Ma Po Chicken

Ma Po Chicken
Recipe adapted from Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations

Makes 4 Servings

1 pound chicken, diced
1 tbsp minced garlic
3 green onions, chopped
1 ½ cups chicken broth
1.5 tbsp red chili paste
1.5 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1.5 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 ½ tbsp chicken broth
3 cups white minute rice

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat; add garlic and onions and sauté until tender. Add chili paste, soy sauce and chicken broth. Stir until mixed and let simmer for 5 minutes. Add chicken, cooking 3-4 minutes on each side until no longer pink. Stir in cornstarch mixture to thicken sauce. Microwave rice per instructions. Divide rice into four servings and then top with chicken and sauce.

Nutritional Information: 426 calories, 59 carbs, 6 fat grams and 28 protein grams.

Review: I'm always looking for new Asian-inspired recipes - especially Chinese. I can eat this stuff all day long so it's awesome to find great, flavorful, take-out-tasting recipes like this one. It was so easy, but had a lot of kick from the red chili paste, but then was softened by the chicken broth. The chicken was tender and I loved how infused it was with the sauce. Much like previous recipes, I can't taste the green onions, but feel like I'd notice if it wasn't there. Only tip I have is to make sure you mix the cornstarch well with the broth - it really helped thicken up the sauce a bit (but not too much - perfect!) and I enjoyed this recipe and found it super easy. I love a short ingredient list and a simple, tasty and spicy Chinese recipe!