Lemon Chicken Stirfry

A friend of mine sent me this the other day.  Now I’m not huge on stirfries.  Especially chicken.  I can cook all sorts of meals and use all sorts of techniques to cook, yet the hubmle stirfry eludes me.  I’ve never been able to master the art of keeping the chicken moist.  Mine always used to end up as these little grey lumps in the midst of the veggies.  However, I’ve not tried a stir fry in a very long time, probably a good 8 or 9 years.

This recipe will hopefully change that.

I will be giving this a whirl tonight.  Wish me luck.

Lemon Chicken Stir-Fry

Makes 4 servings

Lemon chicken most often appears as pieces of chicken battered,


deep-fried and topped with a thick, lemony sauce. While tasty, it’s

tricky for the home cook to get just right, plus the dish is laden

with calories.

By stir-frying strips of chicken and adding asparagus, then adding the

lemon sauce toward the end of cooking, this recipe becomes a true

one-pot—or one-wok—dish

*  1/4 cup lemon juice

*  2 tablespoons honey

*  1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

*  1/2 teaspoon plus 2 teaspoons minced garlic

*  1/4 teaspoon salt


*  1/4 teaspoon grated ginger, plus 2 teaspoons minced ginger

*  1/3 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

*  2 teaspoons cornstarch

*  3 tablespoons canola oil

*  Three 6- to 8-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breast halves,


cut in 1/4-inch strips

*  1/2 pound thin asparagus spears, trimmed and cut in 2-inch

lengths

*  2 large carrots, peeled and cut in 2 x 1/4-inch strips

*  1 small red onion, halved lengthwise and cut in 1/4-inch slices

1. Stir the lemon juice and honey together in a small bowl to dissolve

the honey; stir in the lemon zest. Mash the 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

with the salt using the back of the tines of a fork to form a paste;

stir the paste into the lemon mixture along with the grated ginger.

Stir the chicken broth and cornstarch together in a separate small

bowl.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the canola oil in a wok over high heat; swirl

to coat the sides. Add 1 teaspoon of the remaining garlic and 1


teaspoon of the minced ginger to the wok and stir quickly. Add the

chicken; stir-fry until the chicken is no longer pink in the center

when cut with a knife, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove.

3. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon canola oil to the wok; swirl to coat

the sides. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon garlic and the remaining 1

teaspoon minced ginger; stir quickly. Add the asparagus, carrots, and

onion; stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the lemon mixture and bring to a

boil. Boil, stirring often, until the vegetables are crisp-tender, 2


to 3 minutes.

4. Add the reserved chicken. Stir the cornstarch mixture to blend;

pour into the wok. Bring to a boil; boil until thickened and clear,

about 1 minute. Serve with rice to soak up the lemon sauce.

Make Ahead: Have everything prepped and assembled in advance.

Recipe from The One-Dish Chicken Cookbook

http://mail.publicradio.org/site/R?i=-ZQcFZcaWB_NMNpCs7arxQ..

by Mary Ellen Evans. Published in 2006 by Broadway Books, a division

of Random House, Inc. © 2006 by Mary Ellen Evans.