Thai-Style Chicken with Sweet Chili Sauce

My past few posts have been sweet indulgences.
Nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all.

But splurges need to be balanced out with real food.
Or so I'm told by my trainer, Joe.

On Tuesdays we confess to Joe every glass of wine, every cookie, french fry and spoonful of gelato that passed our lips over the weekend. Doing so keeps us (mostly) honest. Problem is, Joe loves food as much as we do and we end of comparing recipes along with our reps.

Joe, I don't think you'll find fault with this one.
It's become a family favorite, because it's so delicious and fresh, as well as healthy.
I even added in more vegetables than the recipe called for. I am that good.
I also upped the quantities a bit because last time I made it my son complained that there wasn't enough for four. If you have a sixteen year old boy, you'll understand.

This comes from the pages of The Steamy Kitchen, a wonderful cookbook and blog by the same name.
The author, Jaden Hair, is terrifically funny and talented. Her Asian style cooking is light, refreshing and best of all, easy.

Thai-Style Chicken in Sweet Chili Sauce
 adapted from The Steamy Kitchen by Jaden Hair


Cornstarch slurry: 2 Tbsps. soy sauce plus 1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch

1 1/2 lb. boneless chicken breast, thinly sliced

 2 Tbsp. high heat cooking oil, such as canola

3 shallots, thinly sliced

2 fresh kaffir lime leaves, slivered (optional)
(I have never been able to find these. Leaving them out won't make a big difference.)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced

1/2 lb. broccolini or broccoli, stems and heads

1 Tbsp. fish sauce

3 Tbsp. soy sauce

1/4 cup sweet chili sauce (available in Asian section of your grocery store)

1 small handful fresh Thai basil or Italian basil leaves

In a large bowl, make the cornstarch slurry by stirring together 2 Tbsp. soy sauce and cornstarch until the cornstarch has dissolved. Add the sliced chicken and toss to coat well. Marinate at room temperature for 10 minutes, while you prep the vegetables.

Set a wok or large frying pan over high heat. When a bead of water sizzles and evaporates upon contact, add the oil and swirl to coat. Add the chicken slices in one layer and cook for 2 minutes on each side. You may have to do this in 2 batches. Remove the chicken from the pan, keeping as much oil in the pan as possible. The chicken will not be cooked through at this point, but will be added back in later to finish cooking.

Lower the heat to medium and add the shallots, garlic and kaffir lime leaves, if using. Stir fry for 30 seconds. Add the red and yellow peppers and broccolini to pan. If the pan seems dry, add a little water or chicken broth.
Stir fry for about 1 minute until vegetables are slightly softened but still bright in color, with some crunch.
Pour in the fish sauce, soy sauce and sweet chili sauce and stir well. Add the chicken pieces back to the pan and let it all simmer together for about 2 minutes. Check to see if chicken is cooked through. Sauce should be glossy and slightly thickened.
Turn off the heat and stir in basil leaves.

Serve with rice.