The Food We Eat

Chicken Curry (i)

 

Cold day. The kind of day when you just want something like chicken soup with all the soul-warming goodness, but with that little extra something called a kick of spice. A-ha! Chicken curry it is. A little extra spice and  nothing clears out a stuffy nose better.

Now there is a reason why the post is so ambiguously named Chicken curry (i). That is a ridiculous description you say. But I'm not sure what else to call it. There are so many versions of chicken curry, I have to differentiate them somehow. There are curries that use different cuts of chicken, different spices, different cooking methods, yikes! Look for Curry (ii), (iii), etc in forthcoming months. Maybe you all can vote someday on your favorite one.

The one I describe below is one of my favorite recipes. I'm not quite sure how I narrowed it down to this exact recipe, but it is a keeper. It has just the right combination of heat and warm spice, and is quite a no-fuss recipe. You could simmer it for a few hours on the stove-top, or if you've been listening to me, by now you're the proud owner of a state-of-the-art Kuhn Rikon pressure cooker. I'm telling you, you've all got to get yourself one of these things. They are fantastic. If you're thinking of eating more whole foods - dried beans, whole grains, etc you will be so happy when your lay your hands on a pressure cooker. This chicken curry took me all of 20 minutes in a pressure cooker - how awesome is that? The meat is so tender, it almost falls off the bone. Sold?

Oh! I know what you're thinking. Yes, there are recipes out there that use chicken breasts, and yes the curry does cook really fast, and sure, I have made curry using breast meat myself. But dear friends, this is a whole another beast. What we have here is a classic homestyle chicken curry that uses a whole chicken cut-up into 8 serving pieces. I have become very partial to using whole chickens. I've even mastered the art of swift and skilful chicken hackery butchery. It takes a little bit more time that buying pre-cut chicken parts at the grocery store, but I have found that most local farms that sell organic free-range (true free-range) chickens ony sell whole chickens. That is certainly true of my meat purveyor. And here is what I have found. True free range chickens really hold up well to long cooking. Probably has to do with all that nice lean muscle on these guys that happily foraged and roamed. That said, if you want to make do with pre-cut parts, you could. Just take the skin and excess fat off. Whatever you do, please do not use all breast meat. A velvety chicken curry does breast meat not make. And the bones really do add a certain depth of flavor that just makes this curry divine.

       

Chicken Curry (i)

Serves 4 - 6

1 whole chicken, skinned, cut into 8 parts

2 onions

6 cloves garlic

1 inch piece ginger

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 cinnamon sticks

2 black cardamom pods

6 cloves

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp red chili powder

3 small tomatoes, chopped

1 tbsp kosher salt

1 tsp sugar

10 sprigs cilantro, stems and leaves, chopped

2 tbsp coconut powder (optional)

Method:

1. In  mini food processor, pulse together onions, garlic, and ginger into a coarse paste. Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and add the whole spices - cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. Saute a minute or so. Add onion paste. Saute on med-low heat, stirring frequently, till the onions are a light brown. Be patient - this step is key to the curry and will take about 15 minutes. If the onions don't cook through they impart an unpleasant bitter taste to the gravy.

2. Add the turmeric, cumin, chili, and coriander powders. Saute a few minutes till fragrant. Add tomatoes, salt and sugar. Cook another 10 minutes till tomatoes are well incorporated into the onion mixture. Add chopped cilantro (stems and leaves) and coconut powder, if using.

3. Add chicken pieces. Stir well to coat with spice mixture completely. Saute a few minutes on med heat till chicken changes color. Add just enough water to cover the chicken pieces. I would err on the side of caution because you don't want the gravy to get too watery.

4. If using a pressure cooker, cook on high (15 psi) for 15 - 20 minutes. If using a pan, cook covered, approximately 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 20 minutes or so. If the gravy is too thick, thin out with water or chicken broth to desired thickness. If gravy is too thin, cook on med high uncovered till excess water evaporates.

5. Serve over basmati rice or with flatbread of your choice. I  particularly like tandoori roti or naan. Leftovers are excellent. In fact, I almost like the curry better the next day.

Phillipine-Style Chicken Adobo

 

Feel like something tangy for a cold winter day's supper? Feeling guilty about all the take-out chinese? The local teriyaki place wonders if you have a kitchen? Try this recipe. It can be easily adapted to feed a crowd, requires very little hands-on care, and tastes mighty delicious. Will satisfy even the pickiest eater, non-vegetarian of course. The marinade doubles as a finishing sauce too, so you are basically done once you have the chicken marinating. C'mon, tending to the oven and making rice does not count, does it?

The original recipe calls for chicken legs, but I am not a huge fan of dark meat, so I used bone-in chicken breasts instead. Thighs would be mighty fine too. And, as goes the truth with any marinade, feel free to add in or substitute flavors that you prefer. The little ones are not quite there on the spice factor, so I tamed the chili content. Left up to me, I'd add a few chopped serranos in there too.

I think white short grain sticky rice is the perfect accompaniment to this chicken. I like Calrose. Add in some vegetables too. We had ours with a very simple and healthy version of Sichuan Green beans (recipe here) that have become a staple in our home. Stir-fried Gai-lan (Chinese broccoli) or Broccoli would be great too.

Hmmmm...chicken wings in adobo sauce? Are you thinking what I am thinking? :-)

Phillipine Style Chicken Adobo

Adapted from Gourmet

Serves 4 - 6

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp minced ginger

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp red chili flakes

4 bone-in, skin-on, chicken breasts, halved

Method:

1. Stir together vinegar, soy sauce, bay leaves, ginger, garlic, pepper, and red chili flakes in a large wide glass bowl (or use a 1 gallon ziploc bag).

2. Add chicken and coat thoroughly. Refrigerate chicken with marinade for 2 - 3 hours.

3. Let chicken stand at room temperature for 30 - 45 minutes.

4. Position rack in center of the oven. Preheat oven to 425F. Arrange chicken skin-side up in a baking pan and pour marinade all over it. Bake until cooked through, 25 - 30 minutes. Pour pan juices into a small saucepan.

5. Set oven to broil. Transfer chicken to a broiler pan and broil approx. 4 inches from heat, 2 - 3 minutes, until skin is crisp and crackling.

6. While chicken is broiling, skim any fat from the pan juices. Bring to a boil. Discard bay leaves. Serve sauce as an accompaniment to the chicken and rice.

Turkey Ricotta Meatballs

 

I apologize for being gone from the blog for 2 weeks. Just way too much happening in the kitchen and not enough time to post! I love the munchkins, but they have been home too much and I just can't seem to get much done. Snow, snow go away, come again maybe next year! Gee! Rain has never been more welcome in Seattle!

And what do I have for you today? Meatballs! No really! There are so many recipes out there for the perfect meatball, and at this point I have tried so many, I can't seem to categorize them. There are some I have really liked, some I thought were so-so, but haven't really come across any that were a goner. So, is this the perfect meatball recipe? Not by a far stretch. To begin with, IMHO, the perfect meatball has a mixture of meats - pork, lamb, and beef (I don't do veal). This one, is turkey! But wait! I promise it is very very good. Nope, does not taste like dried mashed cardboard. The key is to use lean (not extra lean) turkey, and the ricotta is very nice. These make a very tasty, and quite mild meatball. The kids absolutely love them, and I haven't seen any adults complain either :-)

So if you want a change from red meat, are trying to eat more poultry, or simply have some ground turkey to use up, give these a try.

As goes cooking methods, you can saute them in olive oil if you want, but I just usually bake them in the oven. Less messy and a prefect way to make a big batch and freeze for later use. A loves pasta and meatballs as a hot lunch to school, and it is oh-so easy when you have frozen meatballs and marinara sauce on hand. Also works great for nights when making dinner seems like an Olympic marathon. You get the drift.

Serve these with a nice homemade marinara sauce, a simple tomato sauce, or a good quality jarred one if you prefer. Me, I like spaghetti, but you could use whichever pasta you choose. I guess depends on how white your shirt is and how much slurping you're in the mood for :-) A glass of wine, a nice tossed salad, and perfect!

 

 

 

 

Turkey Ricotta Meatballs

Adapted from Nate Appleman and Simmer Till Done

Serves 4 - 6 (24 meatballs)

4 slices good-quality white bread, crusts removed and cubed

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped spinach, fresh or frozen, cooked and pressed to remove excess water

1 tbsp chopped fresh basil

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1 tsp chopped fresh oregano

1/2 tsp crushed fennel seeds

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Pulse bread in food processor a few times till you get fine breadcrumbs.

2. Add all the ingredients in a large glass bowl and toss lightly with your hands till well incorporated. Do not compact the mixture too much, or the meatballs will be tough and leathery.

3. Scoop small portions of the mixture and shape into 1 1/2 inch diameter balls.

4. Place meatballs on a lightly greased foil-lined jelly roll pan. Cook 25 to 30 minutes till well browned and cooked through.

5. Simmer in sauce for 10 - 15 minutes if you are serving immediately. Or cool down, wrap in foil or freezer-safe storage bag, and freeze for later use. To reheat, simply simmer frozen meatballs in sauce.

Chicken Makhani/ Chicken Tikka Masala

OK, so let me start by saying that if you happen to go to India and order 'Chicken Tikka Masala' (CTM) and the waitstaff says 'huh? come again?' don't start bawling. No, it is not a prank. No, you don't have to book your tickets back. It is just that there is no such thing as CTM in India. What you do have is a dish called Murgh (Chicken) Makhani, or Butter Chicken. Are they exactly the same? Well, that depends. CTM in most decent curry houses in the UK tastes very much like the Chicken Makhani you get in India. What we typically get in the US is an inferior rendition of the CTM they make in the UK. Sorry folks! Didn't mean to break your heart. If you want to get really good CTM, get on a plane to the UK or India, or better yet, just make it yourself at home. Want to know more about the history of CTM? Check it out here.

I have played around with many different recipes for CTM over the years. Some I have liked, some I have just not liked, and some I have been so-so about. But dear friends, I think I hit the jackpot with this one. Myself and J think this is the best recipe yet for CTM. If you have a better one, please do share. I'd love to try it out. Maybe there is room in the CTM world for more than one 'best' recipe...

Now, for all the talk of authenticity, I am guessing that some of you probably like the americanized version of CTM. I guess that's ok (not really, though :-)). In any case, if you fall under that category (please don't confirm my fears), my suggestion is to add more cream and leave out the fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi). There you go! Now that should taste like the crap stuff you are used to in most Indian restaurants in the US of A. But I implore you. Just give this version a try and tell me -- do you really really miss all that extra cream in there?

One more thing. How do you get that lovely red color? Nope, it is not food coloring. Run to your local Indian grocery store and buy some Kashmiri chili powder or Deggi Mirch. If you don't have access to these, go ahead use regular chili powder. Your curry will look a bit orange-yellow instead of a brilliant red, but no sweat.

Chicken Makhani/ Chicken Tikka Masala

Adapted from Sanjeev Kapoor

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (preferably organic)

2 tbsp butter (for basting)

For Marinade:

1/2 cup full-fat yogurt

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste*

1/4 tsp garam masala

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp kashmiri (or deggi) chili powder

1 tbsp mustard oil (you can use any vegetable oil instead)

For Gravy:

2 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

1 tsp chopped green chilis

1 1/2 tsp kashmiri (or deggi) chili powder

1 tbsp salt

1 large black cardamom pod (bada elaichi)

2 cinnamon sticks

1 cup tomato sauce

1/2 tsp garam masala powder

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi)

1/2 cup half and half (you can use cream too)

Chopped cilantro (for garnish)

* I use fresh ginger and garlic (1:1 proportion). Make a fine paste and freeze flat in a ziploc bag. Use as needed. If you make this fresh, make sure you make a nice paste, you don't want chunks here.

Method:

1. Cut the chicken into 1-inch chunks. Mix all the marinade ingredients together. Apply to chicken pieces. Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours.

2. Grill the chicken (I did mine indoors in my trusted ridged grill pan) for 2  minutes on one side till you see nice grill marks. Turn onto other side and grill 2 minutes longer. You might need to do this in two batches. Baste the chicken with the butter and set aside. You don't need to worry if the chicken is cooked all the way through, as it will simmer in the gravy later.

3. Making the gravy/masala: Heat the butter and oil in a saucepan. Add the elaichi (cardamom) and cinnamon sticks. Then add the ginger-garlic paste and chopped green chilis. Cook 2 minutes. Add the garam masala, chili powder, and salt. Cook another minute. Then add the tomato paste and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 10 - 15 minutes. The liquid should reduce and you should be left with a thick gravy. If yours is still watery, increase the heat and let some liquid evaporate.

4. Add the sugar and the kasoori methi (fenugreek). Cook 2 - 3 minutes more. Add the cooked chicken pieces. Simmer on low heat for 5 - 10 minutes. Add the half and half or cream (be careful. do not boil after adding the cream, or it will curdle).

5. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with naan or paratha.

Curried Cashew Chicken

My Cooking Light magazine showed up in the mail and they had a feature on Stir Fry. Have I told you how much I love stir frys? What a fantastic cooking technique! It is fast, easy, delicious, nutritious, and most importantly it lends itself to a great balance of textures and flavors. Did I already say fast? I mean c'mon, whats not to like? 

Fall is here in Seattle. You can tell, because the temperature drastically falls when evening sets in. The curried chicken recipe just jumped out at me. The warmth of the curry heat.....fabulous! Of course, I have this disease where I can never just follow a recipe without making my tweaks. So I did that here too, and IMHO I like the changes I made. For one thing, I like a bit more liquid in my curried chicken. I love the way the brothy stuff soaks up into the rice.

I served the curried chicken over brown rice, but white rice would be great too. Unfortunately, I omitted the dried red chilis, which is too bad because I think they would have been fantastic. I need to work on the spice tolerance for the kiddos and then they would be absolutely perfect little kids :-) If you can tolerate some spice, please add in a few dried red chilis. Add them to the oil at the point I add the red chili flakes. For extra oomph you can add the whole chilis and the chili flakes. Now that's my kind of stir fry.

Another added bonus of this dish is that it makes the kitchen smell divine. J walked in the door and had a huge grin on his face. A said his favorite part of the dish was the chicken and the cashews. He prefers his bell pepper raw. R, the carbo lover, liked the rice the best. No surprises there. Oh! the carrots too. I had to pick the onions out of his plate which was quite a pain given how many there were, but not too shabby. At least I am not cooking separate meals for them anymore. Baby steps.....

Did I mention the cilantro is fresh? Here is R harvesting cilantro from the farm. He was really getting into it.

Curried Cashew Chicken

Adapted from Cooking Light magazine, Sep 2008

For Sauce

2/3 cup chicken broth (canned is fine)

1/4 cup water

3 tbsp fish sauce

2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp rice vinegar

Remaining Ingredients

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts (approx 1 lb)

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp canola or peanut oil

1 1/2 cups sliced onion

3 scallions, green parts only, cut into 1 inch pieces

2 carrots, sliced on the bias

1 green bell pepper, sliced into 1/4 inch strips

1 tbsp finely minced fresh ginger

1 tbsp minced garlic

2 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp dried red chili flakes

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 cup roasted salted cashews

1/2 tsp salt (more/less to taste)

Method:

1. Cut chicken across the grain into 1/4 inch slices; flatten and slice again into 1/4 inch strips. Cut strips in half, so each is approx. 2 inches long.

2. Sprinkle chicken pieces with cornstarch and soy sauce. Mix well and set aside.

3. To prepare sauce, combine the first five ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.

4. Heat a large wok over high heat. Add 1 tbsp oil, swirling to coat the wok. Add half the chicken, stir fry for 2 minutes till chicken develops a nice golden crust. Spoon cooked chicken into a bowl. Repeat the procedure using one more tbsp oil and the other half of the chicken.

5. Add remaining 1 tbsp oil to the wok, swirling to coat. Add the red chili flakes. Then add the onions, scallions, ginger, and garlic; stir fry 1 minute or until lightly browned. Add the carrots and bell pepper. Stir fry 3 minutes, till vegetables cook through just a bit. Add curry powder. Stir fry 30 seconds till fragrant. Add sauce and chicken to the wok. Stir fry another miniute or so till the sauce coats everything evenly and slightly thickens. Add in the cashews and cilantro. Serve immediately over rice.

Curried Chicken Salad with Raisins and Almonds

This is so ridiculously simple -- do I actually need a recipe for this? If this is what you're thinking, I do not blame you one bit. However, let me ask you this? How often have you eaten a chicken salad that you have really liked? In my experience, they either tend to be too mayo-ey, or too sweet, or way too crunchy, or not crunchy at all. It all comes down to one simple thing -- Balance! Simple word, but not so simple to acheive. Be it in food, our life, work, social committments, we are always striving to achieve that perfect balance. Oh sorry -- forgot this is a food blog. Lets just keep the subject simple --- Chicken Salad.

Now why did I think of making this? Well, it was a hot hot weekend, and we'd eaten a lot already - July 4th BBQ, friends over on July 5th, and we were now having some neighborhood friends over for brunch. I thought I'd keep it relatively light, simple, and summery. My first thought were something to do with eggs, but just didn't feel like that brunchy type stuff. Given that our friends were coming over around 12:30, I thought I'd do something lunch-y instead. So here goes......

Oh another thing! With all due respect to Luisa on Wednesday Chef, I actually think raisins work quite well with chicken salad. And that is funny coming from me, as it is only in the last few years or so that I have developed a liking for fruits in my food. I used to have a big issue with sweet in my savory food. That included fruit-based salsas with grilled seafood or chicken, apricots and prunes in stews, pineapple on pizza (wait! I still hate that stuff). Over the years, I have grown to tolerate, and sometimes even appreciate the balance of sweet-salty one achieves by artfully using fruit to complement flavors. But this is an art - you use the right kind of sweet and Genius! Use the wrong kind or amount, and you have a mess! Something akin to too much grape jelly in the crockpot meatball sauce (what is up with that?).

Anyway, back to brunch/lunch. We had curried chicken salad sandwiches alongside a tossed green salad with fresh strawberries. Oh! We started with a Chilled Melon Soup. Civilized, huh?

Curried Chicken Salad with Rasins and Almonds

Adapted from Cooks Illustrated, Best Recipe

Serves 6 as a main course

CHICKEN

4 large bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts (approx 3 lbs total)

1 tbsp canola oil

Salt

SALAD

3 medium celery ribs, cut into small dice

2 medium scallions, white and green parts, minced

3/4 cup mayonnaise ( I used canola mayonnaise)

2 tbsp juice from 1 lemon

2 tsp curry powder

2 tbsp minced fresh cilantro

6 tbsp golden raisins

3 tbsp roasted slivered almonds

Salt and fresh ground black pepper

For the chicken:

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position. Preheat to 400F. Set the chicken breasts on a foil-lined jelly roll pan. Brush with the oil and sprinkle generously with salt. Roast until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 160 degrees, about 40 minutes. Cool the chicken to room temperature. Remove skin and bones and discard.

Gently pry the chicken breast meat off the bone. Cut each breast onto 3 pieces so you don't end up with very long and unmanageable shreds. Use your hands to pull apart each piece. Shred into small chunks. Don't over-shred into long strings or the salad tastes stringy instead of creamy.

Note: The chicken can be prepared a day ahead. Once the chicken breasts have cooled, remove the skin. Store the chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Best to shred the meat right before making the salad.

For the Salad:

Mix the shredded chicken and all the salad ingredients together in a large bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve. The salad can be refrigerated for a day.

I served the chicken salad on toasted ciabatta rolls. You could use any bread of your choice, or a wrap, or even serve on greens.

'Tis the season to grill.....Chicken with Chinese BBQ sauce

Memorial day has come and gone. It was a fantastic weekend, but I didn't get to do the one thing that was at the top of my list -- inaugurate grilling season. Now for those of you who live in Sunny California, Arizona, etc this is not a big deal. But for those of us who live in the Northwest, and don't have a covered porch, the poor grill sits under a mildew-covered grill cover for a long winter period. Sure, you can take the cover off and grill, but its a pain. You take the cover off, grill, stick it back on, it rains, the cover is all wet, you get slime on you when you try and take it off again, blah, blah. I love dear hubby ever so much, but he's not the grill guy at our house. So thats one more chore for Muah to do. Great!

So, as a result, I grill indoors all winter and spring, and then every year, I commece outdoor grilling season over the Memorial day weekend. But not this time -- we were out having too much fun. So I decided that today would be the day. Had some chicken drummies in the fridge that needed to find a tummy.

Chinese BBQ style Chicken drumsticks

Brine: I highly highly recommend brining chicken (unless its Kosher, in which case its already brined). All you need is some plan-ahead time and a couple minutes to set up the brine. Here is what I did for 12 drumsticks. 1 gallon cold water, 1/2 cup table salt, 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, handful of thyme from the garden, 1 tbsp black peppercorns, 1 tbsp allspice. Mix, add drumsticks, cover well and park in the fridge 3-4 hours.

Chicken prep: Drain the brine. Pat the chicken thoroughly dry.

Grill: Preheat grill 10 - 15 mins. Grill chicken on high (cover closed) approx. 10 mins, so you get some good color. You'll now finish on indirect heat. I only had the 2 side burners on, middle ones were off. Temp. should be 350.  Baste chicken with marinade (I used Chinese BBQ sauce that was lying around in the pantry). Cook approx. 45 mins till drumsticks are cooked all the way through.

Verdict: I wish I had just taken the 10 extra minutes to make my own hoisin-bbQ sauce. There was a good reason the jar of marinade was sitting in the pantry for years....It wasn't a disaster, but was not too good and stuck onto the chicken like coal tar. Oh well! That teaches me to not trust my instincts. All said, wasn't too shabby for a weeknight dinner. The brine really helped though -- the drummies were moist and seasoned all the way down to the bone.

Our meal consisted of the chicken along with brown rice and a simple stir-fry of onion, garlic, celery, carrots, and cabbage. Casey (canine) was mucho happy as she got to feast on the same tonight :-)

Weekday chinese fix - Chicken and Asparagus with Black Bean Sauce

Martin Yan of 'Yan Can Cook' fame would be proud of me. This is a dish I make often in our house, especially at this time of the year, when local asparagus is abundant. Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables and makes it into my market bag every week, sometimes twice a week.

Tonight was A's soccer class. Hubby takes A to soccer class. Its the father-son bonding thing. Nowadays, R wants to tag along too, so Dad takes both boys with him. Which means I have an hour and a half to myself. Cool! I was pondering as to what dinner would be today. Chinese sounded good. 

This is an extremely simple yet very satisfying dish. Here is a list of store-bought helpers you will need.

If you would like to give it a try here goes:

1. I used 2 large boneless skinless organic chicken breasts. Slice thin against the grain. Add to a glass bowl and mix with 1tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, and 1 heaping tbsp corn starch. Set aside.

2. Trim 2 lbs asparagus stalks and break into 2 inch (approx) pieces. As you can see aesthetics deserted me today. I was gazing out at the lovely rhododendron blooms in the backyard while my fingers were busy snapping the asparagus. Oh well! That was worth it.

3. Slice 1/2 an onion, 2 stalks celery and chop 3 cloves garlic (If not for the kids, I'd certainly use some sliced jalapeno peppers too). Heat a wok over high heat with 1 tsp canola oil. Add the onion and celery. Stir fry till brown spots appear. Add garlic, stir and add in chicken. Stir quickly till chicken is no longer pink on the outside. Add the asparagus, stir fry a few minutes.

4. Add in 3 tbsp black bean sauce along with 1/2 cup water. Cover the wok and cook about 3 - 5 minutes more. Asparagus should be crisp-tender and chicken should be cooked through. The cornstarch on the chicken should be sufficient to thicken the sauce. If too thin, add some more cornstarch slurry (cornstarch + cold water); if too thick add some water.

5. Serve over brown rice. Bon Appetit!