A ginger you won't mind takin home

Recipe: Ginger & Lime Chicken Stir-Fry

A little something for the weekend - a fresh and super quickie & easy & healthy yum-bot-one-pot dinner with stuff you can find in most shops. In Ireland, nearly all of the ingredients were locally produced and in season. Rice, ginger, limes - these will never ever grow in Ireland... so what can ya do?!?

I'm not big on following recipes to the t - if you've got an idea about how cooking & portions work, and have an idea about what you like, feel free to add/subtract from this recipe to your own taste. The portions I've got below are approximate for two, but we also had a bit leftover.

Whatcha Need:

• 2 Boneless skinless chicken breasts chopped up
  (For vegetarian version swap for firm tofu or quorn)
• 1 Medium sized fresh lime - cut in two
• 1 or two tbsp of finely chopped up fresh Ginger Root
• 2 Cloves of garlic finely chopped or pressed
• 2 Carrots - finely chopped/peeled/grated
• 2 Cups chopped up broccoli
• 3 Cups or so of cooked rice, (150 grams uncooked) whatever type you prefer. I went with 10-minute brown rice, though jasmine would be de-lish.
• Light soy sauce
• 1 or 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• Ground black pepper to taste

optional bits:

• A sprinkling of sesame seeds
• Pickled lemongrass to taste
  
• Oyster sauce or some other Asian-y flavory sauce
• Cashew nuts
  

I did this up in a wok, but a large frying pan or sauce pot will do just fine. Heat up your oil, throw in a clove of garlic and half the ginger. Throw in the chicken, add a dash or two of soy sauce, squeeze the juice of half the lime. If you feel like it, throw in a bit of oyster sauce and some sesame seeds. Grind some black pepper into it for super duper flavor explosion.

When the chicken's browned, throw in the broccoli & carrots. Add any more sauce if you feel it's all looking a little dry, and add the other clove of garlic & the rest of the ginger. If you've got pickled lemongrass throw in a few teaspoons. Don't forget to constantly taste to make sure the proportions and tastes are right (once the chicken's cooked thru that is!).

When the broccoli's gone all super bright green, add the rice, stirring it well into the chicken and veggies. Squeeze in the other half of the lime, throw in a few more sesame seeds if you fancy it and taste. Is it nice? Need anything? More sauces? Are the veggies cooked to your liking? If it all tastes good to you, go for it! Serve in a bowl....

My favorite thing about cooking is that most of the time there's no hard & fast rules. Experimenting with different flavors, or finding an amazing flavor combo and seeing what else it works well with. Ginger & Lime is my current favorite flavor marriage.

Here's what is all looked like cooking, before the rice was added (happy boyfriend not pictured).