Mongolian Chicken

 

I love Mongolian Chicken. It reminds me of going out for Chinese food in the college town 20 minutes away with my bestie from high school. Ten years later that restaurant has closed down and we’ve gone our separate ways but I still smile at the memories.

The recipe I am sharing is actually for Mongolian Beef but we hardly ever buy flank steak so I switched out the meats.

Mongolian Chicken: adapted from the Mongolian Beef recipe in the Top Secret Recipes 2 book

Ingredients:

For the sauce:

• 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger. Confession time- I have never bought fresh ginger. I just usually use a pinch of the dried stuff.
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic. I’ve used garlic powder before in a pinch. Don’t use a tablespoon. I’d start with 1/2 tsp of the powder and add more if desired.
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 3/4 cup brown sugar

For the chicken part:

• 1 to 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1/4 cup of cornstarch
• oil for frying

Directions:

Heat the two teaspoons of oil in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Add the ginger and garlic then the soy sauce and water. You’ll want to work quickly or you will have burned garlic which is five hundred kinds of untasty. Add the brown sugar and stir until it dissolves. Raise the heat to medium and boil the sauce for a couple of minutes or until it starts to thicken. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Slice the chicken breasts into thin bite sized pieces. I find that kitchen scissors or shears work best. Coat the chicken in cornstarch and set aside for a few minutes to allow the starch to adhere to the chicken.

While the chicken sits, heat oil in a skillet or wok. You’ll need enough to come up about half way the side of the chicken pieces. When the oil is nice and hot add the chicken in batches. Cook until starting to brown. Remove from skillet and set aside. Repeat until all chicken has been browned. Carefully pour out  the remaining oil into a heat safe dish. Add the chicken back to the skillet and cook for a minute then add the sauce and cook for a couple of minutes while stirring. Use a slotted spoon to serve, leaving the remaining sauce in pan.Which I never do. I usually double the sauce and thicken it with cornstarch and water. Serve over rice.

Linked to Tasty Tuesday @ Balancing Beauty and Bedlam and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday @ Blessed with Grace

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