This chicken stir fry recipe with a rainbow of vegetables is so easy and fast to make for a healthy, satisfying dish. You need this stir fry recipe in your life because you can eat it all the time. Asian flavors mix up a sauce that will make you ask for more and I’ll show you how to velvet chicken for the most tender meat! Better than take out, guilt-free…count me in!
What does it mean to velvet chicken?
The secret key to making the chicken in this stir fry have that restaurant style tenderness, is the step in which the chicken is prepared before being stir fried.
The step is called velveting.
Make velvet chicken
- Simply take your chicken breasts and slice thin or into bite size chunks.
- Dust with baking soda. About 1-2 teaspoon per pound of chicken to coat lightly and evenly.
- Refrigerate for 20-25 minutes. Do not let it go past half an hour.
- Rinse the chicken and then pat dry with a bunch of paper towel to soak any moisture.
- That’s it. You have now done the steps to velvet chicken.
Velveting has been used for a long time in Asian cuisines and it’s the trick that makes those meat dishes at the restaurant like broccoli beef, chop suey, bistek, beef Salpicao, or this chicken stir fry have bouncy, tender, super moist morsels of meat.
Don’t use it on dark meat, but it works wonders with white chicken meat like breasts and tenders.
There are two ways for velveting beef or chicken.
You can use baking soda, or a cornstarch slurry with soy sauce and some spices.
Essentially, the alkalinizing of the meat with this step helps so that the protein in the meat doesn’t bind so quickly in the cooking process, resulting in that softer meat.
It’s perfect for tougher, or what would seem like drier cuts.
For example, chicken breast, lower grade sirloin, and flank steak to name a few.
Velveting meat can be transformative so I recommend giving it a try for this stir fry and your other meat dishes.
So in a nutshell, a little baking soda, a short time in the fridge, and then washing it off, will be a game changer for your recipe.
It makes the meat really beautiful, and if you’re entertaining, it really highlights the dish.
I also mentioned, it’s so easy to do so try it and you’ll probably incorporate this method of meat preparation in your future recipes.
How to Make Chicken Stir Fry
I especially love this stir fry recipe because it’s very low fat, high fiber, light, and filling. Where’s my side of rice?
The chicken is easily stir fried with fragrant onions, ginger, and garlic.
Remove the chicken before it is cooked completely through.
Then stir fry your vegetables. A rainbow of vegetables is so eye-catching and healthy too.
Vegetables in Stir Fry
You can cut your veggies chunky!
Garlic and Ginger – the foundational aromatics that should be sautéd in oil before adding the remaining ingredients.
Red Bell Pepper – chunky cuts
Green Bell Pepper – chunky cuts
Baby Corn – Optional, but they have good baby corn near me that is fresh (not canned). I prefer not canned for the freshest taste. You can also use sweet corn, cut from the cob.
Carrots – Cut on the bias and semi thicker is nicely proportioned with all the other vegetables.
Onions – I like these chunky and cooked, but not completely wilted and translucent because they add more zest.
Add these towards the end for more bite. If you don’t like onions like this, then add in the beginning and they will be well done.
Cabbage – Use green cabbage as a first choice. Otherwise, you can use purple cabbage if you’re going to eat this dish right away (because beware, if it sits around, the purple cabbage dyes the food bluish after a while!)
DON’T ADD CABBAGE TILL THE END. That way the cabbage is colorful and crisp.
Before the vegetables are cooked through, then add back the chicken, drop in the sauce, and finish cooking everything to perfection.
Add the cabbage when everything is mostly done. Let the cabbage cook in the steam and heat of the dish by gently mixing it and that’s it!
Stir Fry Sauce
Making stir fry sauce is easy and fast. No chopping or mincing required for this one.
This is an easy stir fry sauce using common pantry staples.
Use gluten-free alternatives to make this entire dish gluten free.
- soy sauce – regular soy sauce of your preference
- oyster sauce – I use a kind without msg from Lee Kum Kee and it works perfectly
- brown sugar – golden or dark is fine
- black pepper – ground
- chicken stock – regular chicken or vegetable stock
You may have heard of adding cornstarch to thicken the sauce, however, if you are eating at home often and looking for everyday meals, you can omit the cornstarch. The sauce will taste delicious over rice and the stir fry will taste well seasoned without being heavy. You can double the sauce if you want extra.
Other Ingredients to Add to Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry
This recipe is a version of many ways you can make chicken stir fry or chop suey as some call it.
In fact, I go to stir fry as a way to use my vegetables in the fridge before they go bad, or I use stir fry as a way to add in more meats and mix it all up for one delicious meal that doesn’t require more sides.
All I need is some rice, and done.
ADAPTATIONS
Try this version of stir fry with:
- added pork, beef, and shrimp
- just tofu and make it a mainly vegetable stir fry
- add spinach or baby bok choy
- add canton egg noodles to really make an ultimate noodle stir fry – my favorite alternative!
- add healthy, gluten-free soba noodles
- make it spicy by adding Sichuan peppers
- make it umami with adding a teaspoon of fish sauce or shrimp paste
- Add sesame oil to the stir fry sauce
- add Quail eggs, jammy eggs, or soy eggs
I am not keen on freezing cooked vegetables, but you can freeze the chicken and then add in fresh vegetables when you make this again.
Use gluten free soy sauce and oyster sauce. These days they can be found in natural food stores. I love the alternative and it still tastes great.
It’s one of the healthiest complete meals. Enjoy!
Super Tender Chicken Stir Fry
Equipment
- 1 wok or braiser pan
- 1 bowl
Ingredients
- 1½ lb chicken tenders or breasts white meat, cut into chunks
- 2 tsp baking soda only for the velveting
- 4 tbsp oil high heat tolerant
- ½ large onion thick, long cuts
- 2 tbsp ginger chopped chunky
- 2 tbsp garlic minced
- ½ large red bell pepper chunky cuts
- ½ large green bell pepper chunky cuts
- 1 large carrot cut on bias and thick
- 1 handful baby corn
- 1½ cup cabbage use green (you can use purple if you want to eat all of this right away)
Stir Fry Sauce
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- ½ cup chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 2 tsp black pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp cornstarch (optional) optional if you want a thicker sauce
Instructions
Prepare the Ingredients
- Get your chicken breasts or tenders and cut chunky or slice thinner and dust with baking soda all over. Set in the refrigerator for 25 minutes. Set a timer so you don't leave it longer.
- While the chicken is velveting, prepare your vegetables. Prep the veggies and cut them chunky.
- Make the sauce. Just mix all sauce ingredients in one bowl and set aside.
Make Chicken Stir Fry
- Take the velvet chicken and rinse well under cold water, removing the baking soda. Then DRY very well. Pat, pat, pat well with paper towel.Then slice your chicken into chunky cubes that are to your taste. I like chunky bite-size for this recipe so each bite has a little chicken and vege.
- Once the chicken is cut and ready, heat your wok or pan with neutral oil over high flame. (You do not need a lid for this recipe.). Add oil when the pan is hot.Add in the chicken. Do not move the chicken around. Let the chicken sit for two minutes so it starts to sear. Make some space and add the garlic, ginger, and onions.
- Continue to sauté until the chicken has a nice browning and is cooked throughly (about 5-7 minutes). The chicken should not be pink and seared golden. At this point, REMOVE the mix and set aside in a bowl.
- In the same wok or pan, add the carrots, baby corn, and bell peppers. Let sit so the vege lightly sears for 1 minutes.
- Add the sauce. Mix together. The sauce should be simmering.Let sit and periodically mix, sautéing for 2 minutes.
- Add in the chicken mix. Sauté everything and mix well with the sauce for an additional 2 minutes. Everythig should be cooked. (internal temp for chicken is 165 F)
- Then add the cabbage. Mix in the cabbage so it cooks from the heat and steam.Serve and Enjoy!
Notes
-
- serve with rice
- add pork, beef, and shrimp
-
- add just tofu and make it vegetarian
-
- add spinach or baby bok choy
-
- add canton egg noodles to really make an ultimate noodle stir fry – my favorite alternative!
-
- make it spicy by adding Sichuan peppers
-
- make it umami with adding a teaspoon of fish sauce or shrimp paste
- add quail eggs, jammy eggs, or soy eggs
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