Spring Vegetable Stir-Fry

Written by Published on in recipes

Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces3 bunches baby bok choy, cut into 1 inch strips
1 lb asparagus, cut into bite-sized pieces
4 oz extra firm tofu, cubed
1 cup snow peas
1 bunch chives, cut into 2 inch pieces
6 dried shiitaki mushrooms
2/3 cup hot water
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 tablespoons fermented black bean paste
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil

for the marinade:
6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon cornstarch
salt
pepper

hot rice for serving

Directions:
Combine all of the marinade ingredients, pour over the chicken and marinate for at least 20 minutes. Meanwhile, rehydrate the mushrooms in the hot water. Drain and slice, reserving the water. Add both soy sauces, sesame oil, fermented bean paste, Shaoxing wine to the reserved water and whisk until smooth. Sit aside. Heat the canola oil in a large wok. Add the chicken (and all of the liquid it marinated in) and the mushrooms and stir fry until the chicken is just opaque. Add all of the vegetables and the tofu and cook for a minute then pour the sauce over everything. Stir-fry until the bok choy has wilted slightly and the chicken is cooked through but the snow peas and asparagus are still crisp. Serve over hot rice.

My thoughts:
We have some sort of stir-fry at least once a week. Stir-fries are a great, quick way to use up any vegetables or odds and ends you have around and perfect for weeknight dinners. This week’s stir-fry was especially fresh and tasty so I thought I’d share the recipe. Snow peas and asparagus are just coming into season here, so naturally I threw them in. We also had a small amount of tofu leftover from an earlier meal and two lonely chicken breasts so in they went! I like to keep the flavors of the marinade and the sauce similar so the final dish has a cohesive taste but pretty much any of the other ingredients can be swapped out for something in season where you live.

8 Comments

  1. Rachel Rubin
    March 28, 2008 at 6:35 pm

    Yum! Good idea to just use a bunch of Spring veggies. I’m getting my farmer’s basket delivered today. Hopefully I’ll have some good things in there to stir-fry.

  2. Anonymous
    March 28, 2008 at 8:06 pm

    we too enjoy making stir-fry often. i’ve found that if i get the pan really (really!) hot before adding the oil that everything gets much browner. of course this results in a messier stove. this sounds great. I haven’t used much Shaoxing wine (we usually use a bit of mirin) but now I must try it.

    cheers!

    ken g

  3. liberal foodie
    March 28, 2008 at 8:17 pm

    Love the pictures! Is there a reason you use both dark and light soy sauce? I usually pick one to add to my stir fries.

  4. Rachel
    March 28, 2008 at 8:36 pm

    Libral Foodie: I find that the flavor between the two is different enough to use both and the dark soy sauce caramelizes quicker.

  5. Anonymous
    March 29, 2008 at 11:49 am

    My husband doesn’t eat stir fry boo hoo…… too bad your recipe looks just wonderful!!!

  6. amycaseycooks
    March 29, 2008 at 2:53 pm

    I love preparing stir frys for my family. It is just as easy to make a small amount as it is to make a huge wok full. And it is something almost everyone likes.

  7. Anonymous
    March 29, 2008 at 9:04 pm

    What great us of your leftovers! Your chicken isn’t lonely any more!
    This dish really screams out…happy Spring! 🙂

  8. Anonymous
    April 1, 2008 at 2:14 am

    Oh wow this looks amazing. I think I will definitely be giving this a go this weekend. YUM!