So, hey! I've been on mid-semester break this week from uni, so you already know I've been sleeping in everyday and staying in my pajamas until noon. I do wake up having to do assignments on each of those days, but hey, at least I don't have to leave my house. Anyway. In honor of my, semi-chill-but-not-really, uni break, I felt like cooking something I didn't have to think too much about. So I'm going to make the first thing I ever learned to cook (meaning I've only cooked this twice before): Chicken Stir Fry!
My younger brother taught me how to cook this when I started my cooking adventures (all those three months ago). Yes, my younger brother. And I still have not fully nailed this recipe (I'll explain as I go through) but I was hoping I would do so tonight! Let's gooo.
What I usssseeed:
- 1 Large Head of Broccoli
- 2 Large Carrots
- 1 Medium Onion
- 5 Cloves of Garlic
- 1 Tbs Dark Soy Sauce
- 1 Tbs Oyster Sauce
- 2 1/2 Tbs Sesame Oil
- Salt & Pepper
- Olive Oil
- Sesame Seeds (to garnish)
You can use whatever vegetables you'd like. Just make sure you know when to add in that particular vegetable so it gets cooked all good and nice. My brother uses corgets. But I discovered that that crap is like $16 a piece at my supermarket. So, no thank you.
Step 1: Preparing the Chicken
When my brother taught me how to make this stir-fry he said the best thing to do first is to prepare the chicken.
Chicken breast isn't exactly the flattest most evenly proportioned meat. This means if you just throw it in a pan, as is, it is not going to cook evenly. To solve this problem I wrap my chicken in plastic wrap and attempt to smash it flat with a rolling pin. h o w e v e r. I can never seem to get this part right and my chicken never cooks fcking evenly. More on that later though. Just make sure when you're cooking this that you beat the breast as even and flat as you possibly can. My brother did say it would work better if I had one of those meat hammer things. But you're gurl aint got the time (or the memory if we're being really honest) to just pick a meat hammer thing up at the meat hammer store.Once I've done an awful job at beating my chicken flat I take them out of the plastic and season both sides of each breast with salt and pepper. My brother said to make sure you use more than enough S&P because the seasoning isn't just for the surface of the meat but needs to soak through and season inside as well.
When all this is doooone I place the chicken on a plate cover it with plastic wrap and let it soak up the mountain of salt and pepper I put on.
Step 2: Prepping the Vegetables Can I just say that this part a l w a y s makes me feel chef-y. I don't know if this is because it's the part they show in cooking shows a lot or if it's because there's something therapeutic about slicing up some veg. But it this is my favorite step in every recipe.
My brother likes to reiterate to me the importance of prepping your veg. So I shall also, reiterate to you the importance of prepping your veg. Prep your fcking veg. It makes life so much easier! It streamlines the entire process. Growing up I never saw my mum do this. So for a long time I thought you're just meant to cut things up as you need them, but alas, I have seen the light. Sorry, mum.
I pretty much just roughly chopped everything you see here. I've attempted to keep each piece (for each vegetable) the same size so it'll cook nice and even. But if you look closely you will see that I have failed. So don't look too closely.
Okey. Now that you're chicken has hopefully soaked up a bit of flavor and the the salt has hopefully pulled some of the moisture away from the meat. We are ready for the serious stuff.
I heat my pan up for a few minutes. Then I pour in my oil and let that heat up. I place my chicken in the hot pan. This is when I mess sh*t up and decide the next time will be the time I get this right. I think one of the most important things I have learnt in this cooking journey, especially as a beginner, is that a lot of the time you are going to mess crap up and nothing is ever going to run perfectly the first time. I'm learning to give myself more grace and that it's all a learning experience and it's all making me better at this.
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| It's funny cause we're not cooked inside. Get it! |
A n y w a y. My chicken was fcking under cooked again. But let's not dwell on this. When I've "cooked" the chicken I take it out of the pan and let it cool down a bit so I can slice it into strips crosswise. This is the moment where you discover how cooked, or in this case, uncooked your chicken is. Usually I'm not fussed about this, because I know the strips are about to go right back into the pan to be stir fried. It's just really fcking annoying.
So I cut each breast up into strips and leave them in their own plate ready to be tossed back into the pan.
Step 4: Frying the Stirrr
Okey. Let's get down to business. I add a little more oil into my already hot pan then chuck in my Onions and Carrots. I don't know if it's like general knowledge or whatever, but I only just learnt that carrots are an aromatic. So I've now started chucking them in first with all my other aromatics. And they come out really nice and sweet.When my onions have browned I chuck in my garlic. I used to chuck in my garlic with the onions but I received some advice, from a little old lady at my church, that it's best to add the garlic when the aromatics are close to being done or the garlic will burn.
I then slowly start adding my chicken. The most uncooked parts first, making sure they get nice and cooked through. Then the rest of the chicken. When the chicken in finally bloody cooked, I add the Broccoli. I personally don't like my broccoli to be soggy or soft and like for it to still hold a lot of its firmness. I say this because me and my husband have literally argued about the texture of vegetables. I grew up with them being firm he grew up with them being mushy, I cooked them the way I like and now he cooks them the same. Marriage is all about compromise, guys. L O L. Because I like my broccoli firm I add it pretty late into the cooking game so it does't cook too much.
Almost immediately after the broccoli I add all my sauces: Oyster Sauce, Soy Sauce and Sesame Oil. I give it a good mix but when i feel like it's mixed through I let it sit. My brother said you don't want to stir it too much or everything will start coming apart.
I place the lid to the pan on and the steam trapped inside will help cook my broccoli. I leave it for maybe five minutes maybe a little less. Then I turn the stove off and plate up! (We ate our stir fry with rice and garnished with sesame seeds obviously).
Conclusion: Not perfect but the best I've done
So I know that the chicken didn't go exactly amazing. But I will say the end result was pretty freaking good and is definitely the best one I've made yet.
This was a pretty cool end to a super productive week of assignments, assignments and assignments. It's like everything just flowed really smoothly from one thing to the next. I always feel my best when I'm getting tasks done and being productive AF so I've been feeling a bit like I'm on top of the world. When I'm feeling stressed the best thing I can do to de-stress is get a few small tasks done. Whether that be taking out the trash or putting a load of laundry on I know these small things will create momentum into bigger things and I'll be on my way to a stress free brain. Onto the next meal and next assignment, I say.
Have an awesome week guys,
Monique :)
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