Two Recipes, One Meal

Today I'm going to give two recipes that make up a fine filling dinner - chicken stir fry with cauliflower rice. The way I've heaped them on the plate probably doesn't do justice to the meal. I would suggest presenting them as two halves on the plate rather than one on top of the other so that you can see everything that's gone into the dishes. In the photo I have the chicken stir fry on top of the 'rice'. You will have to make two batches of the cauliflower rice to even up the number of servings as one batch only makes two servings. I served mine on a plate but a bowl is also fine.

Fried Rice

2 servings

Ingredients:
1 medium cauliflower head
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp gluten free soy sauce or Bragg's liquid aminos
diced half courgette/zucchini
quarter onion, finely chopped
1 large carrot finely chopped (or half a medium sized or 2 small)
1 crushed garlic clove
2 finely sliced spring onions/scallions to serve

Utensils:
food processor
thin, flexible spatula for stir frying

Method:
Pulse the cauliflower in a food processor to a rice-like texture.
Put the pumpkin seeds in a dry frying pan set over a medium heat and toast until browned. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
In the same pan, add the sesame oil, soy sauce, courgette and onion. sauté until the onions have browned. Add the carrot, garlic and cauliflower rice and stir fry until the cauliflower rice has softened, which should take approximately 4-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and divide between bowls. Top each serving with the pumpkin seeds and spring onions/scallions.

Credit: Plant-based Paleo by Jenna Zoe

Chicken Stir Fry

4 servings as part of a meal with the 'rice'

Notes: To roast raw cashews drizzle them with a small bit of oil and stir to coat, pre heat oven to 175C (350F), put the cashews on a baking sheet and spread out to a single layer, place in the oven for 15 minutes. I usually do this the day before to save time.
You may as well use the toasted sesame oil for this dish if you already have it out for the cauliflower rice. Other than that, any good cooking oil that works well with a high temperature hob setting will do.
Cornstarch probably works better than coconut flour if you can get a safe one but coconut flour is more convenient for me.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp oil
[aromatics]
2 tbsp minced ginger*
quarter tsp pepper
[chicken]
450g (1lb) diced chicken breast
[marinade]
1 tbsp minced garlic
1.5 tsp coconut flour
1 tsp gluten free soy sauce
1 tsp Japanese (because it's normally gluten free) rice wine or dry sherry
0.75 tsp sea or Himalayan salt
[vegetables]
125g (1 cup) sugar snap peas
1 cubed red bell pepper
60g (half cup) whole roasted cashews
[sauce]
60 ml (quarter cup) chicken broth
1 tsp gluten free soy sauce
2 tbsp rice wine or sherry

Utensils:
a whisk
a thin, flexible spatula for stir frying
a wok or stir fry pan

Method:
Cut up ingredients as instructed. Place the aromatics on a small plate nearest to the wok. Place the chicken and marinade ingredients together in a bowl. Stir to combine and mix until no dry coconut flour can be seen. Add a teaspoon of oil to the chicken and stir to combine to help prevent the chicken sticking to the wok. Place the bowl next in line to the aromatics. Put the vegetables on a plate, sprinkle with salt and place next in line to the chicken. Whisk together the sauce ingredients in a bowl and place next in line to the vegetables.
Set the hob to high and place the wok on it. After about 30 seconds start flicking droplets of water on the pan to determine when it is hot enough, making sure not to overheat it. As soon as the droplets evaporate within 1 to 2 seconds of contact the wok is hot enough.
Pick up the wok from the hob and swirl 1 tablespoon of the oil around it to coat the bottom and sides.
Put the wok back on the hob and add the aromatics. Stir the aromatics for 10 seconds or until fragrant.
Push the aromatics up the sides of the wok. Carefully add the chicken and spread evenly in one layer at the base of the wok. It should sizzle on contact. If it doesn't the wok was not hot enough.
Cook the chicken undisturbed for about a minute, allowing it to sear.
Stir fry the chicken constantly for about another minute and mix with the aromatics, or until the chicken is lightly browned but not yet cooked through.
Swirl the remaining tablespoon of oil into the wok and add the vegetables.
Stir fry for about a minute more.
Pour the sauce in around the sides of the wok instead of the centre to prevent cooling the pan and lowering the cooking temperature. Stir fry for about a further minute or until the chicken is just cooked through.

*See the tip in this post to speed things up with the ginger:
https://myautoimmuneblog.blogspot.com/2019/12/chicken-ratatouille-with-twist.html

Credit: This is my adaptation of a recipe I found on a website called "the kitchn".