Fiery Burmese Chicken and Green Beans

• servings: 2 servings
• active time: 10 minutes
• total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

10-12 ounces chicken breast (boneless, skinless) or sub tofu, cubed and patted dry.

2 teaspoons cornstarch

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

¾ teaspoon Chinese Five Spice (do not leave this out -see notes)

1 tablespoon oil for searing (peanut, coconut or  high temp”wok” oil)

2 ½  tablespoons soy sauce (or use GF liquid aminos)

2 teaspoons honey or sugar or alternative (do not leave this out)

2 Â teaspoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoon Shaohsing – Chinese cooking wine,  “shaoxing”, rice wine, or sub white wine

1-2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce ( sambal or sriracha) for  2 stars

6 ounces fresh green beans, haricot verts, snap peas or asparagus

1 red or yellow bell pepper, sliced into ½ inch wide strips

½ an onion, sliced into ½ inch wide strips

3 fat garlic cloves, rough chopped

5- 10 dried thai chilies- optional but good! (you won’t eat these, just for flavor)

10-12 Thai Basil leaves ( torn) or use regular basil if in a pinch

Directions

Pat dry chicken breast and slice at a diagonal into thin ¼-⠓ inch thick slices, then cut in half. See photo.

Place in a wide shallow bowl and sprinkle with cornstarch, salt, pepper and Chinese 5 Spice. Toss to coat well and set aside.

Make the Stir fry sauce by placing all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together with a fork.

Slice onion, bell pepper and rough chop the garlic.

Gather everything near the stove. Turn your stove fan on high and open a window or door. Heat the oil in a wok or extra large cast iron skillet over medium high heat, until it’s smoking. Sear the chicken in two batches, using tongs to brown each side, then set aside on a paper towel-lined plate ( you will cook it through later).

Add the green beans, peppers and onion to the wok and dry fry over med high heat ( wok will smoke). Keep stirring often until the green beans soften slightly and begin to char in places, about 4-5 minutes. These charred bits add a lot flavor, so make sure you are patient and allow them to char a little. Make a well in the center of the veggies, and add the garlic and hot chilies and a tiny splash of oil. Stir fry 1-2 minutes, until garlic is fragrant. Add the chicken back into the wok and pour in the sauce. Â Turn heat down to med low and stir to incorporate- let this simmer for a few minutes, stirring until chicken is cooked through, 2-3 minutes.

At this point, if you feel like chicken needs to continue cooking but the wok seems dry, add a splash of water or more chinese cooking wine, until chicken is cooked through. (Cutting it thin will ensure it cooks quickly.) Taste. Add chili paste for more heat, or a pinch more salt if you like. Add the Thai basil right at the end.

Divide among bowls over rice if you like, or on its own. Â Feel free to add roasted peanuts or crispy shallots for texture. Serve with chopsticks.

Notes

Use allspice instead of Chinese 5 spice

Chili garlic sauce: hot sauce, chili flakes, chili powder, garlic powder

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 2 hearty bowls ( using c
• Calories: 443
• Total Fat: 12 g
• Saturated Fat: 2 g
• Trans Fat: 0 g
• Cholesterol: 124.1 mg
• Sodium: 954.1 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 38.5 g
• Dietary Fiber: 6.6 g
• Total Sugars: 23.3 g
• Protein: 43.8 g