The CuisiNerd

Previous incarnations of this were made with Kikkoman’s prefab teriyaki sauce. This one is made from a homemade sauce.

Sauce:

1 cup shoyu or tamari soy sauce
4 or 5 cloves of garlic (or 2 Tbsp garlic paste)
2 tbsp. ginger or ginger paste
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. Mirin (rice wine) or dry sherry
drained syrup from a can of mandarin oranges
1 Tbsp oil

Mix well and add 2 lbs chopped chicken breasts, and marinate for approximately an hour.

In the last 15 minutes or so, reconstitute 1.5 to 2 cups of dried shiitake mushrooms by putting them in 1.5 cups boiling water. (you can also used sliced button mushrooms)

Drain and reserve marinade from chicken pieces and saute in a large skillet with 2 Tbsp oil until cooked. Drain the liquid from the mushrooms and add to the marinade. Add the mushrooms to the chicken. While you’re doing this, cook a pound of noodles (farfalle or rotini work well, although any noodle will do).

When the chicken is done, remove from the pan, leaving remaining liquid behind. Add reserved marinade and bring to a boil – reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Mix:

1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 c water

and add it to the mixture, stirring until thick. Once thickened, set aside the sauce and add some more oil to the pan, and toss in the cooked chicken and diced bell peppers (preferably of mixed colors). Saute until the chicken starts to brown (about 5 minutes). Add the noodles and toss until well mixed, and then add the sauce, toss, and serve. Makes great leftovers and is tasty with Sriracha “rooster” sauce.

I’ve always been a fan of this dish, and have spent a long time trying to find a recipe that I like that lives up to what I frequently order in Thai restaurants. I think I’ve found one that comes pretty close. This one comes to us courtesy of Kasma Loha-unchit. I’ve listed the ingredients here, follow the link for the full instructions.

• 2-3 Tbs. peanut oil for stir-frying
• 10-12 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2-3 shallots, thinly sliced (or substitute with 1/2 cup sliced onion) – optional
• 1 lb. boneless chicken thighs, coarsely chopped, or cut into small bite-size pieces
• 12-20 Thai chillies (prik kee noo), cut into very thin rounds; or substitute 4-6 serrano, jalapeño or fresno peppers, cut into large slivers with seeds
• 2 small kaffir lime leaves (bai ma-gkrood), very finely slivered (optional)
• 2-3 tsp. black soy sauce (the semi-sweet kind), or to taste
• 2 Tbs. fish sauce (nam bplah), or to taste
• 1 cup fresh Thai holy basil (bai gka-prow), or Thai sweet basil (bai horapa) leaves and flower buds; or use 1/4 cup dried holy basil, soaked to soften plus 1/2 to 1 cup fresh Thai sweet basil (bai horapa)
• Dash of ground white pepper

Any recipe that calls for garlic and basil in those kinds of quantities is my kind of food. Even at that, I think the recipe was still weak on the garlic. Sadly, since my wife and children aren’t as gung-ho for spicy Thai food as I am, I made this with some canned mild green chillies for the pepper flavour, and then added Sriracha (“Rooster Sauce”) to mine after serving. It’s not the same as adding Thai peppers to the original fry, but it’ll have to do.