Thursday, March 25, 2010

Rib-Sticking Stir-Fry


Last night was one of those crazy and chaotic nights with the kids. My eight year old was outside playing with the whole neighborhood and let me tell you, there are easily 50 kids in this neighborhood. Every child was out and about. The doorbell was ringing, there was constant knocking at the door, everyone was hungry and thirsty, everyone had a million questions, and each and every time I went to the door my three year old took the opportunity to make a mess or get himself into trouble. My evening consisted of cleaning up messes and answering the door, repeatedly. My husband has been gone for almost two weeks on business, so thank God that my Mom was over. She and I went so crazy with the kids that we got slap silly and started laughing. The doorbell rang so much that my Mom finally took a chair and sat by the door so she could answer it while I made dinner. I laughed as I heard her out there answering all of their silly questions with equally silly answers. It was good stuff.

With my three year old riding his bicycle in circles around my island in the kitchen, I made Nigella's Rib-Sticking Stir-Fry. It sure was a good thing that this recipe was quick and easy, requiring absolutely no attention whatsoever. I whipped it up in about ten minutes and Mom and I sat down to eat with the blaring noise of Hungry Hungry Hippo in the background. As the hippos slammed loudly against the gameboard we discussed how we really enjoyed this meal. It was a funny evening and we were nearly crying with laughter at the sheer chaos.

I'd been looking forward to the day I got to try this recipe. Nigella's Rib-Sticking Stir-Fry is served with cannellini beans in place of rice. As a bean lover, I was very excited to try this meal.

Rib-Sticking Stir-Fry
Adapted from Nigella Express
Serve 2
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (you can use just a tad of oil if using a nonstick wok)
10 oz. chicken or turkey breast fillet, cut into 1-1/2 inch x 1/4 inch strips
4 cups chopped stir-fry vegetables (from a package)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Chinese cooking wine (I used chicken broth)
1 (14 oz) can cannellini beans, drained
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

Heat the oil in a wok, and over fairly high heat add the chicken or turkey strips and toss them about to color. Once the meat has seared, add the vegetables and toss around again until beginning to soften, ten add the soy sauce and the wine. The soy will help the meat strips bronze beautifully. Once the heat is back up and sizzling, add the beans and toss everything about to mix before tipping onto two plates. Sprinkle with the herb and serve straight away.

Notes/Results: I added a few things to this recipe: one minced shallot; two good-sized cloves garlic, minced; and one teaspoon hot pepper flakes. Mom and I don't like to eat a lot of meat sometimes, so I just used one chicken breast for the entire recipe. We were craving vegetables, so I used an entire package of frozen Asian Medley Veggies (carrot sticks, baby corn, broccoli, sugar snap peas). I was a little short on 4 cups of veggies, so I added a cup of an edamame mix I had in the freezer. I wanted to garnish the meal with crushed peanuts or cashews, but there just wasn't any time for that. Maybe next time. Next time? Yes, there will definitely be a next time! This is an extremely quick and easy meal that goes together in record time. Healthy, quick, easy, delicious, very filling and a little spicy from the pepper flakes. I was impressed and will definitely be making this meal quite a bit. In fact, if I had the ingredients on hand, I would make it for dinner again tonight!

This is our last potluck round with Nigella over at I Heart Cooking Clubs. We have one more week with Nigella and then we will be cooking with a new chef for the next six months. Head on over to I Heart Cooking Clubs to check out this week's potluck roundup and vote for the next chef!

28 comments:

  1. I love stir fries, this looks delicious Kim. Haven't done one for a while, now you've got me craving it ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. That has got to be some recipe (and a very focused cook) to survive all that chaos! Whew.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The recipe is great, but your intro took me back to when Brett (now 21) was that age and his friends would all be at our house. Instead of the doorbell, they'd always start each question or statement with, "Ms. Alexis, I'm thirsty" or "Ms. Alexis, I want that" or "Ms. Alexis, why does...."

    Enjoy it while they like hanging out there. It goes away quickly (but it's dang frustrating while it's there!). Great post, Kim.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Quick and easy? That's what I like in a man. Err. Recipe. I. Meant. Recipe. This looks delicious!

    I can just picture the chaotic scene going on around you as you made this. Must have been hilarious (in retrospect).

    ReplyDelete
  5. It looks like you and your mom had a great time together! The stir-fry sure looks delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sounds like an active neighborhood there! Great idea to use beans instead of rice, looks delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  7. This stir fry sounds delish! I miss those crazy chaotic times with my kids! Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I laughed while reading this as I definitely one of those kinds of days! Glad to hear you laughed your way through and your stir fry sounds delicious. While I like Nigella's version, I do like how you kicked this one up!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great meal, and actually very healthy. I like how you've added your owns tuff to the recipe. I do that all the time too :D. Have a wonderful weekend.
    *kisses* HH

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sounds like a very fun night! ;-) I saw this recipe but never got around to making it but I might have to now. Your version looks delicious--great pick!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Great choice for a crazy night! You can't beat a good stir-fry for quick and delicious. I love that it has beans in it too.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh geez--you and your poor mom! Sounds like it was a bit of a three ring circus around there. At least your hubby will be back sooner than later! I loove stir fry. I remember my mom used to make it in big batches for all my friends and I when we'd come home between school and volleyball games!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Sounds like a great recipe seeing that you kicked it up a bit. The original does sound a bit flat, always needing a little heat in a stir fry myself. Enjoyed your story too. It took me back in time. Mine are grown and now I'm Nana.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I like your version of this stir fry. A tasty dish that you can put on the table amid chaos would be perfectly suited for me.
    Mimi

    ReplyDelete
  15. Your stir-fry looks awesome! Just like the kind we get at our local Chinese restaurant... but I bet your homemade version tastes SO much better!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. You both have a lot of patience! I probably would have lost it at some point. Good thing for this easy and tasty dinner! It sounds quite flexible too - so you can use what you have on hand.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love a great stirfry...the beans addition is awesome! Yummo~

    ReplyDelete
  18. Oh this sounds so good! I love edamame beans, did they go well with the other veggies? I bet it would be good without the meat too!

    ReplyDelete
  19. This looks like a perfect rescue meal to me, plus it's healthy. How sweet those moments are, and how lucky you have a mom to share them with. My son grew up in our country home, where the closest neighbors were cattle and not much else. How nice to have a neighborhood full of kids!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. It’s like you are reading my mind this week! This was one I planned to do for last week’s IHCC theme, the Green one, then I thought I’d make it for Potluck. This is one I am soooo ready to try……I’ll link to your version as soon as I prepare mine.

    Loved the story about the kids running around!!! I could totally picture it.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I don't have kids, but I imagine the fun, chaos and laughter that comes with the package. This looks like a fantastic stirfry!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Oh, we should be sisters...I so relate to your household...husband gone, daughter riding bike in kitchen and baby crying just about every night!
    Love love love stir-fry! This looks awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  23. That sounds exactly like our neighborhood! Tons of kids. When the weather turns warm it's always craziest around dinnertime and I find myself trying to keep an eye on the backyard activity while manning the stove.

    This stir fry sounds like just what the doctor ordered. Yummy!

    ReplyDelete
  24. oh my gosh, i loved this story, you and your mom sound like so much fun. the other day i was walking through walmart with my four year old girl who was talking too fast to even take a breath. it caught me as so funny that i was laughing hysterically as she talked at 100mph. i'm sure we looked like quite a site!

    this looks so good, i love stirfries, especially when they are easy!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Easy and healthy - can't belive you get this result with so little oil in the pan!

    ReplyDelete
  26. What a great meal. I'm partial to stir-frying when I'm in a bind for time. It was fun to hear your re-telling of a great night with your Mom. I can see her sitting in a chair by the door with a big smile on her face. Have a wonderful day. Blessings...Mary

    ReplyDelete
  27. We all love stir fry and no matter what I use it's always delicious and it's a great way to clean out the veggie drawers in the frig!

    ReplyDelete
  28. I love new stir fry recipes - this is so easy it would be crazy not to make it! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment! At the moment I am having a huge problem with spam so I've had to add comment moderation and close off comments to anonymous users. I apologize for the trouble and hope to return my comments to normal shortly.