Quick & Healthy Stir Fried Chicken and Veggies
You just got home from work, the gym, the dentist, whatever… you’re tired and hungry and the ungracious little beasts don’t ask how your day was, but “what’s for dinner?” One of my go-to’s is stir fry. The prep is pretty easy, its one passive pot and one active one, and you are ready to sit down in about 30 min… if you don’t answer anymore questions.
While there are certainly lots of vegetables that you might think of for a stereotypical stir fry, the great thing about stir fry is that any will do! I usually have carrot, celery, onion garlic and bell pepper in the house. I might have some mushrooms (dried or fresh), hearts of palm, water chestnuts, broccoli, cauliflower, bean sprouts, etc etc. They all work.
You can just leave it with veggies, but my troops seem to function a bit better with some extra protein. I like to buy chicken breasts and thighs in the “family sized” packages, and save some in individual packets in the freezer for just such a meal. If I neglected to pull it out the night before or the morning of, I throw the bag into a large bowl of water to defrost enough to cut into bite sized pieces to marinate while I get the rest of the show organized. This might add 30 minutes or so to your prep time, but a good chance to sit down with your spouse, favorite child or the only one who really wants to talk to you, your adoring puppy (of whatever age), while the chicken thaws.
Chicken Stir Fry with Mixed Vegetables
Equipment
- Wok if you have one, but not required.
Ingredients
Chicken with Marinade
- 1 lb chicken thighs breasts are okay too, just not as forgiving
- 3 tbsp soy sauce low sodium please
- 3 tbsp mirin or white wine or vermouth or water
- 1 tbsp fish sauce worcestershire sauce is a good alternative
- 1 clove garlic about a teaspoon from a thumb sized clove
- 1 tbsp corn starch mixed with 1tbsp of any of the liquids above
Steamed Rice
- 1 cup rice preferably short grain sushi rice
- 1 cup water more for rinsing, but this is for cooking
Vegetables
- 1/2 cup sliced onion diced is okay too, but I like the appearance of julienned
- 1/2 cup julienned zucchini
- 1/2 cup julienned red bell pepper
- 1/2 cup shredded cabbage it will look like a cup if you don't pack it down
- 1/4 cup green onion cut on the bias in 1/2 – 1 inch pieces
- 1-2 cloves garlic 1 if you just want a hint
- 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
- 2-4 tbsp oil peanut is ideal, but any reasonably high smoke point oil will do.
Sauce
- 2 tbsp soy
- 1 tbsp marin
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp corn starch
Instructions
- Cube the chicken into bite sized pieces. Mix soy sauce, mirin, fish sauce, garlic and cornstarch in bowl, and add the chicken. Set aside or cover and throw in the fridge based on timing. (You can do this step in the morning and leave in the fridge to marinate)
- Rinse the rise. I find dropping it to a sieve and then the sieve into an appropriate sized bowl, fill with water and stir with your fingers. The water will turn white from the starch. Pour off and repeat. I find it is usually pretty clear on the third rinse. While you can skip this step, I think it makes a nice textural difference between sticky rice (rinses) and gluey rice (unrinsed).
- Add wet rice to a pot, add an equal amount of water, one cup in this case. Turn on high and bring to a boil. When it does, give a quick stir to release some of the rice from the bottom of the pan, then turn to low, cover and set the timer for 18 min.
- Julienne your veggies. Diced is just fine of course, it's just an aesthetic thing for me. Feel free to mix and match with what you have the fridge. Do try, however, to find some contrasting colors as you want this dish to look as colorful as it tastes.
- When the rice is about 10 minutes into timer time, heat your wok or skillet with 1-2 tbsp of oil. While the oil is heating up, remove the chicken from the marinade and blot dryish with a paper towel. Move chicken into oil and stir fry until nicely browned and cooked through (about 5 min). Remove to a plate or such.
- Heat remaining 1-2 tbsp oil. Starting with ginger and garlic, add to hot oil and stir to infuse oil with their flavor and coat the garlic so its less likely to stick to the pan. Add the rest of the veggies and stir fry until starting to soften, 3-5 minutes. Between stirrings, mixed the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Turn rice off when the timer lets you know its time. I prefer to move off the hot element to a cool one to let the rice sit while you finish up.
- Add the chicken back to the pan with the veggies and sauce. Stir fry until you see the sauce thicken up. Remove pan from the heat, and cover while you set out plates or bowls.
- Add 1/4 of the rice to a bowl or plate. Partially cover with the chicken and veggies. Add any optional toppings you might like. I like roasted peanuts along with something spicy like sriracha or chile crisp.
