a wok tends to be overkill, so we used half the package, which worked out better. If what you can get is a pound of meat, that's fine.
Sweet onions are less hot than ordinary onions. Vidalia and Walla Walla are two popular varieties.
Cilantro is used as a leafy green vegetable in this recipe, rather than just as a topping. (If cilantro tastes unpleasantly soapy to you, then substitute flat-leaved parsley instead.)
Bean sprouts have much more nutrition than mature vegetables. They are thin and crisp when raw but get tender with cooking. We used canned ones because that's what we could find, but fresh ones also work in stir-fries.
Next time, we want to use a red bell pepper instead of bean sprouts, for more Mexican flavor.
