Stir frying or Sautéing is often considered the chef's microwave. Sauté means to jump, which is what you'll be doing (sort of). Quick, fast and tasty dishes are created using this high heat method of cooking and I would say it's my go to cooking method after a long day of work and no leftover prepped food in the fridge.
The MOST important part of stir frying is having all you ingredients ready to go. Dice all proteins and slice all vegetables even before putting the heat to your pan or wok. Any sauces should be pre-mixed as well. Once all prep work is done, you are ready to begin cooking.
Mushroom Chicken
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb chicken breasts, cubed into bite sized pieces
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp Canola Oil
1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
8 oz mushrooms, sliced. (Crimini or white button both work)
1/2 onion, sliced thinly
1 Zucchini, cut into half moons
1/4 c Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Sherry Vinegar or Balsamic Vinegar
4 Garlic coves, minced
2 Tbsp Fresh Ginger, minced
METHOD:
1. Toss chicken with corn starch
2. Heat the pan over medium and add Canola oil. Cook all the chicken.
3. Set the chicken aside and turn the pan/wok up on high.
4. Cook the mushrooms, zucchini and onion until browned.
5. Add garlic and ginger and continue to cook.
6. Once all the veggies have softened a bit, add back in the chicken and mix well.
7. Add in the soy sauce and vinegar. Cook until it reduces a bit to a thicker sauce like consistency.
8. Season to taste with salt and pepper if needed
NOTE: If you watched the snapchat video I added above, you see that I forget to prep the onions. Which took maybe a minute while I was cooking the chicken. Well that minute where I left the chicken unattended allowed some of it to get crispier (because of the cornstarch and subsequently left the pan too burnt to continue cooking with. So I had to remove all the veggies and get a new pan. Take home lesson? DON'T START COOKING UNTIL ALL PREP IS DONE!