Moo Goo Gai Pan

i had the most wonderful treat last night. E came home from physical therapy and said he wanted to make dinner. um, yes please!

i had been flipping through a new cookbook called quick and easy chinese: 70 everyday recipes by nancie mcdermot. my dear friend, N, had given me another one of nancie's cookbooks entitled quick and easy thai. i loved the thai cookbook so much i ordered the chinese one. if this moo goo gai pan recipe is any indication of the rest of the chinese cookbook, i know i'm going to love it. i already want to get her third one - quick and easy vietnamese.

so E rocked the moo goo gai pan! he made a couple changes that i suggested and it was so good we gobbled it up. (bad move, E, you made a crucial mistake. you set the bar too high. now i know you can conquer a chinese recipe. i see more cooking in your future;)

when i had leftovers today for lunch, i added some bean sprouts and served it over a little brown rice to soak up that wonderful sauce. i realize that those two additions probably don't make it traditional moo goo gai pan anymore, but they were so good, i included them in the recipe.

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Moo Goo Gai Pan
adapted from quick and easy chinese
serves 3-4

1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken tenders, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 tbs chicken stock
1 tbs tamari
1 tbs dry sherry
2 tsp arrowroot
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp agave nectar
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 tbs sesame oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1" fresh ginger, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
8oz sliced mushrooms
8oz fresh snow peas, cut in half
1 cup bean sprouts

stir together stock, tamari, sherry, arrowroot, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.

heat wok over medium-high heat. add oils, garlic, and ginger. add in chicken in single layer. cook until just opaque on one side, then flip and cook until opaque on second side. remove chicken from wok and set aside. add mushrooms and onions to wok and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often. add chicken back to wok as well as snow peas. add stock mixture and cook 1-2 minutes, stirring well until sauce is bubbling and has thickened. remove from heat and stir in bean sprouts. serve over warm brown rice.