#KitchenClearout recipe : Chicken & Broccoli Stir Fry

I recently went looking through some of the foodie blogs I follow, to see if there was anything in their archives that would appeal to the kids. Since Madhouse Daddy died, I find myself with a cupboard full of food that nobody wants to eat - or rather, that I would eat, but that the Madhouse kids would instantly turn their noses up at ! Time to get creative ...

One of the recipes that I discovered was Hunan Chicken, over on the Dinner Then Dessert blog, which I'd never heard of and, importantly, neither had the Madhouse kids ! It was easy to throw together, even though I admit that I adapted it to suit the contents of my kitchen cupboard. The Madhouse kids had a mixed reception - mainly because of the broccoli - but I thought it was very nice !

Chicken & Broccoli Stir Fry

ingredients :

1kg chicken fillets

2tbsp cornflour

a drizzle of oil

2 cloves garlic

1tbsp minced ginger

about 200g mushrooms

1 courgette (optional)

end of a bag of frozen broccoli

1 can bamboo shoots (optional)

2 chicken stock cubes + hot water

2 tsp cornflour

6 tbsp soy sauce

1tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp chili paste

Chop the chicken into chunks and dredge it in the cornflour.

Heat the olive oil and fry the chicken for a few minutes on each side. Reserve.

In the same pan, fry the garlic and ginger, the broccoli and mushrooms (and any other veggies you are using, for example courgette and bamboo shoots).

While the veggies are cooking, sort out the stock. In a bowl, prepare the stock and water, adding in the cornflour, the soy sauce, the rice wine vinegar, the sugar and the chili paste. Stir well.

When the veggies are just cooked, add the chicken back into the pan and pour in the sauce. Cook for a few minutes, stirring everything together.

Serve with rice.

This was a great way of using up odds and ends from my seasonings cupboard, as well as the end of a bag of frozen broccoli, so I'm adding it to this month's #KitchenClearout linky.