STIR-FRIED CHICKEN AND PEPPERS II

Steps:

• 1. Skin and bone chicken then dice. Combine cornstarch, soy sauce, oil and ground pepper add to chicken and toss to coat. Let stand 10 minutes, turning occasionally. 2. Dice green peppers. Cut scallion stalks in 1/2-inch sections. Mince garlic. 3. Blend remaining cornstarch and soy sauce to a paste with water and sugar. 3. Heat oil. Add salt, then peppers, and stir-fry to soften (about 1 minute). 5. Add scallions and stir-fry until translucent (1 to 2 minutes). Remove vegetables from pan. 6. Heat remaining oil. Add garlic and stir-fry a few times. Add chicken stir-fry until it loses its pinkness (about 2 minutes). 7. Return vegetables to pan, stir-frying briefly to reheat. Stir in stock and heat quickly. Then cook, covered, 2 minutes over medium heat. 8. Stir in cornstarch paste to thicken. Serve at once. VARIATIONS: * For one of the green peppers, substitute either 3 celery stalks or 1/2 cup water chestnuts, diced. * For the mixture in step 1, substitute 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon sherry and 2 or 3 slices fresh ginger root, minced. * In step 1, toss the chicken in a mixture of 1 teaspoon cornstarch, 1 tablespoon sherry and 1 egg white. Omit step 3. Then at the end of step 6, sprinkle chicken with a mixture of 1 tablespoon sherry, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon sugar and 1 teaspoon soy sauce. Then stir-fry to blend in. Pick up step 7, but omit step 8. The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook. ©1994 by Gloria Bley Miller.