A Stir Fry-a-Thon: Part 1

Stir fry. Vibrant vegetables and savory shrimp (or chicken) topped with tangy sauces on a bed of warm rice...sounds delicious doesn't it? Well, I think so. I don't know why I have suddenly started making it again, but stir fry was a weekly meal in my home when I was in high school. My mom and I ate together every  night and since I got home a lot earlier than her, I was in charge of most meals. I think that is when my passion for cooking really started to come alive though. I would get home from school, walk our dogs, begin my daily homework and then I would begin chopping, boiling, sauteing or baking away in the kitchen. I found such joy from chopping all the vegetables and arranging them in the wok; a splash of radiant colors against that black canvas. The sweet fragrance of the jasmine rice simmering on the stove filled our house with an exotic but warming aroma and when mixed with the tantalizing teriyaki sauce, my mom and I were able to enjoy a healthy, flavorful and delicious meal. The best part was enjoying it together though. For as I have said many times before, sharing a meal with the ones you love is the most satisfying part of cooking. 

You may be wondering what all this reminiscing has to do about my current cooking adventures in the kitchen. The answer, is that I had a sudden craving for stir fry the past week and after adding some variety and color to my shopping cart, I was able to concoct several stir fry variations. And were they ever delicious! 

Here is my first venture: 

Chicken Stir Fry 

• short grain brown rice
• red and yellow bell peppers
• peas
• carrots
• scallions
• freshly cooked chicken ( I was lucky enough to still have dark and white meat left over for a rotisserie chicken)

 After chopping the carrots and scallions, and slicing the peppers, I added the frozen peas to the pan. I sauteed them in some olive oil on a low heat.

Here is the chicken I pulled from the breast and thigh. I usually am not a fan of dark meat, but it was a nice addition to the stir fry. 

 I added the chicken to the vegetables just before the vegetables were ready to be taken off the heat. I only wanted to warm the chicken and let it soak up some flavor from the vegetables.










And below is the whole meal, ready to enjoy! I sprinkled some dried basil leaves on top to give it a unique flavor. Obviously this was not a typical Asian stir fry what with my use of olive oil and basil leaves. But I still thought it was delicious. On my next post though, I will let you in on the best gluten free teriyaki sauce I have ever experienced. And this time, I did make Asian stir fry.