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African American Chinese Food — String Bean Chicken

Chinese food — American Chinese food — is comfort food. There almost isn’t a time when it doesn’t sound good to me. I could eat it several times a week and not get tired of it.

So imagine my surprise and horror when I arrived in Uganda and discovered…there was no Chinese food!!! Sure, you can get Chinese food in Kampala, but that is over 4 hours away and we go there less than once a year.

Thankfully, we’d prepared ahead. I’m kind of a cookbook junky. We’d found a fantastic Chinese cookbook called Enjoy Chinese Cuisine. I’d practiced several of the recipes in it. The only caveat is that it’s quite time consuming to prepare our favorite dishes. Still, when you think about it and crave it all the time, it’s worth taking the time to fix that special food you enjoy.

One of my favorites is String Bean Chicken from Panda Express. It’s also one of the faster ones to prepare. We’ve found ways to adapt it using the ingredients we can get here. The family loves it. Tonight I made a 7 quart pot of just the string beans and chicken (2 kilos) and it was all gone. They might have licked the pan. 8 cups of rice was also devoured by these ravening hoards.

This recipe is one I found online years ago but I’ve tweaked until it tastes the way we like it. I’ll note my changes in parentheses and in a note at the end. 

IMG 4238

String Bean Chicken

  • 2 T soy sauce or liquid aminos (I use 3-4 T)
  • 2 tsp rice wine (I use 3-4 T vinegar)
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 2 tsp corn starch
  • 1 tsp sugar (optional)
  • 2 T vegetable oil (I use coconut or palm oil)
  • 1 cup onion chopped or sliced
  • 2 T minced garlic
  • 1 tsp black bean sauce (optional; I prefer it without)
  • 12 oz. green beans, fresh or frozen
  • 1 pound cooked, sliced chicken breasts
  • 1/4 cup water

Saute the onion, garlic, and green beans in the oil until tender. Add the soy sauce, rice wine, and sugar. Mix the corn starch in the water until dissolved and pour over the other ingredients. Heat until thickened. Toss in the cooked chicken pieces and toss to coat with the sauce. Add the sesame oil before serving over rice.

Note: I prefer to add more water than it calls for. I usually add equal parts water, vinegar, and soy sauce so we have plenty of liquid to put over the rice. You can also use boneless skinless thigh pieces and it tastes good. (I prefer dark meat.)

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How’s Africa? — There Are No Tigers in Africa

African animals used to roam freely all over the savannas. People lived around them like they were a normal part of life. 

Today, most of the animals you typically associate with Africa are only found on game preserves. This is to not only protect the animals but also to protect the people. Hippos kill more people in Africa than lions. In fact, the only thing that kills more people is the mosquito. Cape buffalo can tip over vehicles, as can elephants.

I’m going to let the photos that we’ve taken over the course of our time here in Uganda speak for themselves. There are two things missing.

First of all, we sometimes see small monkeys on our way to church but we’ve never gotten a picture of them because they run away as soon as we slow down to take it. 

Second, I’m beginning to think the African lion is a myth. Oh, sure, other people see them, but we never have. That’s why there are no pictures of lions. They should put up signs like the dust storm warning signs in New Mexico — “Lions may exist.” 

And so, for your enjoyment, a few of the animals we’ve seen here in Uganda. How many of them can you name? How many have you seen in the zoo?

2011 09 21 07 49 14 edited

2011 09 21 11 05 08

2011 09 21 17 17 55

2011 09 21 08 01 22

2011 09 21 08 15 20

2011 09 21 17 47 00

2011 09 21 17 53 28

2012 04 19 14 50 11

2010 03 24 08 45 29

(Interesting parenthetical: A few years ago, we were driving to Kampala and saw a zebra dead by the side of the road, killed by a semi. Where else but Africa do you find zebras as roadkill?)

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Friday Funny – Lost in Translation

2012 07 08 12 00 46

A few years ago my best friend, Rachel Miller, and a friend of hers named Laura came to visit us here in Uganda. They got to see where we live and our churches. We loved having them here!

The Sunday they attended services with us, I wanted to introduce them to our church people. I knew I could say “This is my friend, Rachel.” Except I wasn’t 100% sure of the word for “friend” in Runyankore.

You see, “friend” is omwani and “husband” is omwami. One letter difference. And I couldn’t remember which was which.

Was she my omwami? Or my omwani?

Omwami?

Omwani?

I thought for a long time and finally, unable remember, I copped out and introduced her in English and let the translator say it.

Good thing, too! I’d almost introduced her as “my husband, Rachel.”

Let’s just say that one has been easier to remember since then. 😀

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