Taking a cue from Madame J. Child, I take only sparkling beverages with Asian food, and beer is just wonderful with it.
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Finally, so refreshing to see a "stir fry" that's more about technique versus following a recipe. Looks delicious and juicy. I'm Chinese/Malaysian and also learned to cook from my mom like Jade using my sense of taste and smell versus following a recipe. I learned 'technique' provides the foundation for making anything. I would consider this dish a shallow fry rather than a 'stir fry' because of the amount of oil that's being used. You can also just 'stir fry' the chicken with less oil. The secret is to use high heat, a good, lightweight, cast iron wok and a gas stove or cook in small batches on stainless steel pan if you have an electric stove. Please not nonstick, it cannot handle high heat.
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Chicken tastes "brawny"? Who knew
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Ha! that stuck out for me too. Did you cluck your tongue at it? (sorry)
However, our normally generous English language is lacking a large vocabulary to describe many specific smells and tastes. I've been noticing this lately for some reason. People who write about food often borrow words from other "genres" of description in order to get their idea across. It's an area of writing that seems to have a lot of flexibility exactly because of this lack of specialized vocabulary.
Feel free to disagree with me! this is just an idea of mine.
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I thought this was delicious and very easy to make. The two teenagers in my house did not like it as much (more for me!). I'll make it again on a kid-free night.
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I make stir fry from time to time. I have been throwing in one Thai bird chili pepper if I feel like a kick. Not so much as to obscure the flavor. Also, I like many kinds of white wine with Asian inspired food, and agree with the Reisling. Depending on the dish and mood, try some sparking wine (champagne).
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Tossed in two chopped baked tofu cakes, a chopped baby bok choi, some red miso, and a little left over spinach. Cooked it all up and served over white rice, Delicious, yes Delicious.
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Hi Melissa, I am writing to thank you for your columns and food writing. I look forward to this post every week. I just received your new book and made the spicy chicken barley stew with sweet potatoes last night- loved it! Your recipes bring joy to our household.
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Thanks for including articles like this. I avoid cilantro like it’s the plague ever since it made my Thai food taste like “horse sweat smells” when it first appeared around here 25 years ago...,but I’ll try anything once. And I’d try something new everyday if possible.
Thanks for the good ideas - we’ll have to experiment to see what else can be tossed in.
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Sorry to hear. It's well known that some unlucky persons have a genetic variant that causes cilantro to taste "soapy" rather than the subtle fragrance that most people sense.
Your comment about "horse sweat"is interesting because that odor, which many people find offensive, is caused by phenylacetic acid (also a feed stock for culturing penicillin) that is not present in cilantro.
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Melissa, would pressed, cubed extra-firm tofu work well in this dish? Thanks.
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My mother, much like Jade’s mother, also never used recipes for anything she made. She too would cook and bake “by smell and feel”. I believe cooks and bakers who operate like that possess a unique and treasured gift of a keen and intuitive sense of taste, smell and feeling. Without a recipe to guide me, I’d be as nervous as a cat in a dark room filled with rocking chairs.
Other than omitting the cilantro (an herb which I detest more than cheese), this simple and easy recipe sounds like a real winner. There’s something about ginger and chicken that goes hand in glove like peanut butter and chocolate. I think I just found supper for Friday night. Thanks Ms. Clark!
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I think I would also throw in some water chestnuts, just for the crunch factor.
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Only if they’re fresh water chestnuts. If they’re canned, forget it.
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In absence of fresh water chestnuts, I will use a firm pear. It adds great crunch with minimal sweetness.
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Looks good. The only other ginger chicken recipe I know (Vietnamese) involves quite a lot of sugar and I find it a bit sweet, so I'll try this.
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@ Caroline Bucks UK
I share your liking of the ginger-scallion-[others] sauce that seems to be an excellent concoction to titillate pleasurably the taste buds. However, I would rather use it on fish, because the ubiquitous chicken promoted in this section has passed the limits of palatability.
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Tuvw ~
this is similar to one way I prepare a big fish steak, however I poach the fish, place on a warm plate & heat up oil, garlic, scallions, ginger & pour over. A drizzle of sesame oil & sprinkle of cilantro, stir fried garlic broccoli & steamed rice made a happy dinner for my daughters growing up.
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