NOTES AND CHEF'S COMMENTS:

Basically this is a clean-out the refrigerator stew. The sauce is more watery and you'll have to eyeball it as to the thickness. What I do is add the cornstarch to thicken it first and then cut it with water to the consistency I like AFTER I add the diced tomatoes. The "Contadina Diced Tomatos with Italian herbs" turns the mix into an Italian tasting dish with just the right nip of the gochu paste. The end result is a very colorful dish that tastes great.

If you use other brands of unseasoned stewed/diced tomatos, it tastes like the beef-tomato recipe above -- but still ono. I cook with a wooden spoon so my "1 tbs" is really a wooden spoonful -- more or less.

This makes an excellent summer dish. I make small musubi with cold rice with a strip of nori seaweed (kim) and a bowl of COLD tomato chicken stew to pick at using chopsticks. Because the boneless chicken with skin removed has little oil, this is not greasy if served cold.

INGREDIENTS:

3 pieces of boneless chicken breasts (frozen) sliced into 1/4" width strips
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbs Butter (or cooking oil)
2 large round onion -- rough chopped
1 bag bean sprouts (optional)
Handful of green onions (about 8 stalks) -- cut into 1 1/2 -inch lengths
2 tbs pimento
1/2 cup grated carrots (optional)
1 cup snow peas (frozen) or 1 cup sweet peas (frozen)
1 bottle/can (4.5 oz) of sliced button mushrooms
1 can (14.5 oz) diced or stewed tomatos (NOTE: I use "Contadina Diced Tomatoes with Italian Herbs" to give it a hearty Italian taste but with the small bite of the gochu paste. If you use stewed tomatoes, the mixture has more of a beef-tomato taste.)
2 tbs Mirin (or Rice Vinegar) (NOTE: Mirin contains corn syrup so it is sweeter)
1 tbs sugar (if using rice vinegar)
3 tbs Soy Sauce
1 tbs gochu paste (pepper paste)
1 cup water with 1 tbs cornstarch dissolved in it

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preparation Time: 15 minutes -- Cooking time: 30 minutes.

Direct from the freezer:

1. Place frozen chicken breasts in microwave and cook on high for two minutes. Meat will be semi-thawed, but still firm enough to be cut easily into strips.

2. Frozen snow/sweet peas direct from freezer into pan for cooking.

PREPARATION:

3. Rough cut onions and green onions; add to pan.

4. Add 2 tbs butter or oil and fry until onions clear (or yellowish in color).

5. Add pimento, sweet peas, and mushrooms.

6. Add bean sprouts (optional) and allow to cook down.

7. Add chicken; Mirin (or rice vinegar); soy sauce; gochu paste; (sugar if using rice vinegar).

8. Cook until chicken meat done.

9. Slowly add water/cornstarch mix to thicken sauce.

10. Add Contandina Diced Tomatoes.

11. Add water until the consistency of sauce is what you desire.

12. Allow to simmer over low heat for fifteen minutes more.

13. Serve with rice -- I prefer cold rice to offset the "hot" of the gochu paste

14. Serve with French bread with garlic butter (for sopping up the juice).

Yield: A dozen??? servings (Add more onions or peas to stretch it)

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Submitted by Chef Valentina "Paki" Arizo