Chicken Stir-Fry
INGREDIENTS
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My first big tip is to cut your chicken into small pieces. Smaller than you think. Bite-size is too big. Think small enough that one bite could include a piece or two of chicken, some rice and some veggies.
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If your chicken pieces are as big as the top part of your thumb, they’re too big. Cut that in half. Thin and/or small is important. It helps them cook more quickly. Also, if the pieces of chicken are small, the chicken becomes part of the dish as a
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In a large skillet, heat some vegetable oil on medium high heat. I generally use about 3 tablespoons. After the oil is heated, add the chicken with onions and fresh garlic. You could go ahead and season with some more traditional Asian spices at this
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While the chicken is cooking (and you’re stirring frequently) start on this next trick. (Notice that I called the cut-into-small-pieces advice a “tip” and am calling this a “trick.”) This is totally my idea, and I do it to make things go fa
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After I have the chicken on the stove, I put a bag of steamer veggies in the microwave. I often use broccoli, but if I happen to get Chinese mixed veggies on sale, I’ll use them.
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This is actually a bag that was not frozen, but was in the salad section. The directions on the bag said that you can poke a hole in it and steam it in the microwave. I think the directions said 3-4 minutes, so I did it for three, since it would cont
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Once your veggies are steaming in the microwave, keep stirring your chicken here and there while you make your sauce.
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This totally-made-up-by-me sauce is probably not authentic at all, but we love it. I made this dish once for a friend and she called later to get the recipe for that “fabulous” sauce, so evidently we’re not the only ones who like it.
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In my two-cup measuring cup, I put one-half cup of soy sauce.
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I then fill up the measuring cup with water, so I guess it’s one and a half cups of water.
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I don’t recommend trying to imitate the above picture exactly. 99.999% of the time, if you hold a measuring cup full of soy sauce/water mixture sideways, it will spill out all over your counter. I’m just really talented.
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I also add a “dash” of garlic salt to the soy sauce/water. For the purpose of this post, I used 1/4 tsp. Basically, to taste. If you have other flavors you want to add, this would be a good place to put them in.
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Once the chicken is done, add 1 tablespoon of corn starch to the soy sauce/water mixture. Use a whisk to blend it in. It will look like this:
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If you find that you put the corn starch in too early, as in not just before adding to the skillet, you’ll want to stir it again. It settles very quickly, but it needs to be suspended when you add it, to avoid lumps.
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Now that the chicken is fully cooked, remove any extra that you want to save for a different meal in the future, and push the chicken to the sides. This is where a wok comes in handy. You can push the chicken up the sides and away from the heat, and
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(I used to have an electric wok, but people like me (slobs) tend to do things like pack the wok in a different box from the wok’s cord when they move. Then they tend to never get the two back together and end up throwing away the cord in one of tho
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Stir the sauce constantly until it starts to thicken and bubbles a little. Once it becomes thicker, or honestly – slimy – it’s ready. Mix the chicken back in and add your steamed veggies. Stir until it’s all coated with the sauce, and you’r
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My one other tip, or really trick, is a Mommy one. Since the veggies are nice and soft, use your spatula to break them, particularly broccoli, up into small pieces. They’ll blend in with the sauce and chicken, and little people won’t notice or pi
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My 3 kids all get excited when I make this, and no one even complains about the green stuff. Another version is to follow all the same steps, but instead of serving over rice, cook some packages of ramen noodles (I do one per person). Don’t add the
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