Chicken and Celery Stir-Fry is a welcome break from the sweet treats and indulgences of the holiday season. I love the crunch of the celery and the earthiness of the wood ear mushrooms, the mild oniony-ness of the scallions, the silkiness of the chicken. And it’s all bathed in a mellow and warm stir-fry sauce which is much less punchy than my all-purpose stir-fry sauce.
This Chicken and Celery Stir-Fry must be served with brown rice. You want to fill your belly with goodness. How can something so healthy feel so good? Maybe because it makes you feel smug enough to move on to the next indulgence? Until Dry January, that is… Then it will be trips to the gym, and hmmm, maybe some more Chicken and Celery Stir-Fry!
Chicken and Celery Stir-Fry
Equipment
- Heavy-bottomed wok
Ingredients
STIR FRY
- 1 cup dried wood ear mushrooms
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 t cornstarch
- ½ t salt
- ¼ t white pepper
- 6 stalks celery
- 4 scallions
- 3 T grapeseed oil
SAUCE
- 1 T cornstarch
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 1 T tamari
- ¼ cup oyster sauce
- 1 T sesame oil
- 1 t ground white pepper
Instructions
IN ADVANCE
- Soak the mushrooms – Pour the mushrooms in a bowl and cover them with cold water. Let them soak for at least two hours.
WHEN READY TO COOK
- Prep the chicken – Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Toss with cornstarch, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
- Prep veg – Wash and trim the celery, and chop it into 1/2-inch pieces. Wash and trim the scallions, then cut them into 2-inch pieces, separating the white and light green pieces from the scallion greens. Set aside.
- Make the sauce and prep the mushrooms – Whisk all of the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Drain the mushrooms and give them a rough chop.
- Stir-fry, in stages – Heat the grapeseed oil in a large wok over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sauté until it's cooked through and beginning to brown on the edges. Scoop the chicken out of the wok and set aside on a plate. Add the celery and the root ends of the scallions to the wok and sauté until crisp tender. Add the mushrooms and scallion greens to the wok and cook a few minutes more.
- Finish – Return the chicken to the pan with its juices, stir in the sauce, and cook until everything is evenly coated and the sauce begins to thicken. Off the heat, drizzle with sesame oil and serve.
INGREDIENT NOTE: If you have white pepper, it does make a difference. I find the black pepper specks to be unappealing, but I couldn’t find white pepper in my spice cabinet. Next time I make Chicken and Celery Stir-Fry, I’ll be sure to use white pepper and redo the pictures for this post.
Tis the season for New Year’s resolutions (if you’re into that), which includes stir-frying in my kitchen – lots of vegetables and smaller morsels of protein, something we can all benefit from. If you’re looking for some more inspiration, check out my Stir-Fry Variations page.
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