A BASIC STIR-FRY SAUCE

Every so often my body will crave a stir-fry. When I first moved out of home, stir-fries were my staple. I considered myself to be somewhat of new-age cook when I bought a ready made sauce and a bag of stir fry vegetables. How far I have come. Whilst this products are good if you are strapped for time, the ready made sauces have unbelievable amounts of sugar and fat in them. In addition, the vegetables packs are overpriced. The simple fact is that you can create a much more delicious stir-fry sauce at home with just a few ingredients. The recipe below was adapted from '200 Thai Favourites', a hamlyn cookbook. If you just follow the sauce mixture, you can throw in any vegetables that you have lying around at home, such as broccoli, beans or capscium. I happened to only have 2 carrots and 4 shallots in my possession the other day. The stir-fry was delicious regardless.


STIR-FRIED CHICKEN & PEANUTS


Ingredients 

• 5 tablespoons vegetable/chicken stock or water 
• I used vegetable stock.
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce 
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce 
• 1 teaspoon cornflour 
• 2 tablespoons crushed peanuts, toasted in a frying pan
• you can also use cashew nuts. 
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 500g chicken breast, chopped
• 2 carrots, sliced 
• 1 brown onion, thinly sliced 
• 3-4 shallots, finely sliced

Cooking 

1. Dry-fry (no oil required) the crushed peanuts in a non stick frying pan for a few minutes or until they become golden in colour.  

2. Mix the stock or water, fish sauce, oyster sauce and cornflour in a small bowl until smooth. 

3. Heat the oil in a wok and stir-fry the garlic until lightly browned. Add the chicken and stir-fry for 5 minutes or until coloured. Add the carrot and onion and stir-fry for another 3-4 minutes. 

4. Pour the sauce mixture into the wok and stir-fry together for a minute. Add the toasted peanuts and spring onions. Toss well. 

Serve with doongara rice if desired. 

x E