Good Food Every Day

We made this tonight. It turned out quite well. :D


"Chicken Stir-Fry with Mushrooms and Swiss Chard"


Ingredients:

For the stir-fry:
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
half a sweet onion, diced
half a 1.25 pound package of boneless chicken thighs
a handful of baby 'Bright Lights' Swiss chard
6.6 ounce can of mushrooms
a pinch of sea salt

For the sauce:
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Bragg Organic Sprinkle 24 Herbs and Spices
1 teaspoon tapioca starch


Directions:

Put 1 tablespoon light olive oil in a wok or electric skillet and turn it on.

While the olive oil is heating, dice half a sweet onion. Save the other half for a different recipe. Put the onion bits in the wok. Stir to keep the bits from sticking.

Separate the stems from the leaves of the baby Swiss chard. Cut the stems into bite-sized pieces and add them to the onions. Cut the leaves into bite-sized strips and set them aside.

Chop the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces. You need 1-2 thighs per person. I made this as a 2-person recipe, so half of a 1.25 pound package is about right.

When the onion bits are translucent, scrape them toward the sides of the wok and dump the chicken chunks in the middle. Stir the chicken around the middle until it's mostly white on the outside. Then mix it into the vegetables. Keep stirring until the chicken is close to done.

Drain the can of mushrooms and add the mushroom pieces to the onions and chicken. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over everything.

In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon Bragg Organic Sprinkle 24 Herbs and Spices, and 1 teaspoon tapioca starch.

Pour the sauce over the chicken and vegetables. Stir everything together and keep it moving while the sauce thickens. When the chicken is cooked through, scoop everything out and serve it hot. You can put it over pasta or rice if you wish, but I felt that it worked fine by itself. This recipe makes 2 servings.


Notes:

Sunflower oil is a neutral cooking oil with a high smoke point. It works well for stir-fry recipes.

Sweet onions such as Walla Walla or Vidalia have lots of fiber and vitamins, but little or no heat. They work great in stir-fries.

Chicken thighs are richer and juicier than chicken breast, but you can use breast meat if you prefer. Vegans may use tofu or more vegetables instead.

'Bright Lights' Swiss chard comes in multiple colors including pink, red, orange, yellow, and white. It has a mild taste when young. The stems take longer to cook than the leaves, so separate them before cooking. If you don't have Swiss chard, you can use beet tops or another leafy green.

Mushrooms have many benefits. Here I used canned ones because that's what I had. If you want to use fresh ones, add them when the onions just start to turn translucent, because mushrooms take a while to cook down.

Sea salt has far more minerals than table salt. If you can't find sea salt, then table salt or kosher salt will do.

Soy sauce makes a good all-purpose base for stir-fry sauce. One teaspoon to one tablespoon is usually enough, depending what else you include. Look for a lower-sodium brand; we like Kikkoman.

Rice wine vinegar is often used in stir-fry recipes. It has a bright, sweet-tart flavor.

Bragg Organic Sprinkle 24 Herbs and Spices is a salt-free seasoning blend. It works much like a European version of garam masala: when you combine a whole bunch of different things, they create an intense merged flavor rather than individual notes.

Tapioca starch forms a slightly sweet, glossy goo when wet and makes an excellent thickener. It lacks the pasty flavor of corn starch or wheat flour. Suit the consistency to your preference, usually 1-2 teaspoons.

This recipe is pretty flexible. It should work with a variety of alliums or mushrooms. You could use turkey or diced pork instead of chicken. To go vegan, omit the chicken and use tofu or extra vegetables.

The result was a savory dish that capitalized on the spices. We enjoyed eating this and will likely make it again.