Chicken Stir Fry

Since I got bok choy in my last farm box, I decided to make stir fry again. I had made chicken stir fry the first time I got bok choy and it was OK, but I learned from my mistakes and it came out better this time.

I used 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts which I always have on hand in the freezer from Trader Joe's. They say you don't need to defrost before baking, or if you do defrost frozen chicken, you should do it in the fridge. I rarely plan my meals far enough in advance to put the chicken in the refrigerator the night before, and since I want to marinate it prior to cooking, I need it thawed.

So I use the quick, but supposedly less safe, method of defrosting the chicken in a plastic bag in a bowl of cold water. I replace the water several times so it doesn't get warm, and it doesn't sit in the water for more than an hour. In fact, it doesn't usually defrost completely since I just need it defrosted enough to cut it into slices that I can place in the marinade. By the time it is ready to cook, it has finished defrosting.

Here's my recipe. Both my husband and son enjoy it.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into slices
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup beef broth
1 clove of garlic minced (I used equivalent amount of jarred minced garlic from Trader Joe's)

1 large shallot, chopped
2-3 bunches of bok choy, chopped
2 medium carrots, sliced
2 ribs of celery, sliced
1 Tbsp canola oil

Combine soy sauce, canola oil and beef broth in small baking dish. Mix together with garlic. Add chicken and stir to coat. Marinate in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Heat 1 Tbsp canola oil in wok over medium high. Add chicken and cook for several minutes until cooked through. While it is cooking, I put the baking dish with the marinade in the microwave for 2 minutes, until boiling, to cook any residue of the chicken. (I plan to add it later, but I'm not sure it will be in the pan long enough to be safe to eat.)

Remove chicken from wok and set in bowl. Add more canola oil if necessary. Stir fry bok choy, carrots and celery for several minutes until vegetables become tender. Return chicken to the wok and add the marinade. Stir to mix ingredients, then remove from heat. Serve over a bed of rice.

This makes roughly 4 adult servings.

Coleslaw

Last night I made coleslaw with cabbage and carrots I got in the last farm box. I've never made coleslaw before and I'm not usually a fan of restaurant slaw which tends to have too much dressing for my taste. But I had a pregnancy craving for a fresh, light coleslaw, so I tried it out last night. I found a simple, 5 ingredient recipe on allrecipes.com that I decided to try. I modified it slightly, reducing the sugar and increasing the vinegar since I prefer a tangier taste. I also planned to reduce the mayo a little since I'm not a big fan, but found out I only had about a 1/3 of a cup anyway (the recipe called for 1 cup). So I ended up mixing the dressing in the mayonnaise jar to get as much as possible.

In the end, my first bite still tasted too much like mayo for my taste (so I'm glad I didn't have more on hand), but after a few bites, I didn't notice it as much. It was pretty good and I'm hoping some time in the fridge will improve it. You can tell in the picture that this coleslaw is not heavy with dressing - just the way I like it. The cabbage and carrots were so fresh and good, they didn't need too much added flavor.

Here's the recipe as I made it:

1 small head of cabbage, shredded
3 medium carrots, shredded
1/3 cup (approx) of mayo
1/4 cup sugar
3/8 cup apple cider vinegar

Mix shredded cabbage and carrots in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix mayo, sugar and vinegar. Pour over slaw and toss to coat.

In researching coleslaw recipes, I also came across a good post on someone's blog on how to shred cabbage, since I hadn't made coleslaw before. She also explains why doing it with a knife is best. You can read about it here.

Tofu Stir Fry

It only seems fair to post the duds along with the good recipes. I had high hopes for this tofu stir fry. I had made a stir fry earlier with bok choy, carrots and celery, using chicken for my protein. But for something different, I decided to use tofu. Also, instead of bok choy, I had cabbage, which I knew should make a good stir fry.

The problem with tofu is it has no flavor except what you put on it. I knew this, so I marinated it for at least an hour. It still came out flavorless. I think part of the problem was that I didn't use enough soy sauce. The last time I made stir fry, it came out too salty, so I scaled back the soy sauce this time, to ill effect. If I do this one again, I would definitely use more soy sauce. And maybe more garlic and/or shallots.

1/2 head of cabbage, chopped
4 medium carrots, cut into 1/8" x 2-3" strips
2 ribs of celery, sliced
6 crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 can sliced water chestnuts
1 shallot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger powder
1 lb firm tofu, cut into rectangular pieces
3 Tbsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp canola oil

Create a marinade of the soy sauce, water, oil, ginger, and 1 minced clove of garlic. Mix well and add tofu. Marinate at least one hour, shaking every 10 minutes or so to coat the tofu.

Saute the shallots, mushrooms and remaining garlic. Add the cabbage, carrots, celery and water chestnuts and cook a few minutes until veggies start to become tender. Add tofu and marinade, continuing to cook and coat the veggies with the sauce.

Serve over a bed of rice.