Chili Garlic Chicken and Vegetables

As I have mentioned many times, I find my inspiration for recipes from many different sources. This time, I was inspired by one of our very own again. Gail from http://snapshotsincursive.com/ had posted a recipe for Red Chile Garlic Chicken that just really made my mouth water. I had to try it. Of course, I changed it a bit, but not by much, and I was using my leftover Costco rotisserie chicken rather than cooking the chicken. I also added vegetables to the dish. I did not add the dried red chilies, but instead used red pepper flakes.

Chili Garlic Chicken and Vegetables

1 lb chicken – I used cooked chicken breasts that I added later

The Sauce

1-2 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste

salt & black pepper to taste

1 TBSP garlic

1 TBSP ginger

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 TBSP red wine

1 TBSP soy sauce

1 tsp paprika

2 TBSP honey ginger balsamic vinegar, optional

1 TBSP cornstarch

Combine everything together and set aside until later.

The Vegetables

2 carrots, peeled and sliced Asian style

1 cup broccoli florets

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced thin

1/3 cup green onions, sliced Asian style

cashews for topping

toasted sesame seeds for topping

olive oil for cooking

Saute all the vegetables together in a hot skillet or wok with the olive oil for about 5-7 minutes, or until mostly tender, but still have a slight crispness to them.

If you are cooking your chicken, cook it in a separate very hot skillet, with more olive oil, and salt & pepper until it browns. My chicken was already cooked, so I skipped this part.

Heat up the sauce and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for about 7-8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the chicken and cook until it is heated thoroughly.

I served it over cooked white rice and added my vegetables on top of the chicken. Then I added the cashews, green onions and toasted sesame seeds on top. I added some potstickers on the side too. Since this is a bold, heavy sauce, with red wine in the sauce, I served it with bold cabernet sauvignon. DELICIOUS!

Thank you Gail for this delicious inspiration. I hope you don’t mind that I personalized it a bit. As you see, there is nothing wrong with tweaking and personalizing recipes to suit your own tastes. In fact, I encourage it. The personal touches are part of what make cooking so much fun. Gail and I both started with the same basic recipe, but we each added our own style and personality, making them completely different. 🙂

Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.