Chicken Stir Fry and Fried Rice

Chicken Stir Fry and Fried Rice

This recipe is a soy free way to enjoy “Chinese food take out” as well as a perfect way to use leftover rice.  I love to have this type of meal on a rainy Friday night.  And my favorite part is that I know all of the ingredients so I can be sure I won’t get sick after eating it.

For the Stir Fry:

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons avocado oil, divided

1 breast chicken, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (optional in place of, or in addition to mushrooms)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon minced ginger

1 portobello mushroom cut into thin slices about the size of the matchsticks

4 carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks

1 cup string beans, cut into 1/8″ slices on the diagonal

4 scallions cut on the diagonal into thin slices

Sauce:
1 1/2 tablespoons coconut aminos, plus more to taste

2 teaspoons umeboshi vinegar, plus more to taste

1 tablespoon mirin, plus more to taste

1/4 cup water

1 tsp arrowroot powder mixed with 1 tsp cold water until dissolved

Directions:
In a wok or deep sauté pan heat 1 tablespoon of oil on medium heat. Add chicken, a pinch of salt and pepper, and cook until no longer pink and heated through. Remove from pan and set aside.

Heat another tablespoon of oil in the same pan. Add in a pinch of garlic and a pinch of ginger. Cook until fragrant. Add mushrooms. When cooked through set aside.

Add another tablespoon of oil and cook another pinch of garlic as well as ginger. Cook until fragrant and add about half the carrots and string beans. Keep tossing over medium high heat until cooked through and set aside. Repeat the process with the ginger, garlic, and the rest of the carrots and string beans and set aside.

Pour all the ingredients back into the pan to heat all thoroughly.

Mix together the sauce ingredients, excluding the arrowroot/ water combination. Add the sauce mixture to the pan and toss the stir fry in the sauce over medium heat.
After stirring together the arrowroot and water, turn off the heat under the pan and add the arrowroot mixture to the pan. You will see the sauce immediately thicken up as you stir it in. Taste it. I had to add a 2 more dashes each of coconut aminos and umeboshi, and about 1 more dash of Mirin. Serve immediately with the scallions sprinkled on top for garnish.

For the Fried Rice:

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon avocado oil (refined coconut oil or canola will work fine too)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 small white onion, small dice (1/4 inch cubes)

2 carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks

1 cup cooked long grain brown rice

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

Sauce:
1 1/2 tablespoons coconut aminos, plus more to taste

2 teaspoons umeboshi vinegar, plus more to taste

1 tablespoon mirin

1/4 cup water

Directions:
In a deep sauté pan or wok warm up the oil on medium high heat.  Once it’s starting ripple, toss in the garlic, onion, and carrots and cook until tender. It takes only a few minutes.   Add the cooked rice to the vegetables and continue to toss until all is cooked through.  Add the peas and toss again.  Stir together the sauce ingredients and pour over the rice and vegetable mixture. Again heat through and taste. I added 1 more dash of coconut aminos and 2 more dashes of umeboshi vinegar at this point. ( they give it a nice salty taste.. If you want more sweetness, you can add more mirin, or even maple syrup).

Enjoy!