Chicken, Tofu, Potato, and Mushrooms Stew

Stew is the combination of food cooked in liquid and the thickening of the liquid. Stew is always served warm with bread or rice. The sauce for stew can vary slightly from cook to cook. It is primarily a soy sauce brine mellowed by some cooking wine, such as sake or dry sherry and seasoned with star anise, fennel, cinnamon, ginger, and garlic. The stock can be used to add more the depth of flavor or a spicier flavor by adding some chilies. Any type of meat or vegetables can be used for making stew. The stew recipe that I created here is a combination of meat and potatoes.

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast or thigh, cut into bite size pieces
8 oz firm tofu, cut into bite size chunks
8 oz button mushrooms
1 large potato, peeled and cut into chunks
1 cup white onions, thickly sliced
1 tsp five spice
2 tbs fresh ginger, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Stew Sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tbs dark soy sauce
2 tbs light soy sauce
1 tbs miso paste
1 tbs sugar
2 tbs vinegar
2 tbs sake
1/8 tsp salt
Garnish:
3 green onions, cut into 1 inch lengths
1/2 cup cilantro

Directions:
In a bowl, combine the stew sauce ingredients and mix well.
In a medium pot, add 1/4 cup vegetable oil. Fry the tofu until golden grown and remove. In the same pot, add chicken and fry until chicken is golden brown. Remove the chicken and set aside. Using whatever oil is left in the pot, add potatoes and fry them well. Remove the potato.
In the same pot, add ginger, garlic and white onions. Stir for 1 minute and then add five spice (cook until fragrant). Return chicken, tofu, potatoes, and mushrooms to the pot and the stew sauce. Cover pot with lid and turn the heat to low and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer for anther 10 minutes. Add green onions and cilantro. Serve.