Chinese Celery

Chinese celery is a strange little plant. Thin and very strong in flavor. I had bought some a week ago but didn't get around to cooking it. It shriveled and shrank in the fridge, looking sad and pathetic. I soaked it in water today and it sprang right back! Chinese celery is very strong in flavor and may take some getting used to if you have been eating plain celery all your life, but once you are used to it, you enjoy the intense flavor it provides.

I thought it would go perfectly with some chicken I had been marinating in a mixture of spicy sesame oil, soy sauce and julienne ginger.

I had it with rice and some delicious meat sauce my roommate's girlfriend made yesterday for Easter. It was full of yummy meat balls, stew meat and sausages. Maybe I can get her to share her recipe with us!

Ginger Chicken with Chinese Celery

1/2 pound of chicken tenders
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 thumb sized ginger (julienned)
2 tbsp of sesame oil
1 head of Chinese Celery
1-2 cloves of garlic

1. Clean the celery and trim off the roots. Set aside to drain
2. Cut the chicken into bite-sized strips and put into a bowl with ginger soy sauce and sesame oil. Marinade at least for 15 minutes, preferably 1 hour.
3. Chop celery up into match stick lengths
4. Finely dice the garlic
5. Heat a pan and add 1 tbsp of oil
6. Add the chicken, and toss in the garlic
7. Cook until outside is browned
8. Add Chinese celery and stir
9. Add salt and pepper to taste