Vietnamese Mint and Ginger Chicken

I'd never eaten at Hai's Restaurant on Hyde in San Francisco, but I did pass it on the shuttle to BART whenever I had to work in Pac Heights. Something about the view of the interior just seemed really nice, and when I looked it up they were famous for their mint chicken. I love mint. So much so that I used to use Linux Mint. Use your tofu or some other substitute for chicken.

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 3/4 tsp sugar
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup fresh mint, chopped
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 1 tsp garlic chili sauce
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 2 1/2 lbs protein

Cube protein and place in zipseal bag. In a bowl combine olive oil, white pepper,, sugar, garlic, mint, ginger, fish sauce, chili sauce, and onion poweder; whisk until combined and pour into bag to marinate at least one hour.

Heat wok over high and add oil. Once oil is hot pour entire contents of the bag into the wok and cook for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Reduce heat to medium and cook an additional 5 minutes. Serve over rice, preferably with cucumber salad.