Tangerines add a sweetness and acidity to a chicken stir-fry that lifts it above a simple chicken-and-vegetable dish. The key to this dish is to use the juice of the tangerine to provide the fruity flavor, only adding bits of tangerine late in the cooking process to complement the rest of the ingredients. In addition to being a colorful, tasty dish, a tangerine and chicken stir-fry is quick to make, requiring only one pan, pot or wok to cook and serve.
Ingredients
There are as many variations of this recipe as you have imagination. This recipe includes basic Asian flavors and has minimal preparation and cooking time, and requires few utensils.
8-oz. can of tangerines
1/2 lb. chicken
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. ginger
1 medium red or green pepper
1 medium onion
1 medium carrot
1 tbsp. sesame seeds or slivered almonds
Approximately 1 tbsp. of salt
1 to 2 tbsp. cooking oil
Serves 2
Preparation
Raw chicken has bacteria you can easily transfer to cutlery or dishes, so wash your hands, utensils and your cutting surface each time you touch the chicken. Pre-cut all of your ingredients at once, since you will not have time to prepare any ingredients once you start making this quick dish.
Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and cut into 1 inch cubes. Let it get to room temperature to help the chicken cook evenly. Sprinkle salt over the chicken lightly and toss so that each piece has some salt on it. This will draw water out.
Julienne slice the vegetables. Cut in long, narrow strips, rather dicing into square pieces. Place on paper towels to reduce the water content. Experiment with other vegetables common to stir-fries such as broccoli, mushrooms and water chestnuts.
Sauce or Marinade
Open the can of tangerines and pour the liquid into a mixing cup. Add soy sauce and ginger, and stir. You can add other ingredients such as garlic or rice wine, or add a dash of cooking oil or small amount of corn starch to create a thicker sauce, rather than a marinade.
Place half the tangerine pieces on a cutting surface. Store the other half of the tangerines in your refrigerator for other dishes or desserts. Cut the tangerine pieces in half to make pieces at least half the size of your vegetables. If you want more tangerine flavor use all of the tangerines.
Pour the tangerine sauce over the chicken and toss, thoroughly and evenly coating each piece. You can marinate the chicken for 30 minutes or more in the refrigerator, or cook immediately.
Cooking
The concept of a stir fry is that you use high heat to quickly cook small pieces of food. This requires less oil, making the dish healthier, and makes this a quick dinnertime meal.
Heat your wok, skillet or pan to high heat. Add cooking oil. Good choices are those with high smoke points, such as peanut or safflower oil. Use only enough to keep the chicken and vegetables from sticking to the frying surface; you do not want to fry the food in oil, but instead cook it with high heat.
Remove the chicken pieces from the liquid in which they've been marinating and place in the pan. Let the chicken sit for approximately one or two minutes without touching it, until it browns on one side. Flip the chicken with a spatula, never pressing down on the meat; this will cause it to become dry and tough. Flip the chicken and cook for another one to two minutes.
Remove the chicken from the pan and pour the remaining tangerine sauce into the pan. Let the juice cook for one minute, stirring several times, to loosen any chicken stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken back to the pan and stir with the liquid. Add the vegetables. Do not add the unheated sauce and vegetables at the same time; the juice has been in contact with the raw chicken and needs to be heated before the vegetables touch it.
Stir the vegetables and chicken frequently, flipping from underneath. After several minutes, cut one of the pieces of chicken. If it is firm and white inside, it is done. Add sesame seeds or almonds and the tangerine pieces approximately one minute before removing the food from the pan.
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