Chicken and Papaya Stir-Fry

A 15-mile bike ride this morning and 4 hours in the garden this afternoon—not much time (or desire) to cook anything for dinner. But I received a new Food & Wine magazine yesterday and was leafing through it at lunch when I came across this recipe. Imagine… I actually had both a ripe papaya and poblano peppers. This combination is unusual and I took it as a “sign” that this would be our dinner. :)

My alterations to the original recipe: used light soy sauce instead of regular, and decreased the second measurement (the one tablespoon not in the marinade) to 2 teaspoons; used 8 ounces chicken; since I was using my nonstick electric wok, I decreased the oil to ½ teaspoon; omitted the scallion.

I served this over steamed basmati rice with steamed snow peas tossed with a soy-ginger dressing on the side. Jack and I both gave it two thumbs-up. He asked “how much papaya is left?”, I replied that I had only used half, and he commented “well, I wouldn’t mind this for dinner again tomorrow.” No, dear, there’s a papaya and black bean salad planned for the rest of that tropical fruit!

* Exported from MasterCook *

Chicken and Papaya Stir-Fry

Recipe By : Food & Wine July 2007

Serving Size : 4

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

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2 teaspoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons dry white wine -- (I used dry sherry)

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast -- cut into 1" pieces

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 small onion -- thickly sliced

1 teaspoon minced ginger

1 large garlic clove -- minced

1 whole poblano pepper -- (or Anaheim chile), thickly sliced

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

1 pound papaya -- peeled, seeded, cut into 1/2" x 3" strips

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

1 large scallion -- sliced

In a medium bowl, combine the soy sauce, wine, and cornstarch. Add the chicken and turn to coat.

Heat the oil in a wok or a large skillet over moderately high heat. Add the onion, ginger, and garlic and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the chicken and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add the poblano and crushed red pepper and continue stir-frying until the peppers have softened, about 3 minutes. Add the soy sauce and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Transfer the chicken to a platter.

Add the orange juice ot the wok and boil until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Return the chicken to the wok, add the papaya, and stir-fry until hot, about one minute. Add the lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, and transfer to a platter. Garnish with scallion.

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Per serving: 227 Calories (kcal); 5g Total Fat; (20% calories from fat); 28g Protein; 17g Carbohydrate; 66mg Cholesterol; 508mg Sodium

Food Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 3 1/2 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 1/2 Fruit; 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates