Davis Family Japanese Secret Yum Stuff

This is a guest post my Mrs. MC.

So we steal recipes. It is true. And then we make them our own. That is a good preface for what follows. On a trip to Utah, I stopped by the Davis household and was served this for lunch; some of the best leftovers I've had. First is the Davis version, pure and unchanged. Following that is what we did tonight. As for what to call it, I'm at somewhat of a loss. I am sure it is in the stir-fry category, but I don't know the name. Anway, so I don't have to call for the recipe anymore (just calls for things like hooking siblings up) we are putting it down on paper. . . um internet.

2 Stalks Celery

8 oz Mushrooms

1 Green Bell Pepper

2-3 Chicken Breasts

Cook the chicken and then the vegetables before hand.

4 cups Water

1 tsp Sugar

1 Clove Garlic

1/2 Cup Soy Sauce

Dump this on the chicken and veggie mixture and bring it to a boil. While it's getting there, combine

4 TBLS Cornstarch

1 TBLS Water

Turn this into a slurry and when *AND ONLY WHEN* the pot is boiling, add this slurry. It thickens almost immediately. Serve this over noodles or rice.

A word about rice. In the McLean Clan, there are really only 2 kinds of rice; basamati and now (thanks to the Davis Clan) Cal-Rose. We can do Jasmine, but really the others are IT. If we want dry rice, it's basamati and if we want sticky rice it's Cal-Rose. Don't skimp and use plain white rice and don't ever even consider that awful, repugnant stuff termed "minute rice". Please, don't make me roll over in my kitchen!

Anyway, now that we're past that, here is what we did. The sauce is the same, but I really like vegetables, so they are loaded in this. We have overdone it before, so I'm not advocating too many, but this seemed to hit perfect tonight. Good Ratio.

2 Carrots, julienned

2 ribs Celery

4 oz mushrooms

3/4 cup Broccoli

3/4 Red Bell Pepper (the rest was eaten beforehand!)

1/3 cup Fresh Green Beans

Oh and I used Tofu. Often we use chicken, but when we use tofu, it's best to marinade it in something like chicken broth with rice vinegar and sesame oil, ground ginger, red pepper flakes and brown sugar. Then bake it on 350 for 1/2 hour or so, turning them when they begin to brown. This gives them a really nice texture that my 2 year old can't get enough of.

The humungous bonus of this dish as per Davis family recipe is that it really is done within a half hour! Ours took longer since we baked tofu, steamed broccoli, carrots and green beans, in addition to stir-frying the other veggies. It's great their way; it's great ours!