Have you ever had that scenario where you are awoken by a knock on the door at early in the morning, and as you open up, it’s your mother who dropped by your apartment unannounced on a bright Saturday?
She’s brought along a bag full of groceries, some of your stuff that you left when you went home on holiday and some other stuff that you might find useful.
We know. Mothers are the best.
As you make her feel welcome, you decide to stir-fry some lean chicken breast for her, the ones that you were going to cook post-workout. But this is a rather special occasion, so a bit of sacrifice must be made.
But the thing is, how do you do that?
Chicken is such a common and ubiquitous staple of food that it should not be difficult for anyone to cook it. I mean, cooking chicken is so elementary, anyone with a frying pan, spatula, some olive oil and a piece of chicken can cook one!
But for those of you who are quite new to the gig and are shy to ask your mother on how to do it, worry no more!
In this post, we are going to discuss how to stir fry chicken!
Stir-frying Chicken and Vegetables – Can It Be Done?
Surprisingly, yes! Stir frying chicken with vegetables is not only healthy but practical and convenient as well. In fact, you can substitute fried chicken with fried fish for this recipes, it will still be good.
Ingredients Needed
The ideal ingredients for this would be:
- Chicken breast. The skinless and boneless sort are most preferable since they are easiest to cook.
- One tablespoon of sherry. Admit it, you have a bottle of sherry hiding in your cupboard.
- Two separate tablespoons of vegetable oil
- One tablespoon of cornstarch
- A couple of garlic cloves, minced
- One or two balls of green onions, chopped
- Soy sauce. The amount will be proportional to how much chicken you have, but two tablespoons will do
- Half a cup of broth, chicken
- A cup of Broccoli cut into pieces, one bell pepper cut into strips or squares and one zucchini cut into circular pieces
Procedure
Step 1
First step would be to fuse the soy sauce, chicken breast, sherry and cornstarch in a bowl and mix.
Step 2
Second step would be to heat the oil in a wok, skillet, pan or whatever you have in medium heat. Place the broccoli, bell peppers, garlic and zucchini and cook for around two to three minutes.
Step 3
Third step is to add the cup of broth and let the mixture cook for about four to five minutes or until you can see that the vegetables have become soft. Move the vegetables as well as the sauce to a different container and clean the wok/skillet.
Step 4
Fourth step would be to get the other tablespoon of oil and place it in the pan and turn up the stove to high heat. Place the chicken breast and cook until you will see that there is no pinkish hue present in the meat’s middle, which is going to take around five minutes or so. Pour in the vegetables with sauce and continue stirring for about two minutes. And lastly, sprinkle with green onions.
Step 5
The fifth and final step is to serve the stir-fried chicken vegetables into a large bowl.
If done correctly, your mother would be quite impressed with your Stir-fried Chicken Vegetables and would look forward to her next visit!
Chicken Stir Fry Marinade – For A More Flavorful Experience
For a richer, more vibrant and overall greater taste and experience, it would be a good idea to not only stir fry chicken but to marinate it as well!
Marinating is all about proportions. Knowing how much of one ingredient to put alongside another and what sorts of ingredients to even put altogether matters so much as to how the end result of the marinated chicken will be.
The base of most marinated mix is soy sauce, or any sauce of your choice. The next is spice. Peppers, garlics, Cayenne, you name it.
Whatever choice of mixture it may be, prepare your marinating mix. It may also depend on what kind of marinate you are opting for, like teriyaki, barbecue, pesto, etc.
For this subtopic, we will discuss teriyaki marinate.
Ingredients Needed
Prepare the following:
- Soy sauce – around a cup or so should be enough
- Granulated sugar – one cup should do, but feel free to reduce or add accordingly
- Brown sugar – one to two teaspoons
- Garlic – five or six cloves and crushed
- Ginger – grated
- Ground black pepper – a quarter of a teaspoon
- Cinnamon – one tablespoon or if in stick form, one stick, three inches in length
- Pineapple juice – one tablespoon
- Chicken Thighs – 8 pieces, skinless, boneless
- Cornstarch – two tablespoons
Procedure
Step 1
Mix all ingredients save the chicken and cornstarch in a pan, wok or whichever. Turn up the heat and wait for it to boil. Decrease heat and stir until the sugar is completely liquified and has mixed with the sauce, or approximately three minutes. Take the sauce out of the heat and allow it to cool. Mix the cinnamon in a half cup of water.
Step 2
In a sealable plastic bag, place the chicken in. Remember the sauce that you mixed on the first step? Add it in the bag, seal it and mix, ensuring that the sauce covers all sides of the chicken. Put it in the fridge for about an hour or so, but for best marinating, leave it for about twelve hours
Step 3
Separate the chicken from the sauce and put it in a place. As for the sauce, put it in a small pan and light the fire waiting to boil, eventually reducing heat to a minimum. Get the cornstarch with two spoons of water and mix it in the pan. Mix until it becomes emulsified and thick, and eventually mix in about half a cup of water or until sauce becomes creamy.
Step 4
Stir fry the chicken for a few minutes or until the pinkish hue has subsided. Pour in the sauce and cook for about two to three minutes more.
Conclusion
In this topic, we have discussed on how to stir fry chicken, which can be done with vegetables and marinating mix. The key to both is how much of either vegetables and sauce in order to achieve deliciousness and consistency in flavor and aroma. If done correctly, you’ll be able to enjoy stir-fried vegetable chicken or stir-fried marinated chicken teriyaki.
