Crispy coated chicken thighs, blistered green beans, mushrooms and sweet peppers in a glossy oyster sauce and Maggi glaze. Everything cooks in one wok, and it's on the table in about 30 minutes.
1¼ lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size cubes
¼ cup cornstarch
1 tsp MSG, plus a pinch for the vegetables
½ tsp salt, plus a pinch for the vegetables
1 tsp ground mustard
2 to 3 tbsp canola oil
1 onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp ginger paste
4 oz mushrooms, sliced
8 oz green beans (a couple big handfuls), trimmed and cut in half
1 tbsp rice vinegar
3 sweet bell peppers, sliced
¼ cup oyster sauce (we like Lee Kum Kee)
2 tbsp Maggi seasoning
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
Steamed white rice
Green onions, sliced (optional)
Chili garlic sauce, for anyone who wants heat
Toss the chicken with the cornstarch, MSG, salt and ground mustard. The chicken is usually wet enough on its own for the coating to stick.
Heat the oil in a wok over high heat. Add the chicken and cook about 5 minutes, stirring constantly so the starch doesn't stick, until browned and cooked through. Move it to a plate. The coating soaks up most of the oil, and what's left is all you need for the vegetables.
Add the onion, garlic and ginger paste. Cook a few minutes, until the onion softens. It doesn't need to caramelize.
Add the mushrooms before the other vegetables so they brown on the high heat instead of stewing in everyone else's juices. Give them a few minutes.
Add the green beans and rice vinegar. Cook a few minutes on high until the beans start to turn tender. If your beans are still a little wet, that's fine. The water helps them steam.
Add the bell peppers last and cook just a minute or two so they keep some crunch. Season the vegetables with a pinch of salt and MSG.
Return the chicken to the wok. Add the oyster sauce and Maggi and toss until everything is glazed. The cornstarch on the chicken thickens the sauce as it cooks.
Turn off the heat, drizzle with sesame oil and top with green onions if you have them. Serve over rice, with chili garlic sauce on the side.
Michael's notes
Use thighs, not breasts. They stay juicy on high heat. If the sauce feels too thick, add a small splash of water. How much liquid you get depends on how wet your vegetables are.
Taste before adding more salt. Maggi and oyster sauce are both salty, and there's already MSG and salt in the coating.
We had green beans, sweet peppers and mushrooms in the fridge that needed to get used. It's not a combo you'd see at Panda Express, but they're all good on their own, so I figured they'd work together. I also didn't want to make a pepper and mushroom stir-fry plus a separate pan of garlic green beans. One wok, one cleanup.
The sauce is just oyster sauce and Maggi, the two I always reach for. As a kid, I thought the panda on the Lee Kum Kee bottle meant it came from Panda Express. It doesn't, but it's still my favorite oyster sauce.
We served it with rice and air fried egg rolls, because one main dish was apparently not enough work. It was worth it.