Gingery Stir-Fried Chicken and Bok Choy

I am bummed that I didn't get a picture of this tasty little dish. I thought I had already posted this over a year ago. So, I served it up and let it disappear. Oh well!

For those in our area that are participating in the Bountiful Basket food services being offered. If you are wondering what to do with your baby heads of Bok Choy, this would be a useful recipe. It used the Bok Choy and a red bell pepper too. (If you want another stir-fry recipe that uses bok choy try Stir-Fried Tofu and Bok Choy in Ginger sauce.)

It serves 4 as a main dish with rice. I doubled the batch and it served 5 adults and 6 children with a small serving left over. I didn't serve any other sides with this dish, because that is pretty standard for my style when I serve a stir-fry that has meat and veggies with rice I don't feel like we need anything more. (Doubling the recipe I was able to use 9 heads of my baby bok choy. A pound of these little bok choy was around 5 heads. It looks like a ton when you prep it for the stir-fry, but really it cooks down to nothing-similar to spinach.)

This recipe did come from my "The New Best Recipe" book so it may seem like over kill on the instructions, but it all turns out in the end. Promise.

Gingery Stir-Fried Chicken and Bok Choy

1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth

2 Tablespoons dry sherry (I just use Sherry cooking whine)

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

1 Tablespoon oyster sauce

1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoon cornstarch (At the end of cooking the entire recipe you may want to thicken it more)

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon read pepper flakes (I would use 1/8 tsp. If you don't love hot food. Which I had to do to keep it more kid friendly. When doubling the recipe I used only 1/4 teaspoon. It is plenty spicy with all the ginger in it.)

4 teaspoons minced fresh ginger

1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed through a garlic press

Peanut or Vegetable oil

1 recipe Marinated Velveted Chicken for Stir-Fry

1 small head bok choy (about 1 pound) {this is 5-6 baby heads}, washed and dried, stalks and green separated, stalks cut on the bias into 1/4-inch slices and greens cut into 1/2-inch strips.

1 small red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch strips.

Whisk the chicken broth, sherry, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, cornstarch, sugar, red pepper flakes, and 2 teaspoons of minced ginger in a small bowl. Combine the remaining 2 teaspoons of ginger, the garlic, and 1 teaspoon peanut oil in another small bowl.

Heat 2 teaspoons peanut oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until smoking; add half of the chicken in a flat, even layer. Cook without stirring but gently separating the pieces, until golden brown on the first side, about 1 minute; turn the chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned on the second side, about 30 seconds. Transfer the chicken to a clean bowl. Repeat with additional 2 teaspoons peanut oil and remaining chicken.

Add 1 Tablespoon peanut oil to the now empty skillet; heat until just smoking. Add the bok choy stalks and red bell pepper; stir-fry until they begin to brown, about 1 minute. Push the vegetables to the sides of the skillet to clear the center; add the garlic-ginger mixture to the clearing and cook, mashing the mixture with a spoon, until fragrant, 15 to 20 seconds, then stir the mixture into the stalks and continue to cook until the stalks are tender-crisp, about 30 seconds longer. Stir in the bok choy greens and cook until they begin to wilt, about 30 seconds. Return the chicken to the skillet. Whisk the sauce to recombine and cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thickened and the chicken is cooked through, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a serving platter and serve immediately.