MA's Saucy Stir Fry

Saucy Chicken Stir Fry

Stir fries are one of my dinnertime go-tos and have been for years. I love them because once you chop things up, the rest is fast and easy. And if you start the rice about the time you start the chopping, you have a tasty home-cooked dinner in under an hour. (I will extol the virtues of rice cookers in another post.)

Stir fries are versatile, too. You can throw in any fresh vegetables you have, even bagged coleslaw, or tinned veggies like those tiny corn cobs or water chestnuts. Tomatoes are the only thing I don't add to a stir fry. They don't seem sturdy enough to take the constant stirring. And, if you use red cabbage or red onion, be warned, the finished colour is not always attractive.

This recipe has chicken breasts in it, but you can leave them out or substitute with cubed firm tofu for a vegetarian version, or use thinly sliced beef or pork instead. If you go with the beef or pork, you may want to use a beef broth instead of the chicken broth I used here.


Chicken Stir Fry

Stir frying requires you to be at the stove and stirring, so be sure to have all your ingredients ready to go before you spring into action. Cut everything into bite-sized pieces. Mix up your thickening sauce in a jar. Have the serving plates out. Then focus on stirring in the love.

3 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp sesame oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 chicken breasts, cut into thin strips

2 onions, sliced

3 stalks celery, sliced on the bias

3 carrots, sliced

1 cup broccoli florets, coarsely cut

2 cups cauliflower, coarsely cut

1 green pepper, sliced

1/2 small cabbage, shredded

2 cups chicken broth, divided into 1 3/4 cups and 1/4 cup

2 tbsp corn starch

2 tbsp soy sauce or Bragg's liquid soy seasoning

In a large fry pan with high sides or a wok, heat oils over medium high heat. Add garlic and stir fry for one minute.

Add chicken strips to pan and stir fry until cooked through. It's impossible to use a meat thermometer to test doneness here, so take out your fattest strip and cut through the middle to see that the meat is evenly cooked. When cooked, remove chicken from pan and set aside.

Add onions, celery, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower to pan and stir fry about 5 minutes or until they're almost as soft/crunchy as you'd like them to be.

MA's Tip: If you want to speed up the stir fry process, you can steam your carrots, broccoli and cauliflower for a few minutes in the microwave before adding them to the pan.

Add the peppers and shredded cabbage (any other quick cooking vegetables you may be using, like mushrooms or green onions, can be added now, too) to the pan. Stir fry about 3 minutes more.

Return cooked chicken strips to the pan. Add 1 3/4 cup chicken broth to the pan. Cover pan and bring the liquid to a boil.

For the thickening sauce: In a small jar, combine 1/4 cup chicken broth, corn starch and soy sauce or soy seasoning.

When the pan liquid is boiling nicely, clear away the veggies and chicken from the centre of the pan and pour in the thickening sauce. Stir well to eliminate any globs of thickened sauce. The liquid will thicken to coat the vegetables in a tasty sauce.

Serve immediately. Good over rice of any kind.

If you have leftovers, try to use them up the next day. This does not keep well long-term as the veggies loose their oomph and want to become one with the sauce.

Printable Recipe for MA's Chicken Stir Fry