Chicken and Asparagus Stir Fry

This stir fry is just a really light, simple dish that you can make with any combination of ingredients.  I would normally use chopped scallions instead of a sliced yellow onion, but I didn’t have any left.  The sweetness of the regular onion, though, made up for a dash of sugar in the seasoning I may have added.  I kept the flavors toned down because asparagus has such a fragile, light flavor–it was almost too simple that I’d wished I’d had a fresh chopped chilil to throw in or something, but it was nice to get to taste the asparagus and appreciate its texture, too. 

Tonight’s gripe is about how whenever I go to the grocery store, and it’s usually pretty late when they’re trying to close, the only kind of boneless chicken that they have are these thinly sliced chicken breast meat pieces.  It drives me nuts because I want to get a good chunk to slice on a bias in thin pieces, against the grain.  These stupid strips make it impossible.  I also don’t understand the pre-packaged “chicken stir fry” that’s been sliced up in these clumsy, vertical wodges.  The way you slice the chicken adds a lot to the tenderness of it in the outcome.  Anyway, that said, here’s my drill.

Chicken and Asparagus Stir Fry
(makes 4 servings)

About 1 lb boneless chicken breast, sliced thinly against grain
About 10 asparagus stalks, sliced on a bias, with the tough ends snapped off where it naturally breaks 
About half an onion, sliced, or 1-2 scallions, sliced on a bias
1-2 tbspn rice cooking wine (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Soy sauce
Corn starch
Oil
Salt and pepper

Marinate sliced chicken with about 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon corn starch, salt, and 1 clove of minced garlic for 20-30 minutes.  Heat a wok or large pan with oil and stir fry until slightly browned.  Add a tablespoon or so of rice wine if using while cooking.  Remove from pan.  Heat more oil and the rest of the garlic.  Stir fry asparagus and onions until just tender, adding salt and a little pepper to taste.  Return the chicken to pan.  Taste for seasoning, adding more soy sauce if necessary.  (If using scallion instead of onion I would add them here.)  Mix about one tablespoon with 1/2 cup cold water with a splash of soy sauce, and optional teaspoon of sugar.  Make sure your stir-fry is hot and slowly pour cornstarch mixture into the pan, stirring.  Stir until the sauce is thickened and bubbly, and serve dish over steamed rice.

Cost Calculator
(Makes 4 servings)

.91 lb chicken (at $2.99/lb): $2.75
10 stalks or so asparagus (at $3.49/bunch): ≈ $2.61
1/2 medium onion (at $0.69/lb): ≈ $0.05
Garlic, soy sauce, salt, sugar, optional rice wine: ≈ $0.25

Total: $5.66

Health Factor

 

Two brownie points – wonderfully healthy.  Asparagus is one of the most nutritious veggies.  It’s a little more expensive than broccoli or spinach, but it’s got folic acid, which is worth twice its weight in gold.  Just kidding.  I don’t really know what folic acid does.