Sweet and Spicy Chicken with Mushrooms

Stir-frying basics
1) Cut meat and veggies into uniform bite-size pieces
2) Marinate meat for 10-15 minutes in seasonings and a little cornstarch
3) Assemble aromatics (garlic, ginger, fermented black beans, etc.)
4) Mix a sauce
5) Heat the wok over high heat until it starts to smoke
6) Swirl in oil, add aromatics, cook for 30 seconds to a minute, stirring occasionally to prevent burning
7) Add meat, sear on one side for one minute, then stir regularly thereafter
8) Add vegetables as meat approaches doneness
9) Add sauce, stir to mix
10) Serve over rice, noodles, bean thread, etc.

Once you've got this system down, you can throw together a stir fry with just about any ingredients you like. Tonight I marinated 1 pound of cut-up chicken breast meat in 1 tablespoon of garlic chili sauce, 1 tablespoon of hoisin sauce, and 1 teaspoon of cornstarch. Then I sliced and set aside some white button mushrooms. For aromatics I grated 2" of ginger root, sliced two cloves of garlic, and minced 1 serrano chile. For sauce, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and 2 tablespoons Shaoxing cooking sherry. I cooked using the method outlined above and served over jasmine rice. The whole process took less than a half hour and the results were excellent. Don't believe me? Just look!