Chinese broccoli and Chicken with Garlic Sauce

The AC is a bit of a stir-fry genius, which you wouldn't know looking at this blog. Nary a post about stir fry. It's a staple in our house, so maybe we're just never inspired by it enough to take pictures. That changes today.

The farmer's market is our favorite way to start a lazy Saturday. We thought about joining a CSA until someone referred to it as a "lifestyle change" and we realized we'd probably end up tossing a ton of fresh veggies and feeling really guilty about it. So, we choose instead to buy what we want in the quantity we can use, supporting a variety of local farmers in the process. It's working out pretty well that way.

This time our bounty included Chinese broccoli. We're both huge fans of this leafy version of the Bush-reviled vegetable, especially when it's cooked in a nice, light garlic sauce. Normally the AC will stir-fry with some kind of black bean sauce, which has it's place, but can get real salty real fast. I suggested we try garlic sauce, the AC started to plan it's execution and this is what we got.  

Mix:
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce (if you only have one kind, that's okay, just make sure you add 2 tbsp soy sauce)
1/2 tsp chile sauce (1 tsp if you like it spicier)
1/4 tsp sesame oil
3-4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 tbsp water mixed with 1 1/2 tsp corn starch (add at the end)
2 tsp cooking Chinese wine or sherry

Chinese broccoli, sliced.

Saute garlic in a little peanut oil, let it cool and mix into the the above ingredients in a bowl. 

2/3 lb chicken thigh, sliced. Fry in a wok with peanut oil to coat. Cook 3/4 of the way, nearly done. Put chicken aside. Put brocolli in the wok with 1/2 c of water, and sprinkle with a tsp of sugar (this will make it really green). Cook until the stems are al dente and pour out any remaining water. Add the mostly-cooked chicken, thicken the sauce with the water/starch mix and then pour the sauce into the wok, cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute, until the chicken is cook through.

What we ended up with was a  stir-fry with little delightfully crunchy, sweet, almost caramelized garlic pieces mixed with soft, moist chicken and leafy broccoli.

We were definitely inspired by the outcome, so you now see it here. Try it, let us know what you think.