Proper cook times for mushrooms, onions, and peppers

Question

One of my favorite meals is poached chicken cut into strips and stir fried with mushrooms, onions, and peppers and a bit of oil-based salad dressing for flavor.

However, most of the time I get the timing wrong and end up with over or undercooked veggies by the time the chicken is done cooking.

How long should I cook the mushrooms, onions, and peppers for? It seems to work best to add the onions first so that they cook down a little bit but I'm always guessing when to add the peppers and mushrooms to the skillet.

Answer 1

I am going to make the assumption that you're stir-frying in a really hot pan. The onions and peppers are going to take around 5-8 minutes to get good color but retain their snap.

I would cook the mushrooms separately - they're going to take a little longer 8-10 minutes, because they give off a bit of moisture.

So as you're poaching the chicken I would

1. Fry the onions/peppers - remove and keep warm
2. Fry Mushrooms
3. When the mushrooms are done, add everything else to pan to meld flavors.

Answer 2

You could also blanch the peppers in boiling water to the tenderness of your liking and use the stir-frying technique to finish them with a bit of coloring for flavor-sake. You should also specify what the "proper" texture your looking for in the dish, as this varies by taste. I prefer peppers and onions with a bit of snap. The last thing to note is the size of the vegetables, if you cut them thinly they will obviously cook more quickly.

Answer 3

Why not just start the mushrooms then in 2-5 minutes throw in the onions & peppers? Then your chicken at the end to reheat it? Personally I start my onions first because I prefer them slightly carmelized.