Stir Fried Chicken

I have always been apprehensive about stir frying chicken without any dark sauce or tomato sauce. My few attempts in the past always ended up lacking any flavor or having a flavor i didn't like. With my previous blunders in mind, i used a fusion of ingredients to make sure i do not fall short in the flavor category. The way i usually cook, is i rarely taste what i cook till near the end, way past the point of no return, i just smell it as i cook. I know it's a bad practice which could lead to disaster, but so far any disasters have been minimal and still edible. ;)

With this i used garlic (lots), ginger (about a thumb), lemongrass 4 inner cores, 1 red bell pepper, 1 finger chili, chopped onion leeks (1/2 inch), chopped celery (1/2 inch + leaves), coarsely chopped coriander and basil, 1 tbsp sea salt, 2 tablespoons fish sauce, cracked black pepper and 1 tsp of sugar. I marinated the chicken fillets (1/2 kilo) in salt, pepper, Chinese cooking wine, 2 egg whites and a tablespoon or cornstarch and left it for 1/2 hour before cooking.

I made this by sauteing the garlic and ginger till fragrant, then added the bell peppers and lemongrass followed by the chicken. At this point i added about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water. Let this cook till the chicken is no longer pink. Add salt, pepper, sugar and fish sauce. Moving on, i added the celery (leaves and stalks), coriander and basil. The finger chili was added in the end just to add a little bite. Let this simmer for about 15 minutes till the flavors really blend together. If this gets dry just add a little more water, i don't like my stir fries to be dry. The verdict? It tastes like a Thai, Chinese and Filipino dish. The dish called on the memory of my taste buds. The chicken was tender and carried lots of flavor, a total turn around from my previous attempts. One thing i wanted to do was to add mushrooms, but i was disappointed with quality i had so i skipped it. There will definitely be next time for this.

Calling this Stir Fried Chicken because it was "stir fried" is probably too overused. I am terrible in making up names, so i guess the best i can do is Peter's-Pan Stir Fried Chicken. :)

Chicken Lollipops w/ Rosemary & Lemongrass

I guess I'm on a roll using Rosemary in my dishes lately. I really like the aroma it brings when you add it to food! Another thing that I've been using a lot of is Lemongrass, and like Rosemary imparts an aroma and flavor to liven up any dish. Chicken lollipops are readily available here in most major supermarkets, so no problem in acquiring that. The marinade is similar to my previous post except that i used Kecap Manis, added lots of finely minced garlic, salt, paprika, worcestershire sauce, dried rosemary and pounded lemongrass (the white inner core).

I used the leafy part of the lemongrass and tied it around the bone of the chicken lollipops. I then coated this in egg and flour then proceeded to deep fry it. The result are fragrant and crunchy chicken lollipops!