Boneless, skinless chicken breast meat, carrots, broccoli, onions and red peppers combine to make this deliciously healthy stir-fry.
Linda B., This post is for you. You asked for it, you got it, Toyota.
Does anyone remember that old slogan from Toyota automobiles? “You asked for it; you got it. Toyota.” In the mid 70’s to early 80’s when I was in college, we turned that slogan into a sort of humorous slang expression. Generally we would just shorten it to, “You got it, toyota.”
We were such a clever generation.
A co-worker, the afore mentioned Linda B., has been asking me to post something healthy. Linda is a crazy, exercising, marathoner who tirelessly encourages the rest of us to treat our bodies better. She’s right, of course. You should see her eight pack.
No, wait a minute…I think that was just a picture that Linda was showing us of some insane woman on Pinterest with like 0.0000001% body fat. An anomaly. A genetic miscreant of womanhood. She betrays us all. (The Pinterest woman, not Linda.)
Despite that obvious betrayal, we could all do better with what we eat. Linda is always reminding us to do better, to be better, to get as much healthy mileage out of our bodies as possible. We can’t always be “good”, but we can almost always be better. A very wise man, Gordan B. Hinkley, used to remind the people of our Church to “work a little harder to be a little better.” I can do that and so can you. Little by little. Hence, today’s recipe.
I’ve made this recipe twice in the past week. It’s very flexible as far as the vegetables are concerned. Mix and match with whatever vegetables please your palate. Serve the stir-fry over white rice, brown rice, quinoa, or whatever cooked grain you prefer.
Garlic-Ginger Chicken Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1 1/2-2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, sliced into thin strips across the grain (I used chicken thighs for best flavor)
- 1 carrot, sliced about 1/4″ thick on a diagonal
- 2 stalks broccoli, cut into florets
- 1 medium onion, large dice
- 2 stalks celery, cut on the diagonal a generous 1/4″ thick (larger than 1/4″, but smaller than 1/2″)
- 1 red pepper, large dice
- 4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 4 ounces weight mushrooms, quartered or thick-sliced (can be left whole if they are very small)
- 1 inch nub of ginger, peeled and finely grated (I used a microplane)
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
Instructions
- Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
- Heat a wok or large, heavy frying pan over high heat. Add oil and let it get really hot. Peanut oil is great for stir frying because it can really take the heat.
- Carefully add the chicken. Cook and stir for about 3 minutes or just until the chicken is no longer pink. The thinner the chicken, the faster it cooks. Don’t over-cook.
- With a slotted spoon, remove chicken from wok to a plate. Set aside. There will be juices in the bottom of the work. Leave them there!
- Add all of the vegetables, minus the mushrooms, to the wok. Cook and stir for 2 minutes and then add the mushrooms, powdered ginger, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until vegetables are crisp-tender.
- Reduce heat and add the chicken back into the wok with the vegetables. Toss together and add 1 cup of the chicken broth.
- Mix the cornstarch together with the remaining 1/2 cup of chicken broth and stir the mixture into the vegetables and chicken. Cook and stir until thickened. Serve over rice or cooked grain of choice.
Ramona W
Welcome back! I love a good stir fry. I actually have a Hunan Stir fry ready to post next week. 🙂 I have never cooked with peanut oil… but I know that’s what most Chinese restaurants use.. so I have to try that sometime. This looks hearty, healthy and delicious!! Have a wonderful weekend my friend. 🙂
Tricia @ saving room for dessert
This looks pretty delicious! I adore stir fry and got a new wok for Christmas. Welcome back – I hope you enjoyed the break!