Tough on Stir Fry

The September Cooking Light had a section on stir fry recipes and despite loathing stir fry night as a child I now am drawn to stir fry recipes and had to give the Curried Chicken and Cashews recipe a try. To make the dish you start by combining the chicken broth, water, fish sauce, sugar and rice vinegar and setting it aside. You then cut the chicken into strips. Once cut heat the oil in the pan and then sauté the chicken in batches until cooked. When the chicken is cooked set it aside and add more oil to the pan. Then sauté the onion, ginger and garlic for one minute or until lightly brown. I added red bell pepper to the dish, so I added it right before the onions and then let it continue to sauté with the onions etc. Then add the curry powder and chiles to the pan and sauté for a few minutes. Next add the chicken back into the pan and the sauce and let it cook for a couple of minutes. Serve it over rice and top it with cilantro and cashews.

I talked to Jess on the phone shortly after making this dish and told her that it was just okay. She commented that I am a tough critic on stir fry dishes on the blog. I think she is right; I am tough on stir fry dishes. To me there are two keys to an excellent stir fry 1. not overcooking or undercooking the ingredients and 2. a tasty sauce. The first just takes practice to make sure you get the vegetables cooked, but not limp or that you don’t leave them to crispy. This is somewhat personal preference too. I tend to like them cooked through, but with some texture left and definitely not limp and overcooked. The sauce is where I think I tend to become critical on a new recipe. To me it does not take an inordinate number of ingredients to make a tasty sauce, but I want it to have some complexity, some heat, and a fairly substantial flavor. To me the sauce in this dish was not complex or substantial. It did have some heat from the chiles and I did like the curry powder in it, however, the rest of the sauce just fell short and left the dish somewhat bland. All in all there are better recipes out there including one that was a staple in our house in the pre-blog days and has yet to make an appearance on the blog (not to self, add it into the rotation in the next few months) and a few that have made an appearance such as . This was quick and easy and I did enjoy the curry and cashew combination and the addition of red bell peppers, but I don’t think I’ll make it again. Russ was in agreement rating it a 7.

Curried Chicken and Cashews, Cooking Light September 2008

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup chicken mixture and 3/4 cup rice)

1/3 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
3/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 1/2 cups vertically sliced onion
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon Madras curry powder
3 small dried hot red chiles, broken in half
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup dry-roasted salted cashews, chopped
3 cups hot cooked short-grain rice

To prepare sauce, combine the first 5 ingredients; set aside. Cut chicken across grain into 1/4-inch slices; cut slices into 1/2-inch-wide strips. Cut strips into 3-inch-long pieces. Heat a 14-inch wok over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to wok, swirling to coat. Add half of chicken to wok; stir-fry 2 minutes. Spoon cooked chicken into a bowl. Repeat procedure with 2 teaspoons oil and remaining chicken. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to wok, swirling to coat. Add onion, ginger, and garlic to wok; stir-fry 1 minute or until lightly browned. Add curry powder and chiles; stir-fry 30 seconds. Add sauce and chicken to wok; stir-fry 1 minute. Spoon into a serving dish. Sprinkle with cilantro and cashews. Serve over rice.