Here’s How to Become a Stir-fry God(dess)

Stir-fry is supposedly one of the easiest things in the world to make. I beg to differ. The problem with stir-fry is that despite the popular belief, there’s not this fool proof, everyone-knows-it way of whipping up some chicken and veggies.

That doesn’t make it complicated. In fact, cooking stir-fry still one of the easiest recipes. But if you want to make some amazing, melt-in-your-mouth, leave-your-friends-and-fam-begging-for-more type of stir-fry, then you need this recipe.

First thing’s first: you need to choose the right ingredients.

When I think stir-fry, I think oriental sauces, tons of veggies, and tender chicken.

Here’s what you need:

(Recipe feeds two with some leftovers, adjust accordingly!)

2 tsb. olive oil to cook the chicken
½ cup orange ginger stir-fry sauce (I use the La Choy brand)
¼ cup mix of soy and teriyaki sauce, equal amounts of both (Kikkoman is a good brand)
4 tbs. Hoisin sauce (Ty Ling brand)
veggies of choice (best ones—onions, peppers, broccoli, peas—but you can choose any you’d like)
3 lbs. chicken
sesame seeds and dry chow mein noodles for garnish
2 cups rice (or adjust this, based on the number of people you’re feeding)

**You can always add more of the sauces to taste. That’s what I like to do, so it becomes more of an experiment than a for-sure recipe. Start with this then try as you go. You might find you love one of the tastes and add more!
Step #1: Make the rice.

This takes the longest, so make sure that you start with this. It can cook while you’re putting together the rest.

Step #2: Defrost, trim, and pound the chicken.

This is the most overlooked step in cooking. And it’s a shame because pounding/tenderizing the chicken gives it the soft, melt-in-your-mouth type of taste that you’re really looking for.

Step #3: In one pan, sauté the chicken in olive oil.
In another, sauté the veggies with olive oil.

If you don’t have olive oil, it can be replaced with avocado oil, grapeseed oil, or even soybean oil. However, be cautious of using too much soybean oil. Many people ask, is soybean oil bad for you? Yes, it can be. Soybean oil has extremely high linoleic acid, so it may not be the best option for stir-fry (at least all the time).

Step #4: Start adding the sauce to the veggies.

Step #5: When the chicken is still soft, but not fully cooked, add the veggies so everything is in one pan.

Sometimes, at this point, I also add more sauce to taste. (I like stir-fry with a lot of juice!)

Step #6: Stir on high/medium high until chicken is cooked, but still tender. Add additional sauces as needed.