What the Heck is Kohlrabi?! Check out this recipe Stir-fried Chicken and Kohlrabi

On our most recent trip to San Francisco, The Hub and I did a lot of window shopping at countless produce, meats and seafood markets in the Richmond and Mission districts, as well as at the farmer's market behind the Civic Center. On our last day in SF, the Hub being the awesome man he is, insisted we do a little take home shopping trip. So we went back to the Richmond district and bought a variety of fruits and vegetables that we really wanted to try back home. One of those vegetables was Kohlrabi. If you've never had kohlrabi, it tastes like a combination of cabbage, turnips and even parsnips. It is great in salads and for pickling, but I wanted to try it in its cooked form. Yes, I can get it here in South Florida, but I certainly can't get it for .97 cents! You just can't beat that! Here's the recipe I came up with using kohlrabi. The Hub had seconds and that usually means ... it was darn good!

Serves 2- 4

For the Marinade:
1 pound chicken thigh, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1/4 cup sherry
1 tablespoon mirin

In a large bowl mix all the ingredients for the marinade together. Allow to marinate at least 1 hour but much better overnight. When ready to cook, remove chicken from marinade and pat dry. Reserve marinade for the rest of the recipe.




1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon peanut or canola oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1" piece of ginger root, grated
1-2 thai chili peppers, seeded and halved
1 onion, thinly sliced into half moons
1 kohlrabi, peeled and thinly julienned
8 oz baby bella mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 green onions sliced thinly into rings

In large stainless steel skillet or wok heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium high heat. Add garlic, ginger root and thai chili, stirring constantly for one minute to avoid burning the garlic. Add onion, kohlrabi and mushrooms. Lower heat to medium, cook until vegetables are cooked down, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
Raise heat to medium high, add teaspoon of oil, followed by chicken. Be sure to work in batches to avoid overfilling pan and braising instead of stir-frying the chicken. Once all the chicken is cooked, add the vegetables back to the pan. Stir and cook for 3 minutes, lowering heat as needed.
Add teaspoon of cornstarch to reserved marinade, mix well.  Add to pan, being sure to scrap bottom of pan to release the delicious bits. Stir until sauce is thickened and glossy If sauce is too thick, add a little water or stock to thin out.
You can remove the chili peppers at this stage or leave them in, that is totally up to you.

Serve with jasmine rice and accompany with a light daikon radish salad dressed with rice wine vinegar and sesame oil. ENJOY!