Sweet + Sticky Chicken and Asparagus Stir Fry
My 3 moments of quarantine gratitude today:
Quarantine has lead to a lot of time dedicated to working out, & working out hard. & even freeing up fun time to things like explore the new Peloton dance classes.
W'e’ve been cranking out the evening date-nights and incorporating some fun stuff into nightly hangs that aren’t binge watching tv (I was kinda over that after Tiger King). Puzzling, joint reading, longer & deeper convos. I’ve really quite enjoyed the newly explored activities.
Quarantine has yet to lead to meal after meal of processed garbage, which I can get on board with for like a fun treat, but my nightmares are made of things like eating ramen, boxed mac n’ cheese, & items in the canned category for consistent meals. All I can say is thank God for living near a Whole Foods, & thank God for grocery delivery in my time of need.
& thank God I bought these cute little Chinese to-go boxes like a year a go because they’re coming in hot during quarantine! They make at-home stir frys so much more fun & are my creative alternative to paper plates (because if there’s one thing I’m tired of doing during quarantine, it’s dishes!). The perfect vessel for this Sweet + Sticky Chicken and Asparagus Stir Fry.
I LOVED this recipe. The sauce is super simple and so good dredged over a rice bowl, and the consistency just coats every veggie & piece of chicken in this stir fry. Tonight our Asian date-night was especially great for 2 reasons.
First - we got to enjoy a super yummy new stir fry that uses one of my Spring favorites - Asparagus. We’ve already eaten so much asparagus this season (again - thank god for Whole Foods & fresh food deliveries), & I’m here to report it’s a veggie not just for Easter dinner & Summer bbqs. It was so good cooked with chicken & onions in a bath of Asian flavors. Just too die.
The sauce is kind of a weird pairing as well. Ever thought to make a stir fry sauce with equal parts Balsamic & Soy Sauce? I did not, & I was a bit skeptical to give it a try (like maybe the combo would make it taste less Asian-y), but it is so good. The balsamic adds a little bit of sweetness & brightness to the super salty & savory soy sauce, & it’s so good. The end result - a stir fry sauce that is truly sticky & sweet & delightful. Essentially - it’s a stir fry sauce that we wanted to spoon all over the rice at the bottom of our take-out boxes.
Second reason - new Light Saber Chopsticks! Another Amazon purchase that is well worth the minor splurge. So fun, especially since we’re using quarantine to dive head first into watching all the Star Wars movies in the “chronological order” that my Star Wars loving husband has curated for us. & they were the perfect little extra to create a combined Asian // Star Wars date-night. Weird paring made totally cohesive thanks to light up chop sticks.
Leftover Tip: Take leftover stir fry & rice, & re-purpose it in Fried Rice form. Reheating leftover white rice can be a little tricky, and it seems to always taste best on day 1. We’ve been making skillets of fried rice with our Asian leftovers. Mixing the cooked rice with eggs, the stir fry sauce, and a couple extra sprinkles of soy sauce (if needed) seems to effectively hydrate the rice. A leftover go-to I highly recommend!
I often cook in alignment with the rule of 3 - making 3 separate components to have one cohesive meal. This go around we had white rice, this chicken + asparagus stir fry, and Asian Potatoes. Potatoes that are roasted as if you’re making regular ol’ French fries, but tossed in a combo of spicy chili, scallions, & sweet chili sauce that are like an Asian version of animal fries. Crunchy & salty, and fun to eat (like any French fry is), and sticky enough to warrant being consumed with chopsticks. & for this dinner, they were the fun extra to fill out our takeout box.
All in all a super solid stir fry dinner that didn’t disappoint, and one I’m sure we’ll circle back to. At the very least I’ll be adding a bit balsamic to my stir fry sauces more often because that combo is delish!
For the chicken
1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed
EVOO
4 cloves garlic, smashed
1 onion, halved & thinly sliced
2 chicken breasts, cut into strips
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
Salt & peppeer
5-6 scallions, thinly slice
Cooked white rice (for serving & prepared in any way available to you)
Start by placing a large skillet over high heat, filling it with water. Once bubbling, add in the asparagus, cook for two minutes, and place immediate into a boil of ice water. Pour out the cooking water & wipe the skillet dry.
Place the same skillet over medium heat. Add in about 2 tbsp EVOO, the garlic & the onions. Cook for about 7-8 minutes - onions should be softened and garlic transparent. Add in the chicken, and continue cooking for another 10 minutes. Cover as the chicken cooks, stirring every couple of minute. Add in the vinegar, soy, chili garlic sauce, and pinch fo salt & pepper. Stir together and bring the sauce to a simmer. Remove the asparagus from the ice bath, and add in to the skillet. Cook for another 2-3 minutes to heat the asparagus through. Turn the heat to low & cover the pan.
When you’re ready to eat, throw in the fresh scallion and stir. Place a scoop of white rice in the bottom of a bowl (or a to-go box like us), and spoon the stir fry right over the top. Spoon in a little extra of the sauce and sprinkle some leftover scallions right over the top. Yum!