I want to be very clear about this, I don’t know a thing about Asian cuisine. Not one thing. I do know that when I spoke to a coworker who went to China for a graduate school trip, she told me that the food that we are used to eating at our local take-out is not what she experienced in country. Wow! No General Tso’s chicken? Um, no… She told me that it was really different.

Now here in the Atlanta area, we have an area which is predominantly culturally Asian. For those who are familiar with this area, I am speaking of the Buford highway area; or at least a small part of it. That area also has a rather large Latin community as well. It isn’t like it was for me when I lived back home in Philly where we had a Chinatown. I guess this area is similar, just not nearly as large or as pronounced as Chinatown in NYC, Philly, or San Francisco. I do know that the food I have experienced in all of those places is very good, but I really have no idea just how authentic it is.

That being said, I still have the good fortune of having a really, really, good Chinese restaurant just around the corner from my house where my favorite dish is their House Egg Foo Yung. This comes to me piping hot with pork, shrimp, chicken, in a really tasty omelet smothered in a really tasty gravy. Oh, how I love this dish. You know, you know, I plan to make it.

Well, this past week has been filled with pain. I had an attack of gout which left me sleepless for 42 out of 48 hours. My ankle swelled too the point that I call it a “Hobbit foot", and I am still having a horrible time walking. I worked from home for 6 days, then gimped into work for one day this week. I tell you, I would not wish this “King’s disease” on anyone!!!

I did manage to make a nicely tasty stir-fry dish using a throw together of vegetables, chicken, and a handful of cashews. I would call it “cashew chicken", but I am pretty sure that since I made the sauce from a variation of a Moo Goo Gai Pan recipe, it wouldn’t be appropriate. No, this was simply my putting a bunch of stuff together into my new wok and enjoying the result. It was indeed, not authentic, but very, very good. Better than any take-out, in my opinion. Feel free to try my recipe and call it authentic; as in an authentic take on what we believe to be Chinese food. At least it was cooked in a wok. I would have fried some ice-cream if I knew how. Is that even authentic?

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INGREDIENTS:

Sauce:
1 cup chicken broth
2 tbs rice wine vinegar
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs hot chili sauce
1 tbs sherry vinegar
1 tbs plum sauce
1 tsp fresh ginger - grated
1 tsp (or as much as you can stand) red pepper flakes
2 tsp corn starch
1 tsp sugar

METHOD:
Whisk everything together. Set aside.

Stir-fry:
A bunch of stuff you have in your fridge that you need to eat!
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into chunks
1/2 cup carrot - julienned
i red pepper chopped
1/2 cup shitake mushrooms - coarsely chopped
1/2 cup scallion
1/2 cup snow peas
1 small can water chestnuts
1 bunch bok choy - torn
peanut oil
1 tbs garlic (’cause we like garlic here - feel free to use more, not less!)

METHOD:
Marinade:
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp minced red chilies
1/4 cup honey
2 tbs soy sauce

Marinate chicken for 2 hours.

Heat a wok over medium high heat.

Add a tablespoon of peanut oil and wait until it shimmers. Now, you are going to need to add more oil as you go along. The wok is hot and the cooking method is fast, so just use your judgement with the oil as you progress.

Add the chicken, and cook until firm and no longer pink.

Remove the chicken and set aside.

Add the mushrooms, pepper, carrots, and bok choy.

Cook until the bok choy is soft.

Add the garlic and peas, and stir fry until fragrant.

Add the water chestnut, cashews, and scallion.

Stir in the sauce and reintroduce the chicken.

Cook until all is warmed through.

Give the dish a name and plate! I suggest adding some good quality sticky rice and an adult beverage.