Chicken and Black Bean Stir Fry

This evening the youth in our church had an Iron Chef competition and I volunteered to be one of the host homes for one of the groups. With the items given to them they decided to make a stir fry and relied on one of my stir fry cookbooks for help.

They chose to make Chicken and Black Bean Stir Fry. I was surprised that this even existed and was glad they could use the black beans in a non-Mexican dish. The kids did an awesome job of following the recipe and made a terrific tasting meal!

The judges LOVED their dish. It was the only dish presented that was all eaten, plus they were the only dish that was Asian. Good job guys!

CHICKEN AND BLACK BEAN STIR FRY

• 1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast fillets, cut into strips
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Chinese rice vinegar or sherry (we used chicken stock)
• Salt, to taste
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp corn oil (we used sesame oil)
• 2 green bell peppers, seeded and diced
• 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger (we used ginger powder)
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped (we used a white onion)
• 3 tbsp black beans (we used about half a can)
• 2/3 cup chicken stock
• Freshly cooked egg noodles, to serve (we used spaghetti noodles)

Place the chicken strips in a large bowl. Mix together the soy sauce, wine or sherry, a little salt, sugar, sesame oil, and cornstarch, and pour over the chicken.

Heat the wok over a high heat, add the chicken strips and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the green bell peppers and stir-fry for an additional 2 minutes. Then add the ginger, garlic, shallots, and black beans, and continue to stir-fry for another 2 minutes.

Add 4 tablespoons of the stock, stir-fry for 1 minute, then pour in the remaining stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the sauce for 3-4 minutes or until the chicken is cooked and the sauce has thickened slightly. Serve immediately over egg noodles.