Chicken skillet supper

4 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
3 tablespoons Soy sauce*
¾ pounds Skinless, boneless chicken**
¼ teaspoon Each salt and pepper
1 Head broccoli
1 Lemon
1 tablespoon Sugar
½ cup Chicken stock or little more
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
3 tablespoons Vegetable oil
1 tablespoon Minced garlic
1 tablespoon Minced ginger
2 Scallions
1 Jalapeno***; seeded & minced
4 cups Cooked rice (or enough for 4 people)

Directions

*If you keep dry sherry, Chinese rice wine or Scotch, make a sauce of 1 tb. sherry and 1 tb. soy sauce. Otherwise, put 2 tb. soy sauce in a bowl and add ¼ tsp. pepper, preferably freshly ground.

**Preferably a mixture of dark and white meat.

***Or hot pepper of your choice. Fritschner says this is optional, but it's not optional to this heat lover! <g> Cut chicken into slivers about 2" long and ½" wide. Combine with soy sauce.

Peel broccoli stems if their outer skins seem really tough (they usually are). Cut broccoli stems into slivers about 2" long and ¼" wide. Cut the florets into small pieces. Set aside.

Grate zest of 1 lemon rind. Combine rind, juice, sugar, salt, 1 tb.

soy sauce and ¼ cup chicken stock. Add cornstarch; stir to blend.

Peel and mince garlic and ginger. Trim root and wilted ends of scallions and chop fine. Seed hot pepper, if using, and mince.

Combine garlic, ginger, onions and pepper.

Heat a wide cast-iron (or cast aluminum) skillet, or wok, over highest possible heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Add 1 tb. vegetable oil.

Immediately add half the meat and stir a minute or two until meat is opaque. Transfer to a large serving dish. Add remaining meat and repeat.

Add another tablespoon of oil to the skillet; add ginger, garlic and scallions. Stir 3 or 4 times, then add broccoli stems. Stir 3 or 4 times, then add broccoli florets and ¼ cup water or chicken stock.

Cover the skillet; cook 3 minutes. Remove top and add meat. Stir lemon juice mixture to disperse cornstarch and add to skillet. Cook until glossy, adding more chicken broth to thin the sauce if necessary. Serve immediately over hot rice.

Note: If you have an extra-wide heavy skillet, cook the vegetables first, then add chicken, then sauce. More room in the pan means you don't have to cook in batches.

About chicken stock: You can make the chicken stock by simmering the bones in a little water (on the stove or in the microwave).

Vegetarian version: Omit chicken and soy sauce.

Instead, beat 2 eggs (or 4 egg whites) with ¼ tsp. salt. Trim 4 green onions of roots and wilted green stems. Chop green onions. Add 1 tb. vegetable oil to a hot wok or iron skillet. Add onions. Stir a few seconds, then add eggs. When they are softly set, remove to plate. Continue to stir-fry vegetables as recipe directs, slice the egg into slivers, and add to vegetables at the end of cooking. Serve over rice.

From Food Editor Sarah Fritschner's 12/01/93"Fast Lane" column called "Cast-Iron Skillet Takes the Steam Out of Stir-Frying" in "The (Louisville, KY) Courier-Journal." Pg. C10. Typed for you by Cathy Harned. Submitted By CATHY HARNED On 12-03-94

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