I thought it would be great to post a new recipe creation that we made on Sunday night (I know, the title is a mouth full, but it is so worth it!). It was one of the most satisfying Asian meals we have had in a long time! I think we will make this on a regular basis, because the cabbage provided a surprisingly wonderful base, just like rice (my husband probably thinks otherwise!).
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Paleo Eggplant Chicken Stir-Fry with Asian Cabbage Salad
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 2
Ingredients:
Eggplant Chicken Stir-Fry
2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into medium cubes, or thinly sliced
Fish sauce, to taste (Optional)
1 red onion
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1-3 tsp ginger, peeled and finely minced
1 large jalapeno, or whatever type of pepper you want to use, sliced on diagonal
4 small eggplants, cut into 1-inch cubes
The whites of three green onions (reserved from cabbage salad prep)*
Splash of toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp coconut oil for frying
About 1/4 cup of water, in case you need to moisten the stir-fry
Asian Cabbage Salad:
1 head of cabbage, quartered and very thinly sliced
3 green onions, very thinly chopped, whites reserved for stir-fry*
1 large handful of sugar snap peas, very thinly sliced on diagonal
2 tomatoes, large dice (about 1/2-inch cubes)
1/2 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
6-8 tbsp tahini
4-8 tbsp olive oil (just enough to thin out the dressing)
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/2 – 1 tsp ginger, peeled and finely minced (to taste)
1/4 t to 1 tbsp of chili garlic paste (to taste)
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp Lemon juice, unfiltered apple cider vinegar (or both), to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions:
Assembling Salad:
- Mix the cabbage, green onions, sugar snap peas, tomatoes, and cilantro in a large bowl.
- In a smaller bowl, whisk together tahini, olive oil, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, chile paste, acid, and season with salt and pepper. Adjust tahini, oils, salt, pepper, and acid to suit your preference.
- Pour dressing over cabbage mix, stir well.
- Reserve the portions of salad you’ll use for the stir-fry base, and leave at room temperature. Package the rest for sleep in the fridge. (If you’re making ahead, pull out the portions you’ll use with the stir-fry and leave at room temperature before you prep anything else; you don’t want to serve your nice hot stir-fry on top of a cold salad).
Cooking Stir-fry:
- In a very large skillet, saute pan, wok, or pot (non-stick will make things easier), heat a few tablespoons of coconut oil at high heat.
- Add HALF of the onion, garlic, and ginger to the pan, and cook for about 1 minute.
- Add the chicken, season with a little salt and pepper, and cook until cooked through. Just before it’s done, add a splash of fish sauce and cook it for a bit more (you just need to reduce the fish sauce).
- Remove all chicken and aromatics from the pan and keep in a bowl. Add around 4-6 T coconut oil to the pan (you’ll need more than you think, because the eggplant will soak up a lot of the oil).
- Add in the rest of the onion, garlic, and ginger. Add the jalapeno slices. Cook for about 1 minute.
- Add the eggplant and green onion whites, season with salt and pepper, and continue cooking at high heat until the eggplant starts getting soft around the edges.
- Add the chicken and aromatics back to the pan, making sure to get all of the good juices. Add the splash of sesame oil and continue cooking until the eggplant is cooked (but not slop).
- If the stir-fry is really dry because there wasn’t a lot of juices from the chicken, add some water to help create a little bit of a sauce.
- Scoop stir-fry on top of cabbage salad and enjoy!
Notes: The cabbage salad makes a LOT, and as leftovers it makes a great base for a lot of things: like Asian chicken salad (add some more greens, if you’d like, and some sliced red bell peppers, slivered nuts, etc.) or the filling for a lettuce wrap. The salad is rather mild to serve as a nice compliment/base for the stir-fry, so if you’re going to use it for a stand-alone salad, I would increase the amount of acid used in the dressing to give the end result a little more zip. You can go crazy with different versions of this stir-fry. You can add broccoli, bok choy, sliced red and yellow bell peppers for color, etc. You can add a little coconut milk at the end of cooking to make a sauce, but it wouldn’t play well with the cabbage salad (despite the sesame oil), so I’d only do that if I was serving the stir-fry by itself, or with a different base. I find that with the coconut oil, there’s a tiny suggestion of sweetness, so you don’t need to actually add a sweetener like it is traditionally done.
This recipe was provided by a super fabulous ‘mommy’: Melissa at Fit n’ Well Mommy. Go and visit Melissa on her website for even more yummy new recipes, health and fitness tips, and join The Naked Label as we follow her on her fun-filled (and often humorous) journey through mommyhood! Click Here.
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