DO try this at home

I usually don't run the sort of blog that gives you recipes to read, but I'm going to share this one with you, loyal readers. Given my recent expedition to Thailand, and subsequent devouring of delicious food I did there, I've been trying to create some of that at home. A few trips to the Asian grocery store for exotic spices and obscure-to-the-western-world sauces, and a couple of recipes from my friend Debra, and I'm a little closer to the truth.

Gai Pad King (chicken stir-fried with ginger)

10 oz chicken breasts, cut small
4 tbsp oil
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small onion, sliced
2 oz ginger, shredded (I used about a 3 inch piece of ginger root)
2 big red chilies, sliced (I used some high-test Sriracha garlic-chili sauce instead because the chili which I had on hand has actually gone all mushy)
1/2 cup chicken stock or water
2 oz green onions (scallions), cut into 1 inch pieces

2 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce

Heat the oil, and fry the garlic until it's browned. Add onion and chicken, and stir-fry until the outside of the chicken turns white. Add ginger and stir-fry to combine. Add sauce ingredients and stir-fry again. Add chilis and chicken stock and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add green onions and stir-fry to combine. At this point your neighbors will start appearing and asking if there's enough for them too because it smells REALLY good.

This was quick and easy and very good. It helped to slice and chop all the ingredients early because the actual cooking time is fast. I did not have any green onions, so I threw in a handful of greens and the end of a huge sweet red pepper which was lingering in the fridge. Vegetarians could probably make this with tofu and/or mushrooms, but I really don't know enough about fish and oyster sauce to tell you what to substitute for them.

A lovely quiet night at home tonight, with leftovers of the above to be eaten by the woodstove, and "Three Cups of Tea" to start reading. We change the clocks tonight too, my favorite night of the year...the longer days are starting and nothing could make me happier.