Chicken with scallion and ginger sauce

Today's recipe comes to you courtesy of Design, Wine & Dine. Design, Wine & Dine is an exceptional cook, I've made many recipes from her blog and have loved them all! If you haven't done so already, please check out her site, I promise you'll enjoy what you see, she has a real flair with the camera and makes some killer dishes! Thanks Design, Wine & Dine for this delicious recipe, I knew when I saw it on your blog that it'd be a hit here and I was not mistaken.

Based on Design, Wine & Dine's recommendation I used the velveting process on my chicken. As usual it didn't disappoint. In addition to making the chicken flavorful, soft and yummy, the cornstarch helps thicken the sauce. The ginger in this dish isn't overpowering, its fresh bright flavor is perfect on a cold December night. The gentle onion flavor of scallion pair wonderfully with the light, crisp flavor of the white wine. Add the salty umami laden soy sauce with the velveted chicken and you've got a dish that is, well, its just down right delicious!

Chicken with scallion and ginger sauce
Makes 4 servings
Adapted from Design, Wine & Dine
1 lb chicken breast, cut into 2 in chunks
1 bunch scallions, cut on the bias into 1 inch pieces
1/2 bell pepper
3 inches ginger root, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
3 cloves garlic, sliced thin
3/4 c plus 1 T white wine
2 T soy sauce
1/2 c water
1 t sugar
3 T olive oil
1 T corn starch
1 egg white
1 t kosher salt
1/4 c salted cashews, optional
drizzle sesame seed oil, optional

Prepare chicken by marinating in velveting marinade:
~Cut chicken up and place into a bowl
~Sprinkle the kosher salt over chicken, using hands mix to evenly distribute over all the chicken pieces
~Next add 1 T white wine, mix well
~Next add the corn starch and mix well
~Next add the egg white taking care not to froth the egg with your hands
~Lastly add 1T oil and mix well.
Allow chicken to marinate for 30 minutes.


While chicken is marinading, cut up all your veggies & have them ready to go.



When 30 min is up bring a sauce pan of water to boil. Add the marinated chicken to the water in 3 batches, cooking for about 30 seconds, or until the outside just turns white. The chicken will finish cooking in the stir fry. Reserve par cooked chicken pieces and discard the boiling water.

Stir Fry instructions:
In a large sautee pan or wok, heat the remaining oil over medium high heat. Once hot add the ginger and garlic, stirring to keep garlic from burning. Cook about 30 seconds.

Add the par cooked chicken next, stir to coat in oil. Cook about 3 minutes, stirring often to avoid burning of the garlic.

Add the peppers, cook about 1-2 minutes, stirring often. Add scallions and white wine. Deglaze pan with the wine, scraping up any bits from the bottom. Allow wine to reduce by about half.

Add the soy sauce, water & sugar, cook for 2-3 minutes or until sauce has thickened slightly. If your sauce isn't thick enough you can add about 1T corn starch mixed with 1-2T water, add as much of this slurry as needed to achieve the proper thickness of sauce.

Add cashews and drizzle with sesame oil. Serve with hot cooked rice and Srirracha sauce if desired.


Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 351.7
Total Fat 16.0 g
Saturated Fat 2.6 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2.0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 10.3 g
Cholesterol 68.4 mg
Sodium 1,084.6 mg
Potassium 561.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate 13.1 g
Dietary Fiber 1.5 g
Sugars 2.3 g
Protein 31.2 g

Miso glazed chicken stir fry with asparagus and scallions

If you're read this blog with any regularity you'll know that Asian flavors are a favorite of the Witch household. Which is why when I asked the Husband what he wanted for dinner, and he promptly replied "Asian" I was not surprised. Rather I was wondering what I could do that I haven't done recently.

The first thing I knew I had to do was get some green vegetable. Last weeks teriyaki lo mein, while delicious, was missing a green veg component and I was bound, set and determined NOT to make that mistake twice. So off to the grocery store we went. Broccoli was my original intent of vegetation, however when I saw asparagus on sale I quickly changed my mind. A comment of "Ooh, asparagus Mom, can we get that please?" from the little Witch sealed the deal. Something Asian with asparagus it was! I also grabbed a bunch of scallions, which were on sale too, and started planning my meal.

Velveting the chicken is my go to method for all Asian inspired dishes. Its really simple, takes 30 minutes of marinade time, and the results are hands down the best way to go. If you love the soft, melt in your mouth chicken you get from Chinese restaurants, you'll love velveting! For more details about velveting please read this post. Best of all, the ingredients you'll need to produce this silky smooth soft chicken are pantry staples, can't beat that! If you don't stock white wine in your house you can substitute 1 T chicken stock and 1 T rice vinegar.

The sauce was next on my list. There was about 2T of my homemade teriyaki sauce left over in the fridge, adding that seemed like a great idea. I augmented the sauce with a bit more white wine, a little water and a big heaping scoopful of white miso paste. Miso paste can be difficult to locate, its taken the Witch years, and I do mean YEARS to find it locally. Finally I found it in the refrigerated section of my health foods store. It was $6 and should last me for at least 4-6 recipes. Not too shabby! If you can't find miso paste locally there are a lot of merchants online that you can order it from. Miso is soybean paste. The texture it gives the sauce is reminiscent of peanut sauce, thick, creamy and delicious. Its flavor is delicate and savory, perfectly matched for velveted chicken and tender asparagus. The lighter the miso, the gentler the flavor: it ranges from the very mild white or yellow to red and brown, getting more intense in flavor as the color darkens.

The Kitchen Witch is beyond pleased with the results of this dish. The flavors were light, delicate and yet bold all at once. The bright green colors of asparagus and scallion paired beautifully with the white chicken and golden sauce. Miso glazed chicken stir fry with asparagus and scallions is one of the best Asian inspired dishes to come out of the Witches' kitchen yet. I do hope you try and enjoy it as much as we did!

Miso glazed chicken stir fry with asparagus and scallions
makes 4 servings
4 scallions, sliced, greens sliced and reserved for garnish
1 carrot sliced thin
1 stalk celery sliced thin
1/2 bunch (.5 lb) asparagus spears, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 t ginger freshly grated
4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced fine
2 chicken breasts sliced thin against the grain
1 egg white
3 T white wine, divided
3 T corn starch, divided
1 t kosher salt
3 T canola oil, divided
2 T teriyaki sauce (my recipe is here)
1/2 c water, divided
2 T soy sauce
2 T white miso paste

Begin by marinading the chicken in the velveting marinade:
slice chicken thin (1/8 in) across the grain, place into a medium size bowl
coat chicken with salt, toss with fingers to evenly distribute
next add 1 T white wine and mix again with fingers to evenly distribute
add egg white and mix with fingers, taking care not to froth the egg white
add 1 heaping T of the corn starch, coating each piece using fingers to distribute
finally add 1 T canola oil, using fingers to distribute evenly
Cover with plastic wrap and allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Prep your veggies while chicken is marinading.
Prepare the sauce by combining the teriyaki sauce, 2 T white wine, remaining corn starch, 2 T water and the miso paste. Stir well to incorporate all ingredients.

After chicken has marinated bring a pan of water to the boil. Once boiling add 1/4 of the chicken, stir well to break up any clumps. Once the outside turns white, about 30 seconds, remove from water and reserve. Repeat with remaining chicken until finished.

Heat a large sautee pan or a wok over high heat. Add 2 T canola oil. Add the ginger and garlic, stir fry for about 30 seconds, until very aromatic and it just starts to brown.

Add the prepped vegetables next. Stir well to evenly coat in oil/garlic/ginger mixture. Stir fry for about 1 minute. Add 1/4 c water and cover. Allow to steam for 2-3 minutes.

Add parcooked chicken. Stir fry about 2 minutes before adding the sauce mixture. Once chicken is cooked thru and veggies are crisp tender, add the sauce. Stir well as sauce thickens quickly. Cook about 1 minute longer. Serve with hot cooked rice.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 350.5
Total Fat 12.3 g
Saturated Fat 1.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 3.6 g
Monounsaturated Fat 6.5 g
Cholesterol 68.4 mg
Sodium 533.9 mg
Potassium 902.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate 23.5 g
Dietary Fiber 4.6 g
Sugars 2.2 g
Protein 47.1 g

Chinese style chicken techinque, water velveting and Kung Pao chicken

While browsing one of my favorite food blogs, Home Cooking in Montana, I found the technique for velveting chicken. Ellie made Kung Pao chicken using the velveting technique on the chicken and the photos made me drool. I knew right then & there that the Kitchen Witch needed to make this. One look at Ellie's site and the Husband agreed wholeheartedly. Ellie also talks about how to precook the chicken for later use, if this is something you'd like to know more about, click on over & check out her blog. You'll be happy you did!

After reviewing the technique I decided to tackle it. It was not hard at all! It involves a few little steps but all in all, really simple. But is all this really worth it? I mean I've been making stir fry chicken dishes for years, how can this velveting really make it better?

I don't really know is the short answer. Witchcraft is the logical answer. I'm sure a lot of science goes into it as well. All I can tell you is that it indeed is worth every single second of time you invest into it. The results will rival those of your favorite Chinese restaurant. Chicken so soft, so tender, so juicy that its almost unreal. How can a simple 30 minute marinade and a quick plunge into simmering water transform a lowly chicken breast into this dish of greatness? Who cares, so long as it does. And it does lovely readers, oh it really does.

The Kung Pao sauce is from Ellie as well. I really enjoyed the flavors it provided. I will admit I was dubious that only an onion and a red bell pepper would be enough vegetables, much less enough variety, but I was very pleasantly surprised. The onions weren't overpowering, rather they were almost sweet. The red bells provided beautiful color and a sweet crunch. I chose to use cashews rather than the traditional peanut here because of a peanut allergy in the family. Feel free to use whatever nut you like.

Lastly lets talk about the heat, after all, what's Kung Pao with out some heat, right? I bought 4 small long thin dried hot chilies at my Mexican grocery, it cost me a whopping .03. Yes that's 3, three cents. I crumbled up 2 of the peppers into my sauce, the 3rd was broken into a few pieces and added to the stir fry. The last was pure garnish. A bit of Sriracha in the sauce and like magic, you've got Kung Pao chicken that will make you forget the name of that little Chinese place down the street.

Kung Pao chicken using water velveting technique
makes 4 servings
You will need:
1 lb chicken breasts or thighs, boneless & skinless, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, cut in 1 inch dice
1-2 T oil
1 T minced garlic (+/- depending on taste)
1 T minced ginger (+/- depending on taste)
3-4 dried chilies or chili flakes
1/3 to 1/2 c cashews

Velveting Marinade
1/2 tsp kosher salt or to taste
1 T white wine
1 egg white
1 T cornstarch
1 T oil


Kung Pao sauce
2-4 tsp Sriracha
6 T water(or stock)
2 T white wine
2 T sugar
4 T soy sauce
1 scallion sliced thin

Apply the velveting marinade.
1. Sprinkle in the salt while stirring the meat.
2. Stir in the wine.
3. Add the egg white and gently mix to coat each piece of chicken making sure not to froth the egg.
4. Sprinkle in the cornstarch, coating each piece.
5. Add the oil and stir to coat. Let the meat marinate for 30 minutes.



Prepare other ingredients:
While the chicken marinates, prepare the other ingredients and the sauce. Have them ready.

In a small bowl, mix together all of the ingredients for the sauce and set it aside.
Make rice if desired to serve with dish.



Velveting the chicken: Using the water method.
Bring a pot of water with just one tablespoon oil to a boil.

Once the water boils, lower the heat to maintain a very gentle simmer.

Scatter in the marinated chicken, stir to separate and keep stirring gently until the coating turns white.

Remove the chicken pieces quickly with a slotted spoon or strainer.

Set the chicken aside.



Prepare the Kung Pao:

Heat a cast iron skillet or wok over medium high heat. Once its hot add 1-2 T oil to the pan. Add the garlic and ginger, stir fry until its light brown, 30 seconds to 1 minute max. Add the vegetables, chilies and the velveted chicken. Stir fry 1-2 minutes, until the chicken is done. Add the sauce and nuts, stir to coat and thicken sauce, 30 seconds longer.

Transfer to a serving dish and enjoy!



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
4 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 393.1
Total Fat 20.1 g
Saturated Fat 2.7 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 4.8 g
Monounsaturated Fat 11.2 g
Cholesterol 68.4 mg
Sodium 799.6 mg
Potassium 541.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate 20.1 g
Dietary Fiber 1.9 g
Sugars 7.3 g
Protein 32.0 g