Thai Chicken Stir Fry

This dish is a great way to use up leftover cooked chicken or turkey- in a way where you won't even be able to tell you're using leftovers because of all the flavor.  The first time I made this recipe, believe it or not, was back in high school.  I had just purchased my first cook book (The Good Housekeeping Step by Step Cookbook c1997) and this recipe stood out as being both simple and different from the food I was used to eating at the time. The sweet and spicy flavors of the chicken are complemented well with the lime & parsley rice.  I haven't made it in a while, but it came to mind after we had cooked an entire chicken for chicken soup and had plenty of leftovers.  Luckily it was just as tasty as I remembered!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups regular long grain rice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
• 1 lime, halved 
• 1 lb cooked shredded chicken or turkey
• 1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced or grated ginger
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon corn starch
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• sliced green onion for garnish

Directions:

Prepare rice: In 3 cups boiling water, heat the rice, salt, and black pepper to boiling over high heat.  Reduce to low; cover and simmer 20 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed.  Stir in parsley and juice from half of a lime and keep warm.  

Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix together the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, cilantro, honey, curry powder, sesame oil, corn starch, and crushed red pepper.   Add 1/2 water and mix until well combined.

In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over high heat.  Add the sliced red pepper and green onion.  Sprinkle in 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Stir frequently until the red peppers are tender and starting to turn golden.  

Turn heat to medium.  Add the soy sauce mixture and cook for 2 minutes.  Mix in the chicken and stir to coat all of the chicken in the sauce.  

Taste for salt and pepper, adding more if necessary.  Cook for about 4-5 minutes longer. Serve hot over the rice and garnish with sliced green peppers and freshly squeezed lime juice.