Chicken with Bok Choy

I love my frying pan, in case you haven't noticed. I love the versatility of them and I love how easy they can make my dinners.

I also love bok choy.

It's spicey, but it's also refreshing.

I live with a sort-of-picky eater (sort of because he always surprises me with peculiar likes... his hate of fish, but his love of spicy tuna rolls) so whenever I find a vegetable he likes, I make sure to buy it. We haven't had bok choy or anything stir-fry in awhile and I had two chicken breasts (Belle & Evans, love them - though Dan's dad is going to take me to get fresh chicken one day this spring, so that just be interesting).

I coated the chicken with a lot of spices before searing them. Salt, pepper, Mexican chili powder, cayenne, and garlic powder. My go-to spice loves.

Then I seared them to golden-brown crispy perfection.

Then I took them out of the pan and threw in the white parts of my bok choy. Stir them around to get all the good flavors from the chicken incorporated.

I also whipped up a sauce with soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and rice vinegar. I added some to the bok choy and let it have a few minutes of cooking.

Then the chicken gets added back in (thicker, less cooked pieces first, then after a minute, the rest of it).

 

Once the chicken was cooked all the way through, which only takes a couple of minutes, I threw in the bok choy leaves and stirred them to coat them and to wilt them. Only half a minute. They wilt quickly!

Then I added some more sauce and a healthy handful of cilantro and served it up!

I only wish I had some sesame oil, that was the one flavor this dish was lacking. It's included in the recipe below because if I had had it on hand, it would have gone in. But it was still delicious! Someone liked it so much, he licked his plate clean (making me realize there's a reason we don't do that in polite society).

Next time I would serve this over some rice noodles, but I also did not have any in the house (and I didn't feel like making rice). The rice noodles or rice would stretch this dish further and leave you with more leftovers.

RECIPE
Serves 3-4 (depending on whether you serve it with a noodles/rice or not)

Chicken
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, Mexican chili powder, and paprika - to taste
3 Tbs. olive oil
1 bunch bok choy - chopped, whites and greens separated
1/2 cup cilantro (loosely packed) - coarsely chopped
1 tsp. sesame oil

Sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup rice vinegar
1 Tbs hoisin sauce

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and sprinkle liberally with spices. When oil is beginning to shimmer, add the chicken breasts and cook (without touching!); 2-3 minutes per side. Remove chicken from pan and add bok choy whites. Stir to coat them and scrape up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add 1/4 cup of the sauce and stir to coat.

While the whites of the bok choy are cooking, slice the chicken in 1/2"-thick pieces. Make a well in the middle of the bok choy whites and add the chicken from the middle, where it is least cooked and thickest, first. Cook for 1 minute. Add the rest of the chicken and any accumulated juices and stir everything together.

Add the bok choy greens and stir to incoporate them and allow them to wilt - only about 30 seconds. Immediately take the pan off heat, the bok choy will continue to wilt from the temperature of the pan alone. Stir in another 1/4 cup of sauce and the sesame oil.

Serve with a nice handful of the chopped cilantro on top.