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. :)