This week and most of next will be very busy for me. Since I’ll be offline, I’m leaving two recipes, those I owe Catsudon and Svelte Rogue. I’m amused at how I do this even on my blog, for this is also how I am in real life. If I have to go somewhere for at least three days, I try to fill up the refrigerator as much as I can for those I leave at home. Oh, the habits that mark our lives!

And so we proceed. Both are meat recipes. I’m not including a vegetable recipe here because both dishes are best served with a fresh green salad, or at least with slices of cucumber and carrots. When proportions are not written, it means you can use as much or as little as you want. So goes the sensual cook!

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The next dish is something I cooked as an experiment a few years back. It has always been a hit during parties and when my friends ask for the recipe, I invariably call it by two names – Chicken in Mushroom Sauce or Chicken in Honey.

Chicken can be bought from the butcher or meat shop in strips. Make sure these are neatly sliced and of the same size, so they cook evenly and remain juicy. Ask to have the skin separated from the flesh and also ask for the bones. Boiled skin and bones (Svelty, when I say boiled for broth it means you add a pinch of salt, peppercorns and some herbs like bay leaves) can be the base for chicken broth. Kept frozen in a container, it can be kept for two weeks.

Chicken Strips in Mushroom Sauce

½ kg. skinless and boneless chicken strips
1 cup sliced fresh button mushrooms or 1 large can
1 fresh green chilli (anything mild, like the sili we use for sinigang – Svelty, omit this if Mikka’s eating)
1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
2-3 tablespoons honey
1 ½ tablespoons dry sherry or 1 tablespoon red wine (optional)
2 teaspoons corn flour or corn starch
2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
50 g. cashew nuts

1. If using whole chicken, slice it into thin, even strips.
2. De-seed and slice the chilli into fine rings.
3. Combine the soy sauce, honey and sherry together in a bowl then mix the corn flour with 3 tablespoons of water until smooth, then add to the mixture.
4. Heat half the oil in a wok or frying pan over low heat and brown cashews evenly. Remove from pan.
5. Add the remaining oil to the wok and increase to a high heat.
6. Add the chicken, mushrooms and chilli and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until sealed on all sides.
7. Add the sauce to the pan and stir over a medium heat until the chicken is evenly glazed and the sauce is thickened.
8. Add the cashew nuts and serve at once.

Bon appetit!

P.S. Bea, next time you’ll have a recipe to yourself, all your own.