Leftover Stir Fry

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OK, the family and friends have been visiting this Christmas. You cooked up a storm. Well done. But, as always with entertaining, there’s quite a bit left over. If it’s cooked turkey or chicken, it’s probably dry and pretty well inedible (though with the sauces I gave you last week that need not be the case).

My mother once asked me to help her cook for a Christmas party in our London house in Gloucester Road in Kensington. I was 15 at the time. The guest of honor was to be her old friend Alec Waugh (he was Evelyn Waugh’s elder brother) the author of the novels “The Loom of Youth” and “Island in the Sun.” The latter was made into a hit movie starring James Mason and Harry Belafonte.

Mother and I slaved over the preparations. Actually, I slaved, she sipped her way through the organizing (she was a gin-and-tonic fan). She was in charge of the invitations. When I asked her a few days before how many were coming to the party she said “Oh, hundreds!” I knew by that time not to take my mother literally. She herself was a best-selling novelist and treated everything in her life as a kind of fiction. Putting it kindly, she was given to exaggeration. Anyway, whatever the true number was, she had probably forgotten.

From experience of her parties, I assumed the real answer was about 50 and so I shopped and prepared for that number plus a few more.

On the appointed evening (a week before the 25th) people started to arrive. About 20 turned up. Those are the lucky ones that had received the invitations. Mother had forgotten to send the rest out—including the one to the guest of honor. I called Alec and as luck would have it, he was available and came. He was a good sport.

I enjoyed the party—at least until Mother began to recite “The Green Eye of the Little Yellow God.” That was always a danger sign. She never actually passed out, that would’ve been a blessing. She just became, how shall I put it, awkward, embarrassingly awkward.

“There's a one-eyed yellow idol to the north of Khatmandu,” she began, somewhat slurred, but very theatrical.

“There's a little marble cross below the town;

“There's a broken-hearted woman tends the grave of Mad Carew,

“And the Yellow God forever gazes down……..”

Of course, there was a mound of leftovers, especially turkey.

“Deal with that,” she said to me the day after the party.

Most of it I donated to a soup kitchen. I wasn’t the only one, they were inundated with spare turkey. The homeless of London would’ve had a great meal.

I’ve forgotten what I did with the rest—I left home before it was finished. If I’d created this recipe then I would’ve at least had a great last meal.

You can make this with turkey, of course, chicken, firm tofu or even firm fish or shrimp—or a combination of whatever you’ve got. If it’s already cooked, you can skip stage two below. All the ingredients are healthy, and the calorie count is low.

It’s also a great recipe for entertaining, even if you’re not using leftovers. I have prepared it often when I’ve had to make a quick meal for friends. It takes about 30 minutes all up.

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‍Ingredients

Stir-fry sauce

• 1/4 cup low sodium stock
• 1/4 cup low salt soy sauce
• 1 tblsp raw honey
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
• 1 tblsp cornstarch (or corn flour)

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Leftover stir-fry

• 2 tblsp olive oil
• 500 gms (1 lb) boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces—or whatever you’ve got left over.
• Pepper, to taste
• 1 red bell pepper, deseeded and chopped
• 1 medium carrot, thinly sliced
• 2 cups broccoli or cauliflower florets, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tblsp finely grated ginger
• 1 tblsp minced garlic

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‍Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the chicken broth, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and corn flour (cornstarch). Set aside.
2. In a large skillet or wok on medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the chicken in a flat layer. Season with salt and pepper, and cook until lightly browned, about 4-5 minutes, stirring as needed. Remove the chicken to a plate.
3. Leaving any juices in the pan, add 1 tablespoon of oil along with the red bell pepper, onion, carrot, and broccoli. Cook the vegetables until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
4. Add the chicken back to the pan with the minced ginger and garlic. Stir for 30 seconds. Pour in the sauce and stir fry for another 1-2 minutes, until the sauce thickens.

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‍Serves: 5

Energy per serving: 728kJ (182 cals)