Food From My Friend: Mom's Soy-Ginger Chicken

One of the awesome things about singing in an international organization is all the opportunities I have to meet people from all over the world. Sofia and I first met online through a barbershop-connected group on social media. She sings with the magnificent Lions Gate Chorus in Vancouver and I feel fortunate to have met her in person at Harmony College Northwest a couple of summers ago and to have seen her perform with Lions Gate on the International stage just this past Fall. We have a mutual interest in food, too, and when she found out I have a turtle named Sofia, she thought that was cool! How could I not like her?

This recipe is a tried and true from her Mom. I'm honored to share it!


 Today's cast!


 Fresh ginger is peeled and julienned.


I removed the fat from boneless, skinless chicken thighs and cut them into bite-sized pieces. The chicken was mixed with a splash of avocado oil, the regular shoyu, garlic and a teaspoon of cornstarch.


Meanwhile a pan with more avocado oil was being heated. The slivered ginger was added; just until that incredible fragrance was released.


 The chicken mixture was added and stirred around with the ginger. The aroma already!


After a few minutes of cooking, the dark shoyu was added. It's deeper in color and flavor. The texture is almost syrupy.


I cooked the chicken until it was no longer pink; I should have made more of an effort to make my pieces consistent in size because a few chunks were on the larger size. Clearly, my idea of "bite-sized" and what Sofia might have had in mind were rather different! I had made a slurry consisting of a teaspoon of cornstarch and a tablespoon of water. The slurry was stirred in and after a moment, the pan was removed from the heat.


I added a pinch of kosher salt and served it with rice and a homemade kimchee (see the next blog entry!). We really enjoyed it! It was fast, flavorful and the chicken was nice and tender. I ate a serving and left to run an errand. When I came back there were a couple of lonely scraps left in the pan. Another successful recipe!

Thank you, Sofia! I know I'll see you on social media but I sure hope to see you at International 2021!

Mom's Soy-Ginger Chicken
Courtesy of Sofia Layarda

 Ingredients:

 2 or 3 generous fresh ginger "knobs" (each the size of a thumb), peeled then julienned
5-6 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
2 lbs. of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of visible fat and cut into bite-sized chunks
1-2 T. of dark shoyu
1 T. regular shoyu
dash of salt
Cooking oil
2 tsp. cornstarch, separated

Instructions:
  1. Mix 1 tsp. cornstarch with 1 T. water into a slurry and set aside.
  2. In a mixing bowl, combine the chicken, a dollop of cooking oil, the regular shoyu, the garlic and the other teaspoon of cornstarch. Mix well and set aside.
  3. Heat some cooking oil in a large pan and stir fry the ginger to bring out the fragrance--about 1-2 minutes.
  4. Add the chicken mixture and stir to combine. After a couple of minutes, add the dark shoyu.
  5. Stir fry until chicken is no longer pink then add the cornstarch slurry. Stir to combine then remove pan from heat.
  6. Taste and add a dash of salt, if desired.


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