Ginger-Garlic Shrimp and Chicken

I've continued working on my Asian cooking skills this week with another Weight Watchers recipe that I only tinkered with slightly. The original recipe called for chicken, but since I made it on a Saturday night I used shrimp, which made it seem a bit more special, or "date-night" worthy! (Is it still a date night if you've been married over 30 years? hhmmmm....) AND since I had some leftover grilled chicken, already conveniently cut into cubes, I threw in a few of those for the last minute of cooking. That upped the point total from 6 to 7, if you are a Weight Watchers member, but it was worth the extra point, believe me!

This dinner came together quickly and really was delicious. I subbed sriracha sauce for the sambal oelek chili paste that the original recipe called for, because that's what I had in the pantry. I also used slightly less teriyaki sauce, because I didn't have the lower sodium kind. I added some soy sauce, because I like it, but you can leave that out if salt is a problem for you. My choice for the sliced green onions in the original recipe was to use a plain yellow onion. I scattered a few pieces of green onion over the dish when I plated it. Served over brown rice, it was healthy and good -- good for you and good to eat! Like most stir fry dishes, the key is to get everything prepped and ready to cook. Once you begin to cook, things move really fast. I start my rice about an hour before I am ready to cook the stir fry.  I like to cook brown rice in some of the same low sodium, fat free chicken broth that I use in the stir fry. It's always a 2  to 1 ratio: 2 cups liquid to 1 cup rice. Bring the liquid to a boil, add the rice, cover and turn down to low. Leave it on low heat for about 30 minutes, turn it off and let sit until you are ready to eat.

Ginger-Garlic Shrimp and Chicken
4 servings
1/2 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 lb. cooked, cubed white breast meat chicken
2 T. Teriyaki sauce
1 T. soy sauce
2 tsp. canola or vegetable oil
2 cups small broccoli florets
1 red or green pepper, quartered and thinly sliced
1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 cup water chestnuts, drained and roughly chopped
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
4 scallions, green part only, thinly sliced, for garnish.
1/2 cup low sodium, fat free chicken broth
1 T. finely chopped fresh ginger root
1 T. minced garlic
1 T. Sriracha sauce (optional, or use less if you don't like spicy)
2 c. cooked brown rice

Place the shrimp, teriyaki sauce and soy sauce in a small bowl, stir to combine. In a large, non-stick frying pan, heat 1 tsp. of the oil. Add the shrimp, which you've fished out of the marinade. Cook them over high heat for about 3 minutes.

Searing shrimp.

Remove the shrimp to a clean bowl and add the other tsp. of oil. Add the green pepper, broccoli and carrots to the hot pan. Stir fry for one minute.

Stir frying the vegetables

Add the onions and stir in. Pour the remaining marinade over the vegetables. Stir for a minute, put a top on the pan and let steam for about 2 minutes, until the veggies are just crisp tender. Add the garlic, ginger and sriracha sauce to the mixture and stir them in. Lastly, add the water chestnuts, chicken broth, reserved shrimp and cubed chicken. Cover to heat through, about 2-3 minutes. Serve over rice, scatter a few green onions over the top. Makes 4 servings, 1/2 cup rice per serving.

Ready to put over the rice. Doesn't that look good?