Easy Weeknight Chicken Stir-Fry Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret ingredient in stir-fry? ›

According to Food & Wine, ketchup is the ultimate way to take the flavor of homemade stir fry up a level, thanks to its sweet and sour flavor profile. It just might be the easiest cooking hack to elevate your home cooking to that of your favorite take-out.

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The first is to cook your protein and your vegetable separately, and combine them only after both are fully cooked. A second rule of thumb for stir-frying: Choose one vegetable per stir-fry. Finally, always remember to add liquid only after everything is more or less finished cooking.

The main ingredients to a stir-fry are: Proteins – chicken, beef, pork, seafood, tofu, tempeh, seitan. Aromatics – garlic, green onions, shallots, ginger.

Aromatic ingredients like garlic, ginger, green onions, chilies and spices. These ingredients are typically added to the oil first to infuse it with flavor. You won't need much; a few teaspoons to a tablespoon of total aromatic ingredients per person adds a serious amount of flavor.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok, then fry the chilli and garlic for 1 min. Add the veg and toss to coat in the oil. Fry for 2-3 mins, then add the soy and chilli sauce, mixing well. Cook for 2-3 mins more until the veg are tender.

Stir-fry onions first, then add hard vegetables such as carrot and broccoli. Quick-cooking vegetables, such as snow peas, leafy greens and bean sprouts, should be added towards the end of cooking. If using vegies that have a combination of both textures, such as gai laan, add the stems first and the leaves later.

What thickens stir-fry? ›

Cornstarch! In his book How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, Mark Bittman recommends mixing 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch with the same amount of water, and tossing this into the stir fry just when it's almost done. It thickens in seconds, picking up the flavors of everything already in the dish and coating evenly.

So many different oils, the good news is you can stick with what you know – canola is great! The best oils for stir frys are the oils with the higher smoke points. These tend to be the “thinner” oils such as peanut, grapeseed or canola.

We used baby corn spears, mushrooms, red pepper and broccoli in this recipe, but you can use just about any vegetables. Here are other vegetables that will work great in a vegetable stir fry: Onion (red or sweet), green beans, snow peas and asparagus.

What are the best veggies to use with homemade stir fry? There is really no limit to the vegetables you can stir fry. Mushrooms, carrots, onions, peppers, zucchini, snow peas, sugar snap peas, bok choy, choy sum, broccoli, cauliflower, you name it, you can stir fry it. Eggplant too.

What are those crunchy things in your stir-fry? They're water chestnuts, and they're surprisingly good for you! You probably already know a few things about water chestnuts. They're white and crunchy, and you'll find them in a ton of Asian-style stir fry dishes.

This is how to tenderise beef with a Chinese restaurant method called “velveting beef”. Also used for chicken, it's a simple, highly effective technique using baking soda that transforms economical beef so it's incredibly tender in stir fries and stir fried noodles.

Add the Ingredients That Take the Longest to Cook First

When stir frying, timing is key. The ingredients that take the longest to cook or tenderize should go in first to give them more time. “Very broadly, the order should be aromatics, meat, hearty vegetables, soft vegetables and seasoning,” says Sin.