Description

Feel free to swap the peanuts for cashews, or omit the nuts altogether if you prefer. I only use a pinch of red pepper flakes, but you can add more if you want to pack more heat into it.

Ingredients

Units Scale

1 pound diced chicken breast (about 1” pieces) rinsed and patted dry
1 medium onion, cut in half and sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried ginger
4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided (2 + 2)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts
2 cups Jasmine, white, or brown rice

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

In a saucepan, cook the rice according to package instructions.
While that’s cooking, in a small bowl, mix soy sauce, red wine vinegar and sugar. Set aside.
In another bowl, toss diced chicken with cornstarch to coat.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large saute pan over medium/high heat, swirling the pan to coat it, until it starts to shimmer. Add the onions, and saute until translucent and the edges start to turn brown.
Add the garlic and saute until fragrant. Add the dried ginger and red pepper flakes.
Remove the onion garlic mixture to a small, heatproof bowl and set aside.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan, swirling to coat. Add more oil if necessary; you don’t want the chicken to swim in oil, but you do want to make sure you have enough for the chicken not to stick to the pan. Carefully add the coated chicken pieces in a single layer across the bottom surface of the pan. Allow to cook for a few minutes, until the chicken is cooked around the edges. The cornstarch should create a crust on each piece of chicken.
Remove rice from heat once cooked. Drain and set aside.
Using a spatula, carefully flip a few pieces of chicken at a time to allow the other side to brown.
Once the chicken is cooked all the way through, lower the heat to medium. Add the onion/garlic mixture. Stir the soy sauce/vinegar/sugar mixture and add it to the chicken and onions. Add the peanuts and stir everything to incorporate it.
Cook for 2-3 minutes while stirring to get everything coated in sauce, and serve hot over rice.

Notes

Cook the onion first to give it a head start, as it takes longer to saute than garlic. We add garlic in at the end of the onion/garlic meet-up because it cooks much faster than the onion.

I would recommend a 12” saute pan for this, or something with high sides. I use a large, oval saute pan for dishes like this, which I think is intended for fish, based on the shape. But it makes for a great large, saute pan.

One of my favorite basic tools is a wooden spoon with a straight edge. You can easily scrape anything that tries to stick to your pan, and use the straight edge to chop a piece of chicken while it’s cooking if it seems bigger than the rest of the pieces.

Recommended tools & equipment: 12” sauté pan or large, oval sauté pan, slotted spoon, wooden spoon with straight edge, glass or stainless bowl, silicone spatula

Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Category: main dish, chicken
Method: stir fry
Cuisine: Asian