An ARF/5-A-Day Tuesday recipe (sort of, I guess)

Stir-Fried Chicken with Chinese Cabbage
Food and Wine Magazine’s Quick From Scratch Chicken Cookbook Copyright1997, 2001, 2004

1 1/3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 4) cut into 1-inch pieces I used tenders
1 tablespoon plus 4 teaspoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons dry sherry
¼ teaspoon cayenne
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon wine vinegar
½ head Chinese cabbage (about 1 pound), sliced
¾ cup drained sliced water chestnuts (from one 8-ounce can)
2 teaspoons tomato paste
¼ teaspoon dried red-pepper flakes
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro or scallion tops I used scallion tops
1/8 teaspoon salt

1. In a medium bowl, combine the chicken with the 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sherry, and the cayenne. Let marinate for 10 minutes.
2. In a wok or large frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over moderately high heat. Add the chicken and cook, stirring, until almost done, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove.
3. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pan. Add the onion, garlic and coriander. Cook, stirring, until the onions are golden, about 4 minutes. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons sherry and the vinegar. Cook, stirring, one minute or longer.
4. Add the cabbage, water chestnuts. the remaining 4 teaspoons soy sauce, the tomato paste, red-pepper flakes, and water and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes longer. Add the chicken and any accumulated juices, the cilantro, and the salt and cook, stirring, until the chicken is just done, 1 to 2 minutes longer.

Serves 4

I wasn't well-prepared for Sweetnick's ARF/5-A-Day Tuesdays this week and I didn't have a recipe with any of the top ARFs on the menu. This was the best veggie recipe I have to offer although I admit it doesn't seem like a nutritional powerhouse, maybe since it lacks the more colorful members of the vegetable family. It does have onion, garlic, Chinese cabbage, water chestnuts, scallions and even 2 teaspoons of tomato paste (and apparently Lycopene is more bioavailable from tomato paste than from fresh tomatoes) so maybe it isn't such a weak offering afterall.

I thought this was really good. Filling but not heavy. What I love about the recipes in this cookbook series is that they're not time consuming but they do have a bit of complexity. I would never have thrown these ingredients together on my own.

I'm loving this cookbook series and I highly recommend these books. So far I have the Chicken, Pasta, Italian, One-Dish Meals and Herbs and Spices versions from this series. Googling around, I think there are still a few more out there that I can look forward to.

In other news, I used my new bread machine last night. No pics yet - it was a rushed trial run since I forgot to buy hubby rolls for his sandwiches this week. I had set a goal of using the machine at least 6 times this year and I can tell you already that won't be a problem!