->Vinegar Chicken <-

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

4 green onions, sliced

1 stalk lemon grass, cut into 2-inch lengths or 1 teaspoon shredded lemon peel

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons cider vinegar or white vinegar

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon cooking oil

6 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups sliced bok choy

1 medium onion, chopped

1 to 2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

2 cups hot cooked Chinese egg noodles or fine egg noodles

1 small red bell pepper, cut into bite-size strips, optional

In a small bowl cover mushrooms with warm water. Let soak for 30

minutes. Rinse well and squeeze to drain thoroughly. Thinly slice

mushroom caps. Discard stems. Set sliced caps aside.

Meanwhile cut chicken into thin bite-size strips. In a medium bowl

stir together green onions, lemon grass or lemon peel, salt, and pepper. Stir in chicken. Let stand for 15 minutes.

For sauce, in a small bowl stir together water, vinegar, and ginger.

Set aside.

Pour cooking oil into a wok or large skillet. (Add more oil as

necessary during cooking.) Preheat over medium-high heat. Stir-fry

garlic in hot oil for 15 seconds. Add bok choy and onion; stir-fry

2 to 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove bok choy mixture

from the wok.

Add half of the chicken mixture to the hot wok. Stir-fry for 2 to

3 minutes or until no pink remains. Remove chicken from the wok.

Repeat with remaining chicken mixture. Return all chicken to the

wok. Discard lemon grass, if used. Push chicken from the center

of the wok.

Add sauce to the center of the wok. Cover and cook for 1 minute.

Uncover wok. Add fish sauce, sugar, and mushrooms. Cook and stir

for 2 minutes or until sauce is slightly reduced. Return bok choy

mixture to the wok. Stir all ingredients together to coat with

1 to 2 minutes more or until heated through.

Serve immediately over hot cooked noodles. Sprinkle with red sweet

pepper strips, if desired.

NOTE: Vietnamese dishes like this one show a marked similarity to

Chinese cuisine. The differences are subtle but are noted by the

use of fish sauce instead of soy sauce in this sweet-and-sour

recipe.