Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry Recipe
Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry is a simple and delicious recipe for when you need a healthy, filling, and fast dinner.
Howdy people! Sorry about going MIA on you for a minute. There comes a time in every person’s life when she has to choose between blogging and living in an increasingly, nay alarmingly, cluttered home.
That is to say, housework waved the white flag this weekend calling dibs on my time. That and getting together with family. Oh and taxes (BLARG TAXES!) Oo oo and attending the 7th annual Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival!
This Saturday Ben and I immersed ourselves in all things bacon for the day. There are worse things. I was judging the festival’s bacon contest (tough job but somebody’s got to do it,) and afterwards we stayed to consume such delicacies as Bacon & Chorizo Nachos, Maple-Bacon Kronut (a croissant-donut, y’all) Holes, Bacon Sausage with Mac and Cheese, Bacon Corn Dogs, and more bacon samples than you can shake a bacon strip at.
Wow, I’m just now realizing how much bacon we actually ate!
It was…so awesome. Ben and I have been trying to get tickets for years, but they sell out within minutes. All 14,000 of ‘em! This event is a huge deal, and we were so pumped to finally be able to attend. Clearly.
Anyway, it was probably around the time my last kronut hole was mid-dunk in maple-bacon dipping sauce that I began dreaming of all the vegetables I’d need to consume this week to make up for all the bacon I thoroughly enjoyed. Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry immediately popped into my head.
This simple stir fry recipe originally appeared in Hy-Vee’s quarterly magazine Seasons (which if you don’t get, you must!) last month, and Ben and I both like it so much that I’ve made it at least every other week since then. I’ve tweaked the dish over time so that it’s now got the perfect stir fry sauce. Not too gingery, and with just a tiny kick of heat.
A good Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry recipe is one that I believe every cook should have in their repertoire. Full of lean chicken and healthy veggies, it’s on the table quickly, and is filling without leaving you feeling overly-stuffed. Great for when time and health is of the essence, or when you just couldn’t turn down that last strip of bacon.
You’ve been there.
Start by mixing up the chicken marinade and stir fry sauce, which are one in the same. Combine ingredients including soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, red chili pepper flakes, fresh garlic and ginger in a bowl then add 1lb chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces. Marinate the chicken in the fridge for 10 minutes.
Drain the chicken into another bowl, reserving the marinade, then add 3/4 cup chicken broth. Next, gradually sprinkle in 2 teaspoons cornstarch while whisking to avoid lumps.
Time to get cooking! What’s my #1 rule when stir frying?! (Besides not talking about stir frying?) Make sure all your ingredients are prepped and ready to go before you start stir frying! That includes chopping/measuring 6 cups assorted vegetables. I’ll talk about these again in a sec.
Start by heating 1 teaspoon grapeseed oil (or other high heat cooking oil like canola or vegetable oil) in a large wok or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken then stir fry until no longer pink. Remove to a plate then set aside.
Crank the heat up to high then add 2 teaspoons oil to the wok and then add the veggies according to how long each take to cook. I started with broccoli and carrots, then added yellow squash, frozen edamame, and frozen sweet corn about 2 minutes later. Stir fry until the veggies are just crisp tender. You don’t want them completely cooked at this point – they’ll finish as the sauce is bubbling away.
Which is what we add next! Add the chicken back into the wok then pour in the sauce and boil for 2-3 minutes, until thickened.
Glory to Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry!
Scoop the stir fry over hot cooked rice. I made brown rice cooked in chicken broth – I usually do about 1/4 cup dry rice per person. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if you’re feeling fancy, then dig in (chop sticks optional!)
Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry
Serves 3-4
Slightly adapted from HyVee
Ingredients:
- 1lb chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more or less)
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon grapeseed oil (or other high heat cooking oil such as canola or vegetable)
- 6 cups assorted vegetables (I used broccoli florets, yellow squash, carrot, edamame, and corn – could use bell peppers, zucchini, red onion, etc.)
- Cooked rice, for serving
Directions:
Add soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes in a bowl then add chicken and mix to combine. Marinate in the refrigerator for 10 minutes then drain, reserving marinade. Add chicken broth to marinade then gradually add corn starch while whisking to avoid lumps. Set mixture aside.
Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large wok or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken then stir fry until cooked through. Remove to a plate then set aside.
Turn heat to high then add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to wok. Add vegetables in order of how long they take to cook (I started with broccoli and carrot, then added zucchini, edamame, and corn about 2 minutes later.) Stir fry until vegetables are crisp-tender. Vegetables will continue to cook in sauce so don’t over cook.
Add chicken back to wok then add sauce and cook until thickened, 2-3 minutes. Serve over cooked rice.
The beauty about this stir fry, besides it’s stunning good looks, is that you can use whatever veggies you have in the fridge, freezer, or on the countertop. Bell peppers, mushrooms, onion, zucchini – it’s all good! Hope you enjoy this healthy, quick, and colorful meal!