Many people think that Chinese food is hard to make. But in reality, it is very easy, as long as you keep a few staple items around. Stuff like oyster-flavored sauce, rice wine vinegar, and such may sound like they are hard to find. However, if you have a well-stocked supermarket near you that has ethnic food aisles, these should be very easy to find. I find stuff like this very easily in stores like Stop & Shop and Shaw’s. And they keep for ages; I think I’ve had the same bottle of oyster-flavored sauce in my fridge for something like a year now, and it’s still perfectly good. You only use a little of that at a time, so it had better last!
It’s easy to just get Chinese takeout, but that is not always the healthiest choice. Mike has to cut back on salt, so that’s pretty much the end of regular visits to Chinese restaurants. They douse everything in soy sauce, it seems, and use tons of MSG, as well.  Once in a while is okay, though.
But by cooking Chinese food at home, I have full control over the amount of sodium in the dishes. Yeah, the sodium level is still a bit high, even so…but at least I won’t have to be sure that the wireless security system is turned on, just to keep the Food Police out. Even with the reduced sodium, this is still a once-in-a-while treat.
Here is a wicked easy recipe which I adapted from one in Martin Yan’s Chinese Cooking For Dummies. The original recipe was just the sauce, chicken, and canned water chestnuts. I left out the water chestnuts because I didn’t have any on hand, and added a bag of frozen stir-fry veggies…with rice, this is a complete meal.
Honey-Garlic Chicken and Veggie Stir-Fry
2 tablespoons oyster-flavored sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil
12 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
3 whole dried red chiles (I’m talking about the small ones here, they come in little jars or sometimes in bulk at stores that have bulk foods/produce). They are thinner than your finger and maybe an inch or two long)
1 (16 ounce) bag frozen stir-fry veggies, at least slightly thawed
Hot cooked riceMarinate the chicken: Combine the oyster-flavored sauce, rice wine vinegar, cornstarch and five-spice powder in a bowl, whisk together well. Add the chicken, toss to coat well, and let sit for 10 minutes.
Make the sauce: Combine the chicken broth, honey and soy sauce in a small bowl.
Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add the oil, swirling to coat the sides. Add the garlic and stir-fry until golden brown but not burnt, no more than two minutes. Add the chiles and stir-fry for about 10 seconds. Add the chicken pieces and their marinade, and stir-fry until cooked through, about 5 minutes.
Add the veggies and the sauce mixture, bring to a boil, and cook for about 2 more minutes, until chicken and veggies are nicely glazed. Serve with hot cooked rice, and warn people to be careful of those chiles (unless they like to eat whole chiles). Serves 4.
Dark soy sauce is not exactly the same as regular supermarket soy sauce, it is darker and thicker. Find it in the Asian food section of the store, or in an Asian market. If you can’t find it, use regular. But do try to find that oyster-flavored sauce (which doesn’t actually taste like oysters), as it does make all of the difference.
Enjoy! 
