I love Chinese and Thai food but it is extremely difficult for me to eat it at restaurants because of my allergies to Sesame and Tree Nuts. So I have learned to make a lot of different dishes at home. This one is delicious and easy and the trick to the chicken, which is both moist and crispy is to "Velvet" the chicken. You can really sub in any veggie you want but what I love about snap peas is that they are thick so they stay really crisp and bright. My kids also love them because they are fun to eat with the peas inside!
Serves 4
Velvet Chicken
1 1/2 - 1 3/4 lbs chicken breast cut up into 1" cubes
2 tbsp water
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp corn starch
1 tsp vegetable or canola oil
Main Ingredients
2 tsp peanut oil
1 lb snap peas
1/2 cup shelled peanuts chopped or smashed
1/4 fresh mint leaves torn
1 jalapeño sliced (optional)
4 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
To velvet the chicken- in a large bowl and add water and soy sauce and mix until chicken is coated. Let sit 5-10 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed. Add corn starch and oil and let sit 15 minutes.
In a small bowl mix lime juice, water, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and sugar until sugar dissolves. Set aside.
Heat a large skillet or wok to high heat. Add peanut oil and once hot add chicken. Cook in batches if necessary as to not crowd the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes until chicken is browned on the outside and mostly cooked in the middle. It will finish cooking later on and you don't want to overcook.
Remove chicken and place on a plate. Add a little more oil if the pan looks dry, if not add the snap peas and cook for about 3 minutes until they are crisp but still bright green. Add back chicken as well as peanuts, mint and jalapeño if using. Add in sauce and cook together for a few minutes until sauce begins to thicken and everything is well coated. Serve with brown or black rice.
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