A delicious, low-fat dinner with no pots, no pans and minimal cleanup?

It's not wishful thinking. It's a matter of using the technique known by the French as en papillote, or cooked in a paper wrapper.

Here's how it works. Fresh food is cooked in tightly sealed, single-serving packets made from parchment paper (or foil, which is a bit easier to work with). The ingredients steam in their own juices, which intensifies natural flavors and ensures moist results.

Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough use this technique in their recent book, "The Ultimate Cookbook," to create low-fat, low-mess stir-fry chicken packets (a meal that otherwise can leave you and your stove greasy).

Weinstein and Scarbrough praise papillote cooking for its healthy attributes. Not only is little or no fat needed, but vegetables that are steamed lose fewer nutrients than those cooked by other methods.

For this dish, chicken and a variety of vegetables are combined with an Asian-inspired sauce of garlic, ginger, soy sauce and rice vinegar. A small amount of toasted sesame oil helps to coat all the ingredients with flavor and adds that distinctive stir-fry taste. Asian red chili sauce gives the dish a spicy kick.

The other advantage of packet cooking is that seasonings can be adjusted for each diner. If one person doesn't like spicy food, leave the chili sauce out of one packet. The same goes for salt and fat.

An easy vegetarian version of this dish can be made by substituting tofu or edamame (soy beans) for the chicken.

Most vegetables and fish, which generally are quick cooking, do well with this technique. Cut meats and poultry into small pieces so they'll cook all the way through.

Make sure to leave some room in the packet for air to circulate, and when you unseal them use caution, because the escaping steam will be extremely hot. Serve the packet stir-fry over rice or sauteed greens.

STIR-FRY CHICKEN PACKETS