• Stir-Fried Sesame Chicken and Leek

  Filed under Main Dishes - Chicken
  Jun 16
  
  Do you remember back when I asked for your leek recipes? Well, if I was on top of it, I would have posted this recipe right after that post, with a follow up post shortly after on what I decided to do with the remaining leeks. But I’m not on top of it. In fact, I feel like I’m not on top of anything in my life lately. I keep thinking that things are going to slow down, but maybe that is just the nature of today’s world – too much to do and too little time!!

  So it may be late, but here is my first recipe featuring leeks. I will post the second on Wednesday – and I did use one of the suggestions I received.

  This recipes comes after trying to work my way through my cookbooks. Now that I am posting this recipe, I can cross another cookbook off the list!

  Back in my single days, I didn’t really cook very often. I guess mainly because cooking for one is not as much fun as cooking for more than one. Plus, living with roommates, there is just not a lot of room to keep a decently stocked kitchen. Add to that the busier social calendar – meals just didn’t come out of my kitchen very often. But I’ve always been a sucker for a new cookbook. I didn’t have as many back then, but I would always go through the shelves at bargain stores like TJ Maxx and Ross. They were never name brand cookbooks, but they were always filled with tons of pictures and lots of tasty sounding food. In fact, some of my favorite recipes have come from these cookbooks. This is one of those “bargain” cookbooks. I actually think I bought a copy of this chicken cookbook as a gift, but after looking through it, I decided that I wanted a copy of it for myself as well, so I went and bought another copy. And then there it sat. Another cookbook that I have looked through many times, but have never actually cooked out of. Well, that has now changed.

  This is an easy and fast recipe. And it got me to use an ingredient that wasn’t as familiar in my kitchen – the leek. The recipe says to serve with pasta or rice – we opted for some angel hair pasta, and it was perfect!
  
  Stir-Fried Sesame Chicken and Leek
  from The Complete Chicken Cookbook

  Serves 4-6

  2 tablespoons sesame seeds
  1 tablespoon oil
  1 1/2-2 lbs. chicken tenderloins, cut diagonally into strips
  1 leek, julienned
  2 cloves garlic, crushed
  2 tablespoons soy sauce
  1 tablespoon mirin
  1 teaspoon sugar

  Heat a wok until very hot, add the sesame seeds and dry-fry over high heat until they are golden brown. Remove the seeds from the wok.

  Reheat the wok, add the oils and swirl them around to coat the side. Stir-fry the chicken strips in three batches over high heat, tossing constantly until just cooked. Reheat the wok before each addition. Return all the chicken to the wok.

  Add the julienned leek and the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until the leek is soft and golden. Check that the chicken is cooked through; if it is not cooked, reduce heat and cook, covered, for 2 minutes, or until it is completely cooked.

  Add the soy sauce, mirin, sugar and toasted sesame seeds to the wok, and toss well to combine. Season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately.

  Great served over pasta or rice.

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  14 Comments

14 Responses to “Stir-Fried Sesame Chicken and Leek”

1. 

   noble pig said on June 16th, 2008 at 3:43 pm

   It sounds yummy, I’m going to have to try this one!

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2. 

   Elle said on June 16th, 2008 at 4:36 pm

   Looks great, and not to mention simple! I love good stir fry!

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3. 

   Emiline said on June 16th, 2008 at 6:14 pm

   Yum. Asian food sounds really good right now.

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4. 

   Jenny said on June 16th, 2008 at 8:31 pm

   Hi Deborah,
   I was just looking at some leeks at the Farmer’s Market thinking of what I could make, what a great looking recipe!

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5. 

   Mary said on June 16th, 2008 at 10:20 pm

   This looks really yummy! I’m not too familiar with working with leeks, but I love sesame chicken so this one goes on the “to try” pile!

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6. 

   Kevin said on June 16th, 2008 at 10:42 pm

   That looks good and sounds simple. I do not use leeks as often as I would like.

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7. 

   Peabody said on June 17th, 2008 at 12:18 am

   Looks good I love sesame anything. I have a salmon and leek quiche over on NW Noshings if you still want leek recipes.

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8. 

   Elle said on June 17th, 2008 at 4:01 am

   Hats off to you for going through the cookbooks…and this recipe is a lovely one, too. Leeks, chicken, sesame and stir-fry…great combo. Looking forward to future leek recipes.

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9. 

   kamailesfood said on June 18th, 2008 at 12:36 am

   Yay! Another recipe I can try in my wok.

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10. 

    KJ said on June 18th, 2008 at 8:48 am

    Looks delish. Yay for crossing off cookbooks!!!

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11. 

    RecipeGirl said on June 18th, 2008 at 1:47 pm

    This looks like a great recipe. I’d have to make it when hubby is out of town as he flips out when I make things w/ sesame seeds in it (they get stuck in his precious teeth!)

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12. 

    Sophie said on June 18th, 2008 at 5:53 pm

    leeks are so delicious and fresh…I only wish they weren’t so expensive around here!

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13. 

    Vicarious Foodie said on June 20th, 2008 at 1:35 am

    This dish looks really good! I too have cookbooks that are just sitting around without being used. I absolutely love flipping through them and looking at the recipes, but I rarely cook from them. I think I’m spoiled by the Internet. It’s so much easier to print a recipe and tape it on the cabinet while I’m cooking than it is to find room for a book on my already-too-small counter and worry about it getting splattered with grease or something.

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14. 

    Dhanggit said on June 20th, 2008 at 10:31 am

    what a perfect combination, chicken, leek and sesame!! i love stir fry..i guess i really need to buy a wok to do magic like this!

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