Spicy Chicken Stir-Fry With Celery and Peanuts

This one-skillet recipe is fast and furious—ideal for those nights when you have 10 minutes to stand at the stove, tops. The cooking technique is in the tradition of Chinese stir-fry, in which proteins and vegetables are chopped small so that they cook quickly over high heat, then bound together with a cornstarch-thickened sauce. If you have a wok, now's the time to use it, though a cast-iron skillet will also do the trick. The wildcard ingredient is Medjool dates. They may not be a common stir-fry ingredient, but their jammy sweetness is a welcome surprise between bites of crunchy celery, salty peanuts, and spicy chicken. Let's talk subs: If you don't have sambal, you can use sriracha but start with 2 Tbsp. and increase from there. Golden raisins make a good swap if you don't have dates, and flour will work in place of cornstarch.