Soya Chicken Stir Fry

This is an extremely yummy way to get loads of veggies in! This recipe has a sweet and spicy sauce - my personal favourite. This recipe doesn't call for that nonsense store bought sauce. No. We make our own sauce! This is so much better because you can control the quantities of each ingredient going in, meaning you can tailor this recipe to your taste buds.

While browsing my local Asian grocery store I came across their soya 'meat' products. They had all kinds of things. They had 'chicken', 'prawns', sausages, and many others. I was quite fascinated and decided to give it a try. I must say, I was super impressed. This 'meat' texture pulled apart compared to say Fry's chicken-style strips. So I would say that this soya 'chicken' would be more versatile and could be used in multiple recipes. 

I have tried cooking the 'chicken' in the same pot as the rest of the stir fry and it came out a bit soft and chewy, but it pulled apart and there was a better distribution throughout the dish. I also tried cooking it separately and then adding it in later, it was less chewy! But it stayed all clumped together and it didn't absorb the flavour, so I don't know which is better. I'd say it's up to your personal preference. 

Ingredients:

- A pack of Soya chicken (optional)
- 1 onion sliced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 yellow pepper deseeded and sliced
- 1 red pepper deseeded and sliced
- 2 - 4 brown mushrooms sliced (amount depends on if you use the chicken)
- 1 carrot peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/4 cabbage or some bok choy (optional)
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Chinese rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato sauce
- Salt and pepper
- Some spring onion chopped (optional)
- 1 small red chilli deseeded and sliced (optional)
- Sesame seeds

Method:

1. Place a wok or a deep pan on medium-high heat and add some oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion. Fry it off until fragrant.
2. Add in the garlic, cabbage, carrots, and 'chicken' and fry off until the 'chicken' starts to brown.
3. Add in the peppers and mushrooms, fry off for another minute or two.
4. Start adding in the soya sauce, vinegar, sugar, sweet chilli, and tomato sauce. Make sure to toss everything in the newly made sauce and adjust it to your taste.
5. Optional: Stir through the chopped spring onions and chilli, do not cook for too long as these should still be crunchy when served.
6. Serve this on a bed of jasmine rice or noodles, top it with some sesame seeds and enjoy!