1.27.2005

Ginger Teriyaki Stir-Fry

See the wee sprinkles on the bed of Jasmine rice? That my friend, is furikake (pronounced: foo-ri-kah-keh). It is used in Japan as a seasoning for rice (often for leftover rice) and it comes in many varieties. The variety I have comprises mostly tiny bits of seaweed and dried salmon, but you can find many flavors. By itself the taste of this furikake bears a faint resemblence to that of fish food (at least, the kinds of fish food I've been eating, I'm not sure what kind you eat). But it does liven up plain rice quite a bit and a jar will last you a good while. Many varieties can be purchased here.

The ginger teriyaki sauce I've been making for several years now. The base is a fairly standard teriyaki, but I like to add a good amount of fresh ginger and garlic, and I occasionally use honey instead of sugar. My wok skills are definitely improving, but the sponge-like, unidentifiable mushrooms I purchased at the Vietnamese market absorbed the liberal amount of oil I placed in the wok and so despite my rapid stirring some food stuck to the bottom and burnt. I salvaged 95% of the stir-fry, but the wok I had to scrub with soap, thus getting rid of what little of the nice seasoned patina was left after the lime juice of the larb gai ate most of it away. Aaaarrrgh. Damn you sponge-like, unidentifiable Vietnamese mushrooms!!

Ginger Teriyaki Chicken Stir-Fry

Serves 4

4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
3 Tbsp. light soy sauce
3 Tbsp. sake
3 Tbsp. mirin*
1 Tbsp. confectioner's sugar (or honey)

1 lb. chicken breast (or pork loin fillet, or sirloin) sliced into thin strips across the grain
1 1/2 cups nappa cabbage, chopped
1 cup snowpeas
1 1/2 cups mushrooms, chopped (Shitake are ideal. Not too spongey)
1 leek, chopped

* if you can't find mirin, a sweet rice vinegar used for all sorts of Japanese dishes, you can substitute 2 Tbsps. of rice vinegar and add a little more sugar or honey. It will be good, but not quite the same.

Instructions:

1) Combine the first 6 ingredients in a bowl and whisk until sugar is well blended. Add to a large ziploc bag along with the strips of meat, and marinate in the frigo for at least an hour.
2) I can be very particular, so you don't necessarily have to do step 2. Taking out the chicken, I first pour the marinade back into the original bowl, and set the meat on a plate. Then, with a pair of tongs I baptize each little chicken piece in the marinade to wash from it the sins of its youth. I'm kidding, these are heathen chicken pieces: the little quick dunk is to get the pieces of ginger and garlic off so that they don't cook too quickly and burn before the chicken is done.
3) After all the vegetables have been chopped I am ready to stir-fry. The wok goes on high heat, 2 Tbsp of veggie oil and 1 Tbsp sesame oil go in, followed by the chicken. Stir! Stir quickly and with great determination lest your little heathen chicken strips burn. Stir-frying the chicken in two batches is a good idea. Set them aside when they are done.
4) Cook the vegetables in batches. I do the leeks and the nappa at the same time, then set aside with the chicken, then stir-fry the mushrooms and the snowpeas at the same time. DO NOT overcook. You want the vegetables to still have some of their raw crunchiness, even after step 5.
5) Once those are done, combine everything together in the wok and add the marinade. Stir long enough to coat everything in the marinade and to cook the garlic and ginger. Serve with steamed rice.

6 comments:

Guy said...

Wok Skills.

I've got a really nice old, smallish steel wok. Somethings I can get going well, such as meat. But my vegies tend to ... just not come out fresh, crispy or crunchy happy. It's smoking hot too.
I've got a 60 year old gas range and 'adjusted' my burners to near flame throwers (looks really cool). I still ain't sure I got enough BTUs to do it right.
Or do I?

Hey, I ain't forgot about getting you that recipe for the 'mater sauce with baby back ribs. Just been busy.
I like the new look. Any chance of getting off of blogger?

Go check out Meathenge for the Meat Platter Contest, you need to enter. It'll be fun. An stuff.

Biggles

Kitchen Monkey said...

1) Yes, Blogger has its limitations, but while I have been cooking for years, I am fairly new to the blogging business, so some time may have to pass before I "get of Blogger."

2) Meat Platter Contest! How could I say no? I'll have to bust out some of the meat dishes I picked up from my days at Kitcho (see post from last week).

3) I have serious range envy. I am lucky enough that my electric range gets hotter and stays hotter than any electric range I've ever had, thus enabling a good wokking, but man would I love a gas range.

Guy said...

1) Yeah, I'm hip. Getting a domain, getting it hosted and having, say, Movable Type installed by Six Apart is easy. But configuring the html to make it your own can be tough. I got yer back man.

2) ALRIGHT !!!

3) Well, don't get too envious. This is my first gas range and have only had it for 3 years. I have to say though it sure is nice to have instant heat, then when you turn it off, it's off.
I liked my electric range, it was GREAT for warming tortillas directly on the coils. Yum.

Biggles / http://www.meathenge.com/

Anonymous said...

I wish I could understand how doing a search for How to cook chicken got me to Ginger Teriyaki Stir-Fry. Not that I mind, you understand Kitchen Monkey. It's just that I don't think it's exactly what I was looking for :0)

Anonymous said...

I wish I could understand how doing a search for how to cook rice got me to Ginger Teriyaki Stir-Fry. Not that I mind, you understand Kitchen Monkey. It's just that I don't think it's exactly what I was looking for :0)

Anonymous said...

Well, I've enjoyed my visit to Ginger Teriyaki Stir-Fry, but I'm not sure it's what I was looking for. I was actually searching for articles on how to cook lobster - these search engines are weird! Just thought I'd say hello while I'm here :0)