Gimmicks Don't

February 8th 2010

Recipe of the Week

Sichuan-Style Chicken with Peanuts
From EatingWell

The piquant Sichuan Sauce (which doubles easily) works well with almost any stir-fry but particularly enhances dishes with meat, fish and poultry. When stir-frying chicken, always spread the pieces in the wok and let them cook undisturbed for 1 minute before stirring. This allows the chicken to sear and prevents sticking. To smash the ginger, use the side of a cleaver or chef's knife.

4 servings, 1 cup each
Ingredients
Sichuan Sauce

• 3 tablespoons reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons Chinkiang rice vinegar, (see Note) or balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, plus more to taste

Chicken

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, or thighs, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon Shao Hsing rice wine, (see Note) or dry sherry
• 1 teaspoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 1/2-inch-thick slices ginger, smashed
• 2 cups sugar snap peas, (8 ounces)
• 1/4 cup dry-roasted peanuts
• 1 scallion, minced

Preparation

• To prepare Sichuan sauce: Whisk broth, tomato paste, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, cornstarch and crushed red pepper to taste in a small bowl.
• To prepare chicken: Combine chicken, rice wine (or sherry), soy sauce, cornstarch and garlic in a medium bowl; mix thoroughly.
• Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok or large skillet over high heat until a bead of water vaporizes within 1 to 2 seconds of contact. Swirl oil into the pan, add ginger and stir-fry for 10 seconds. Carefully add the chicken mixture, spreading it out. Cook until the chicken begins to brown, about 1 minute. Using a spatula, stir-fry for 30 seconds. Spread the chicken out again and cook for 30 seconds. Continue stir-frying until the chicken is lightly browned on all sides, 1 to 2 minutes. Add snap peas and stir-fry for 1 minute. Stir the Sichuan Sauce, swirl it into the pan and stir-fry until the chicken is just cooked through and the sauce is slightly thickened and glossy, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Transfer to a platter (discard the ginger) and sprinkle with peanuts and scallions. Serve immediately.

Tips & Notes

• Make Ahead Tip: Prepare Sichuan Sauce (Step 1); cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week.

• Notes: Chinkiang is a dark, slightly sweet vinegar with a smoky flavor. It is available in many Asian specialty markets. If unavailable, balsamic vinegar is an acceptable substitute.
• Shao Hsing (or Shaoxing) is a seasoned rice wine. It is available in most Asian specialty markets and some larger supermarkets in the Asian section. An acceptable substitute is dry sherry, sold with other fortified wines in your wine or liquor store. (We prefer it to the “cooking sherry” sold in many supermarkets, which can be surprisingly high in sodium.)

Nutrition Together Food Weight = 3.0

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Skipping Meals Not a Good Weight-Loss Strategy

Skipping meals is discouraged as a weight-loss strategy.  Although it might seem that cutting out a whole meal’s worth of calories would lead to weight loss, studies show that this strategy rarely works.

Most people who skip a meal and its 300 to 600 calories usually increase how much they eat at other meals in the day by at least the same amount of calories. These people, like others who come to a meal overly hungry, tend to eat rapidly, which makes it difficult for them to sense when they’ve had enough.

People who skip meals may also snack more. Although the snacks might be small in size, they can add up to a substantial number of calories and replace the calories missed at a meal.

Furthermore, even if you manage to keep a low daily total of calories for a few days by skipping meals, weight loss requires reduced calorie consumption over an extended period of time. Meal-skipping that leads to considerable under-eating for a few days often results in more days of overeating.

Source: “Nutrition Wise” by Karen Collins, MS, RD, CDN, American Institute for Cancer Research, www.aicr.org. 

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