eat my words

Of course, the next mailing I get from The Splendid Table is for a healthy-looking Lemon-Chicken stirfry...This looks pretty good. If you try it, let me know.

Lemon Chicken Stir-Fry

Recipe from The One-Dish Chicken Cookbook by Mary Ellen Evans. © 2006 by Mary Ellen Evans.

Makes 4 servings

Lemon chicken most often appears as pieces of chicken battered, deep-fried and topped with a thick, lemony sauce. While tasty, it's tricky for the home cook to get just right, plus the dish is laden with calories.

By stir-frying strips of chicken and adding asparagus, then adding the lemon sauce toward the end of cooking, this recipe becomes a true one-pot—or one-wok—dish

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon plus 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon grated ginger, plus 2 teaspoons minced ginger
• 1/3 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• Three 6- to 8-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut in 1/4-inch strips
• 1/2 pound thin asparagus spears, trimmed and cut in 2-inch lengths
• 2 large carrots, peeled and cut in 2 x 1/4-inch strips
• 1 small red onion, halved lengthwise and cut in 1/4-inch slices

1. Stir the lemon juice and honey together in a small bowl to dissolve the honey; stir in the lemon zest. Mash the 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic with the salt using the back of the tines of a fork to form a paste; stir the paste into the lemon mixture along with the grated ginger. Stir the chicken broth and cornstarch together in a separate small bowl.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the canola oil in a wok over high heat; swirl to coat the sides. Add 1 teaspoon of the remaining garlic and 1 teaspoon of the minced ginger to the wok and stir quickly. Add the chicken; stir-fry until the chicken is no longer pink in the center when cut with a knife, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove.
3. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon canola oil to the wok; swirl to coat the sides. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon garlic and the remaining 1 teaspoon minced ginger; stir quickly. Add the asparagus, carrots, and onion; stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the lemon mixture and bring to a boil. Boil, stirring often, until the vegetables are crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Add the reserved chicken. Stir the cornstarch mixture to blend; pour into the wok. Bring to a boil; boil until thickened and clear, about 1 minute. Serve with rice to soak up the lemon sauce.