Recipe for Stir Fried Turkey with Snow Peas and Celery (and Tips for Chinese Cooking)

Quite a few years ago I took a class in Chinese Cooking. The class was taught by a visiting professor from somewhere in China. This was in the days before computers, and he gave us all hand-typed sheets of recipes with lots of typos and fractured English language phrases. The food was fantastic, however. From this class I learned three principles of Chinese cooking that I've used ever since. As I cooked this way myself, I added principles number four and five.

Principles of Chinese Cooking

1. Preheat the wok (before you put the oil in).
2. Season the oil (with whole pieces of garlic and sometimes ginger root, which you remove when you add the food to be cooked).
3. Symmetry of cut (all pieces must be cut the same size and shape).
4. Have all ingredients cut and sauces mixed before you cook.
5. Use very high heat and cook fast.
   

When I became interested in eating the low glycemic index way I renewed my interest in stir-frying as a cooking method. Most stir fries use cornstarch as a thickener which has 9 carbs per tablespoon, but most recipes which serve 3-4 people only use about a tablespoon. You can also use arrowroot starch, which is used quite a bit in China. It contains zero carbs, and can be ordered from Penzeys.

Stir Fried Turkey with Snow Peas and Celery
(2 small servings or one whole meal serving)

1/4 to 1/3 pound thin sliced raw turkey breast cutlets
1 cup snow peas
2/3 cup sliced celery
1 egg white
1 1/2 T Soy Sauce
2-3 T peanut oil (depending on your wok)
2 cloves garlic, each cut into 2-3 flat slices

Cooking sauce:
1/2 T cornstarch
1/2 T Soy Sauce
1/2 T Rice Wine Vinegar (not seasoned vinegar which contains sugar)
1/2 T Dry Sherry (or use another 1/2 T rice vinegar)
1/4 T ground ginger root (not dry ginger, also called ginger puree)
1/4 C water

Cut turkey cutlets into thin pieces about 2 inches long and 1/2 inch wide and mix with the egg white and 1 1/2 T soy sauce. Cut celery into slices and cut snow peas diagonally so each is in two pieces. Slice ginger, and mix cooking sauce.

Heat wok for 1 minute over high heat, until it looks shimmery. Add 1/2 of oil and heat about 30 seconds, then add snow peas and celery. Stir fry over high heat 2-3 minutes, until starting to turn bright green but still very crisp. Remove from wok.

Add rest of the oil and heat about 30 seconds, then add garlic pieces, cook 1 minute and remove. (Do not let the garlic get brown or it will create a bitter taste.) Add turkey and stir fry until well cooked, about 4 minutes. It won't get very brown, but the inside should be well cooked. Add snow peas and celery back into wok, heat one minute, then add cooking sauce and cook 2-3 minutes more, until sauce is thickened.

If your experience has mostly been with "Chinese American" food, you might prefer this without the egg. It does create small pieces of egg throughout the dish, which is pretty traditional in Chinese cooking. The egg also helps thicken without too much starch.

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