Madhouse recipe : Wok-fried Chinese Chicken & Veg

During the confinement, nothing was thrown away. Whether it was leftover meat or vegetables, rice or pasta, it always got thrown into another dish and many of them were really popular. This dish is one of those. There is no recipe as such - just use up whatever veg is in the fridge and whatever leftover cooked meat you have. It'll work whatever it is !

Wok-fried Chinese Chicken & Veg

ingredients :

drizzle of olive oil

1 onion

2 carrots

1 leek

2 boiled potatoes

whatever other cooked or raw veg you have (sweetcorn, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, ... whatever you have, it'll be fine !)

1tbsp sesame oil

2tbsp pomegranate vinegar

2tbsp sweet soy sauce

leftover cooked chicken

leftover cooked rice

If you don't have any leftover cooked rice, start some off just before you begin, then it can be added to the dish just as it's finished cooking in ten minutes or so. Chop up whatever cooked vegetables you have that need using up (I had a couple of boiled potatoes) and whatever fresh veg you have in the fridge. I had onion, carrot and leek, but you could add various other types of vegetables. I'd definitely have added red pepper if I'd had it. Cabbage, broccoli, sweetcorn and cauliflower could be good too.

Put a drizzle of olive oil in the wok, heat it up then stir fry the veggies. Make sure you keep stirring so they don't stick to the bottom of the pan and burn. Cook for about ten minutes if using fresh veg, five minutes if using cooked veg that just needs warming up.

When it's softened but still keeps a nice firm, crunchy texture, it's done. Throw in the cooked chicken - this is great for using up the leftovers from a roast chicken.

Mix together the sesame oil, pomegranate vinegar and sweet soy sauce in a bowl, then pour into the pan. This used ingredients that I had in the cupboard - you could replace them by honey, white wine vinegar and regular soy sauce. 

Stir the sauce through the veg, then add the cooked rice. Depending on whether it's hot (just cooked) or cold (leftover rice), it will need 2 minutes or 5 minutes to finish cooking/warming up. Mix it all together

If you want, you could add some chopped peanuts and/or fresh mint or coriander to the dish after serving.

This was so quick and simple to throw together and it was perfect for using up leftover cooked rice and chicken. It's also good for clearing out the veg box of the fridge. The kids loved it too.

This is a great use-up dish and can be adapted to suit whatever you have in the fridge, so I'm adding it to the #KitchenClearout linky.