Easy, Gluten-Free Stir Fry

Today, things seemed to be running smoother.  The eye is healing, we are putting in insulation, and we can see drywall in our future.  To make a push towards our next objective, we had another one of our famous "work parties."  I like how you can add "party" to something to try and make it sound fun.  Maybe next I'll have a "toilet-cleaning party" or a "going back to work party."  Anyways, I digress.  To keep the "party crew" energized, we need to provide sustenance.  I have been craving my mom's delicious stir fry from when I was a kid and  stir fry seemed like a nice counterbalance to all of the barbeque and Mexican food we have been eating.  But, with my wok buried in the basement with the majority of my cooking supplies, I needed to get creative and keep it simple to make a stir fry.

I figured I could make it easily enough in a frying pan as long I watched it carefully.  The ingredients I started with were:

• 1 lb chicken breast, cut in to thin slices
• 1 head of broccoli, chopped
• 1 zucchini, sliced in to pieces (you can add most any vegetables that you want as long as they equal about 4 1/2 cups worth)
• 2-3 tablespoons oil
• 6 tablespoons gluten-free soy sauce
• 1 1/2 cup gluten-free chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons gluten-free corn starch
• 2 teaspoons gluten-free brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup salted cashews
• White or brown rice, prepared as instructed

I started by taking the sliced chicken breast and marinating in 3 tablespoons of the gluten-free soy sauce for about 3 hours.  It makes the chicken more flavorful and tender if you marinate it.

Once the chicken is done marinating or your "party crew" is hungry, mix together the rest of the soy sauce, the gluten-free chicken broth, the gluten-free brown sugar, the gluten-free corn starch, and the crushed red pepper flakes until they are well-combined.  You will need to keep stirring the sauce occasionally to keep the soy sauce from settling at the top.

Then, add 1-2 tablespoons of oil to a skillet.  Heat the oil on medium heat and then add the chicken, stirring constantly.  Once the chicken just starts to turn white on the outside, you can add the garlic.

This is where the recipe gets a little trickier.  If I had a wok, I would just push the chicken to the sides and start cooking my vegetables.  But since I don't, I had the options of removing the chicken and cooking the vegetable separately or cooking the vegetables with the chicken and hope not to make a mess.  I chose the latter of the two and it worked out fine. I only made a little mess.  You'll probably want to add another tablespoon of oil to the mix to prevent things from sticking.  Cook your vegetable 3-4 minutes:

Once the vegetables are done, add the cashews and a little bit of the sauce to the mix. Reduce your heat to low.  You don't want to add all of the sauce at once or your vegetables will get soggy.  Keep stirring and adding sauce until all of the sauce is added.  After all of the sauce is added, continue cooking on low for about 2 minutes.  Then, remove the skillet from the heat.  Let it cool for about 3-5 minutes and serve over rice.

That is the gluten-free version of one of my favorite childhood recipes! This may go on Allergy Free Wednesday. Do you have any childhood recipes you've made gluten-free?  Share them in the comments section.