Stir-fry With Family Friendly Flavors

We love stir-fry!  Ok, so it is a new found love of stir-fry. One problem….the people in my family just are not vegetable lovers.  I was always hesitant to do a stir-fry because it would just end up being meat and some sauce.  If it were up to me I would put every vegetable I could find in it and leave the meat out.  But, being in a family is about compromise and I compromised by not making it at all.  I love all the colors and the flavors and smells of the vegetables.  I just didn’t want to be disappointed when we would sit down at the table only to watch everyone pick out the vegetables that I had painstakingly chopped.

                                                                                                   

   Just a few months ago, after watching Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, I had an inspiration!  He had hundreds of people making a wonderful, healthy stir-fry and everyone liked it.  Gosh darn it!  I was going to make a stir-fry whether my family liked it or not! 

  It wasn’t the fanciest stir-fry, or the most homemade but it was delicious! I picked ingredients that were the most kid and husband friendly and chopped away!  I knew I would be the only one eating the mushrooms and the peppers, and yes, I did end up watching some of my family pick out parts of it (not the children).    The husband said he didn’t like the individual vegetables, but when they were all cooked together they tasted great!  I took a gamble and I won.  We won!  We now have stir-fry in the dinner rotation.  This isn’t an official stir-fry recipe, but my family loves it and that’s all that matters! 

Stir Fry (my way)

*The trick to a great stir-fry is to have all of the ingredients ready and to be honest the best part of this non-recipe is the prep.  I just tune out everything and chop away.

2 pounds skinless-boneless chicken breasts

4 cloves garlic, minced

1-inch piece ginger, peeled and minced

4tbs light olive oil

4 carrots, peeled and julienned

1 yellow bell pepper, julienned

1 orange pepper, julienned

½ head Napa cabbage, thinly sliced

1 small package button mushrooms, sliced

1 small package shitake mushrooms, stems removed, sliced

2 containers of baby corn, chopped

2 packages General Taos’s stir-fry sauce

½ cup soy sauce

½ cup Frank’s Red Hot Sweet Chili sauce

½ cup Tiger Sauce (my mom gave me this, not quite sure where she got it)
3/4 lb whole wheat noodles, cooked according to package directions

1. Slice the chicken as thin as you can.  I use frozen chicken breasts (gasp!) and I found that if I don’t thaw them all the way, they are easier to slice.  Heat a large pan (the largest you can find) on high and heat the oil.  Add the chicken and sauté.  While the chicken is cooking splash it with a little soy sauce so the flavor can start developing.
2. When the chicken is about half-way done add the garlic and ginger.  I add it now instead of before because I have a habit of burning garlic. 
3. Add the carrots, peppers, and sauté about five minutes.
4. Add the mushrooms, cabbage and baby corn and cook a little bit more.
5. Add the sauce ingredients and simmer for a few more minutes until you think it is done.   I like the carrots to be soft on the outside and have a little bit of bite in the middle.
6. Add the noodles and stir to combine.