Quick chicken stir-fry

I've got a couple of announcements to make before I turn to todays blog post. Firstly, I had my graduation last Thursday and as of then I'm officially Master of Laws and it feels so good to finally know that all the hard work down here in Singapore has paid off properly. Secondly, because of that I did a fair bit of travelling over the last two weeks as I my sister came down here so unfortunately I've been unable to make any posts. And lastly, I think I should just give you guys a small heads-up with regards to my upcoming 10-day trip to Vietnam in the beginning of August where once again I will not be able to post anything. Looking on the bright side, we're doing a half-day cooking course whilst we're there so hopefully I can share some of the Vietnamese dishes with you after I'm back. But enough about the announcements ....

Stir-frys have a sort of sentimental value for me. When we lived back in the UK and went down to the countryside my fiancé always made us a nice stir-fry for dinner. It was like an unwritten rule. After we moved to Singapore we carried on having stir-frys every now and then for two very simple reasons - they're quick to make and healthy. And on the plus side the ingredients here are quite a bit cheaper than back home. What I personally love about stir-frys is that you can modify them to fit all tastes as you can put in almost anything. Also, it is one of the easiest ways to ensure that you eat your 5-a-day. Just pick up a nice bunch of vegetables, all in different colours, and prepare yourself a filling rainbow coloured dish and you're all set of for the day.

I served this stir-fry with boiled white rice, but there are so many nice noodles out there that would go so well with chicken and vegetables. So try out different flavours and experiment until you find something that you really like. Usually we mix the rice or noodles into the stir-fry whilst it is in the wok, but this time for photo purposes I served them side by side. This again is just a matter of preference and doesn't really change the taste - only the way it looks. The only key to making stir fries is to have all the ingredients chopped up a ready, because once you start cooking it is just a matter of minutes until you need everything and the dish is ready.

Ingredients

(Serves 3)
- 200ml rice
- 500ml water
- 2 skinless chicken breasts
- 100g baby corn
- 75g silver sprouts
- 200g bok choy
- 1 red pepper
- 1 yellow pepper
- 75g snow peas
- 1 clove of garlic
- Soya sauce

Directions
Firstly boil the rice. Place the rice in a pot, add the water and season with some salt. Bring the water to boil and then turn down the heat, place the lid on the pot and let it boil for 15 minutes.

In the meantime chop up all the ingredients. Heat up some oil in the wok, crush in the garlic and fry the chicken. When the chicken is almost done, add the rest of the ingredients and stir fry until the vegetables have wilted. Finally, add the soya sauce and let it reduce down a bit. Now, if you want mix the rice into the stir fry or put the rice on a plate and top it off with the stir fried chicken and vegetables. Enjoy!

 

Honey & pineapple prawn stir-fry

Whenever I'm travelling somewhere exotic I first of all try to eat only local food and especially use the possibility of eating fresh fruit - they taste so much better than the ones you get to buy over in the UK or anywhere else where they have been imported to. I've spent the last week in Singapore (where I will be living for a next year or so) and thought of cooking something for dinner, which wasn't western. And as my boyfriend has got me hooked on stir fries, I did not have to think for long before I knew what I was going to make. After a trip down to the local supermarket and a bag full of fresh king prawns and local pineapple I was very excited of putting together this dish.

The thing I really love about stir fries is that you can put in whatever you want (they are great for using up any leftover vegetables in the fridge) and they are really simple, healthy and fast to make, which makes them perfect for weekday dinners. This one was my first with prawns (make sure you don't overcook them) and I will most definitely be using them instead of chicken in the future. Until now, I haven't put any fruit in my stir fries but after trying out a stir fry with pineapple my imagination went flying - can't wait to do one with mango now! The dish itself is slightly on the sweet side, but if you prefer spicier food add some sambal or chopped chillies. I served it with boiled rice, but it would go well with all sort of different noodles or even just on its own (but then increase the quantities).

Ingredients
(Serves 3)
- 600g raw king prawns
- 1tsp peanut oil
- 1 medium red pepper
- 115g snow peas
- 2 small cloves of garlic
- 0.5 pineapple, chopped coarsely
- 3 tsp kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
- 1.5 tsp honey
- Jasmine rice, to serve
- Sambal or lazy chillies (optional)

Directions
Put the rice to boil and have it ready before making the stir fry. Chop up all the ingredients before starting. Heat the peanut oil in a wok pan and stir fry the prawns, red pepper, garlic and peas until the prawns have changed colour. Then add the rest of the ingredients and stir fry until hot.

Divide the rice up between the plates and top it with the stir fry. Serve immediately.