Velvet Chicken and Pork with Broccoli and Snap Peas

Now that I am cooking for just three, there are bits and pieces left over. I picked my first snap peas and some broccoli side shoots had to be harvested. (BTW, I saw the first white cabbage moths today.) I had a small piece of pork and another of chicken. Why not combine them? I was thinking of the wonderful creamy tenderness of velvet chicken and thought that pork loin would benefit from this treatment also.

Have all your ingredients prepared and ready to go before starting to stir fry. Once the wok is hot and you start stir frying, time moves along quickly. Advance preparation is a must. You can prepare the vegetables and sauce while the meat is marinating and the rice is cooking.

Serves 4

6 oz boneless skinless chicken breast (1 small half)

6 oz boneless pork loin (1/2” chop)

1 egg, separated

2 ½ Tbsp cornstarch

2 Tbsp cream sherry

2 Tbsp golden soy sauce

1 Tbsp chicken base

1 cup water

1 Tbsp sugar

2 shakes hot sauce

dash white pepper

1 cup white rice

2 cups water

6 cups of water

1 Tbsp sesame oil

½ cup diced onion (½ inch dice)

1 Tbsp minced ginger

1 Tbsp minced garlic

2 cups broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 small can (6.5 oz) mushroom pieces and stems, squeeze drained

2 cups snap peas

Cut the meats across the grain into very thin slices. Combine egg white, 1 tablespoon corn starch, 1 tablespoon sherry and 1 tablespoon soy sauce in a medium bowl. Stir until the cornstarch is completely dissolved. Add the meat pieces and toss with a spoon until completely coated. Cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate for 30 minutes.

Put rice and water in rice cooker or 4 to 6 cup pan with tight fitting lid. Bring to boil. Immediately turn heat to very low for 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Do not lift cover. Let steam for five minutes before fluffing with fork to serve.

Put 6 cups of water in a 2 quart saucepan and bring to boil over high heat.

Heat wok hot and dry. Remove from heat and coat lightly with canola oil spray. Return to very low heat to season, while preparing vegetables, meat and sauce.

Clean and prepare vegetables and set aside on a paper plate or dish for each.

In a small bowl, make up sauce with remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 ½ tablespoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon sherry, stirring until cornstarch is dissolved. Stir in chicken base until smooth and dissolved. Stir in water, remaining egg yolk, sugar, hot sauce and white pepper. Set aside.

When water boils, remove from heat and place meat with marinade in the hot water. Separate the meat with a spoon and let it sit in the hot water for five minutes to poach. Drain meat, put in a dish and set aside.

Heat wok to very hot. Add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. Stir fry onions for about 1 minute or until they start to look translucent. Add garlic and ginger and stir fry about 10 seconds.

Add broccoli. Stir fry until hot, about 1 minute. Sprinkle with a tablespoon of water and cover for 1 minute. Remove cover and stir some more. Replace cover for another minute. Repeat as necessary until  broccoli starts to change color to bright green.

Add mushrooms and snap peas and stir fry another minute, until hot. Add meat and stir fry for a minute. Cover for a minute. Repeat until hot and peas are changing color to bright green.

Stir in sauce mixture. Cover for a minute. Repeat stirring and covering, just until sauce has thickened.

Serve over rice.

Adapted from: http://www.afamilyfeast.com/velvet-chicken-with-vegetables/