• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
101 Cooking For Two
  • RECIPES
  • About
  • FAQs/Help
  • Shop
  • Chicken Recipes
menu icon
go to homepage
  • RECIPES
  • About
  • FAQs/Help
  • Shop
  • Chicken Recipes
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • RECIPES
    • About
    • FAQs/Help
    • Shop
    • Chicken Recipes
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    🏠Home » Recipes » Chinese Recipes

    Easy Chicken Stir Fry

    Aug 21, 2019 · Modified: Mar 7, 2023 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan · 21 Comments

    Recipe Table of Contents    
    4.44 from 37 votes

    An easy basic chicken stir-fry that uses what you already have in the pantry to make a tasty, healthy meal with tender chicken and fresh vegetables coated with a delicious sauce.

    stirring the stir fry
    Jump To:
    • 😊Why you will love this recipe.
    • 🐓Ingredients
    • 👨‍🍳How to make chicken stir fry
    • 🥣What is Stir Fry?
    • ❓FAQs
    • 📖Chinese Recipes
    • 🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
    • Recipe
    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    😊Why you will love this recipe.

    • This is a super easy chicken stir fry recipe using pantry ingredients.
    • No need for special stir-fry sauce or other special ingredients is needed.
    • Quick and easy weeknight dinner done in about 30 minutes.
    • This is the perfect recipe to use up the "must-go" in your refrigerator.

    The recipe is based on one from Allrecipes. I did simplify and used chicken broth to replace some water and bouillon.

    🐓Ingredients

    • Chicken—skinless boneless chicken breast, skinless boneless chicken thighs, or chicken tenders.
    • Vegetables—broccoli, celery, carrots, bell peppers
    • Other Vegetables—water chestnuts, snow peas, snap peas, mushrooms, baby corn, frozen stir fry mix. Or almost any vegetable you have on hand.
    • Aromatics—onion or green onions, garlic or garlic powder
    • Chicken broth—low sodium
    • Pantry ingredients—soy sauce, ground ginger, garlic powder, corn starch, and vegetable oil.

    👨‍🍳How to make chicken stir fry

    • Trim and slice skinless boneless chicken breast into thin slices or cubes.
    • Heat oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat, and add the chicken when hot. Stir frequently.
    • Mix low-sodium soy sauce, ground ginger, and garlic powder.
    • After the chicken is cooked for about 5 minutes, add the soy sauce mixture, continue to cook until tender (about 6-8 minutes) and break it into bite-size pieces with a wooden spoon.
    • Chop celery, carrots, and onion. Prep broccoli florets (about one medium head)
    • Add all the vegetables to the pan. Stir and fry.
    • Mix chicken broth with cornstarch until dissolved. After about 5 minutes of cooking, add the chicken broth/ cornstarch mixture,
    • Stir continuously until boiling and the vegetables are tender—about 5 minutes.

    🥣What is Stir Fry?

    Stir fry is what we call an ancient Chinese cooking technique that uses a small amount of very hot oil in a wok to quickly cook ingredients that are added while being stirred. So it is very similar to sauteing.

    While stir-frying is an ancient Chinese technique, it has spread worldwide and has been known in the west as stir fry since the middle of last century.

    There are not a lot of rules about what we put in stir fry, so it is an excellent way to use up some of your “must-go” ingredients.

    ❓FAQs

    Can I add more flavors?

    Optional for more flavor—a dash of honey for sweetness. Toasted Sesame Oil for a more Asian taste—it is strong, so just a pinch.

    Add a little tang with a touch of apple cider or rice vinegar.

    Add a little heat with a pinch of crushed red peppers.

    What to serve with stir-fry?

    Generally, rice of some type—white, refried, or brown rice all work, as does cauliflower rice and quinoa. And Chinese noodles. Top with toasted Sesame seeds.

    📖Chinese Recipes

    Easy General Tso Chicken

    Crock Pot Beef and Broccoli

    Easy Fried Rice in 10 Minute

    How to Cook Rice in the Oven

    This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

    Chinese Recipes, Easy Dinner Recipes
    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

    Note: images are for a double batch.

    trim and sliced chicken breast on a white board

    Trim and slice about 1 pound of skinless boneless chicken breast into thin slices or cubes.

    pouring trimmed raw chicken into black skillet with oil

    Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a nonstick large skillet, or wok over medium-high heat and add the chicken when hot—stir frequently.

    Combine soy sauce, ground ginger, and garlic powder in a small bowl—mix well. For a touch of heat, add a pinch of red pepper flakes.

    addomg saice tp cooked chicken

    After the chicken is cooked for about 5 minutes, add the soy sauce mixture and continue to cook until tender (about 6-8 minutes additional) and break it into bite-size pieces with a wooden spoon.

    chopped vegetables on black board

    While the chicken is cooking, chop two stalks of celery, two medium carrots, and a medium onion. Prep 2 cups broccoli florets.

    stirring the stir fry

    Add all the veggies to the pan. Add an 8 oz can of drained water chestnuts if you want. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes.

    adding corn starch mixture to stir fry

    While the dish is cooking, whisk together 8 oz of chicken broth with 2-3 tablespoons of cornstarch until dissolved. After about 5 minutes of cooking, add the chicken broth/ cornstarch mixture and stir continuously until thickened and the vegetables are tender—about 5 minutes.

    stir fry ready to serve on a spoon
    graphic Subscribe to 101 Cooking for Two

    Recipe

    Chicken Stir Fry in pan

    Easy Chicken Stir Fry

    From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
    An easy basic chicken stir-fry that uses what you already have in the pantry to make a tasty, healthy meal with tender chicken and fresh vegetables coated with a delicious sauce.
    Tap to leave a Rating
    4.44 from 37 votes
    Print Email CollectionCollected
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 25 minutes
    Total Time: 35 minutes
    Servings #/Adjust if desired 4 servings

    Ingredients

    • 1 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts - cut into thin slices or cubes
    • 2 tablespoons oil
    • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
    • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
    • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
    • 2 stalks celery
    • 1 bell pepper - chopped
    • 2 carrots - medium
    • 1 onion - medium
    • 2 cups broccoli florets
    • 8 oz chicken broth
    • 3 tablespoons corn starch

    Options

    • Other Vegetables suggestions in the tips
    • Options for more flavor in the tips
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Trim and slice about 1 pound of skinless boneless chicken breast into thin slices or cubes.
      trim and sliced chicken breast on a white board
    • Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a nonstick large skillet, or wok over medium-high heat and add the chicken when hot—stir frequently.
      pouring trimmed raw chicken into black skillet with oil
    • Combine soy sauce, ground ginger, and garlic powder in a small bowl—mix well. For a touch of heat, add a pinch of red pepper flakes.
    • After the chicken is cooked for about 5 minutes, add the soy sauce mixture and continue to cook until tender (about 6-8 minutes additional) and break it into bite-size pieces with a wooden spoon.
      addomg saice tp cooked chicken
    • While the chicken is cooking, chop two stalks of celery, two medium carrots, and a medium onion. Prep 2 cups broccoli florets.
      chopped vegetables on black board
    • Add all the veggies you are using to the pan. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes.
      stirring the stir fry
    • While the dish is cooking, whisk together 8 oz of chicken broth with 2-3 tablespoons of cornstarch until dissolved. After about 5 minutes of cooking, add the chicken broth/ cornstarch mixture and stir continuously until thickened and the vegetables are tender—about 5 minutes.
      adding corn starch mixture to stir fry
    See the step-by-step photos in the post. Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print.

    Your Own Private Notes

    Click here to save your own private notes only you will see. These will print and be saved for your next visit.
    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    Recipe Notes

    Pro Tips:

    1. This is just a basic recipe to get you started. Add or subtract what you want.
    2. I used skinless boneless chicken breast, but thighs would work well. Also, change it out for different meat or fish. Add a bit more or less. Skip the meat if you want.
    3. All amounts of meat and veggies are just for reference. Adjust to what you have or want.
    4. Two cups of broccoli is about a medium head of broccoli.
    5. Other Vegetables—water chestnuts, snow peas, snap peas, mushrooms, baby corn, frozen stir fry mix. Or almost any vegetable you have on hand.
    6. Optional for more flavor—a dash of honey for sweetness. Toasted Sesame Oil for a more Asian taste—it is strong, so just a pinch. Some crushed red pepper for some heat.
    7. Good in the refrigerator for a few days. But due to the corn starch, the texture will be a bit different, and I do not suggest freezing.

    To adjust the recipe size:

    You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

    Nutrition Estimate

    Nutrition Facts
    Easy Chicken Stir Fry
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 239 Calories from Fat 81
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 9g14%
    Saturated Fat 1g5%
    Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
    Monounsaturated Fat 5g
    Cholesterol 72mg24%
    Sodium 619mg26%
    Potassium 267mg8%
    Carbohydrates 15g5%
    Fiber 3g12%
    Sugar 4g4%
    Protein 27g54%
    Vitamin A 5250IU105%
    Vitamin C 26.4mg32%
    Calcium 40mg4%
    Iron 0.2mg1%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
    Course : Main Course
    Cuisine : Chinese

    © 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.

    Editor's Note: Originally Published December 17, 2011. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.

    Molly and Lilly standing in a yard

    More Chinese Recipes

    • beef and broccoli with rice and toppings on blue plate
      Crock Pot Beef and Broccoli
    • fried rice on a white plate
      Plain Fried Rice in 10 Minutes—Customize to Your Taste
    • cashew chicken on with rice on a gray plate
      Small Crock Pot Cashew Chicken
    • General Tso Chicken on a whte plate
      Easy General Tso Chicken in 30 Minutes

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Comment (Policy Link in Footer) Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    1. Harry Nimmergut

      September 15, 2022 at 10:14 am

      3 stars
      We just moved and our food processor is among a hundred boxes. I had all of the ingredients at hand, however, substituting snow peas for the broccoli. Prep time took an hour, not 10 minutes. It definitely needed double the soy sauce and ginger paste, for 1.25 pounds of chicken tenders, cut up. I should have added some minced garlic. I served it on white, sticky rice. My biggest issue was the lack of liquid for the rice to absorb. Maybe 1/2 the cornstarch? It had great flavor but the consistency left something to be desired. Almost gelatinous. Too fussy for what I was looking for, considering our situation. Not quick&easy.

      Reply
    2. Marcy

      April 02, 2020 at 7:11 pm

      Dr. Dan, what happened to your stir fry broccoli recipe! I can’t find it anywhere. Help. Thanks

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        April 03, 2020 at 11:17 am

        Hi Marcy,

        I have never had a broccoli stir fry recipe on the site.

        Dan

    3. Sb

      June 19, 2019 at 9:32 pm

      This is a keeper. Love the way the soy sauce mixture flavored the meat, though I did precut the chicken instead of breaking it up in the pan. I also added a scrambled egg, fish sauce and sesame oil. I plan to try a beef version of this.

      Reply
    4. Anner

      January 03, 2017 at 7:28 pm

      Awesome, easy recipe! Doubled it for my family and they loved it! Liked that all ingredients were already in the cupboard, no time to speclalty shop after work!

      Reply
    5. Katie

      September 07, 2015 at 9:16 pm

      This is an old post but I just wanted to say that this is one of my family's favorites! Since finding the recipe I've made it countless times. The only things I change up is adding more soy sauce and we usually do the frozen stir fry mix. I'm not a cook at all so this really has helped me with an easy fix for dinner! Thank you!

      Reply
      • DrDan

        September 07, 2015 at 9:24 pm

        I leave all my older posts open for comments so readers can still contribute and ask questions. It helps everybody.

        Thanks for the note
        DrDan

    6. Rebecca

      May 14, 2014 at 1:55 am

      Looking forward to trying this soon!

      Reply
      • DrDan

        May 16, 2014 at 7:31 pm

        Thanks for the comment
        DrDan

    7. maribel gomez

      May 13, 2014 at 10:22 am

      This looks delicious. I'm going to try this. I hope it taste as it looks. I like trying different variety of recipes. Thank you

      Reply
      • DrDan

        May 13, 2014 at 7:44 pm

        Thanks for the note. I like the taste and many have told me this is a favorite.
        Hope it works well for you.
        DrDan

      • maribel gomez

        May 14, 2014 at 10:02 am

        Thank you, I loved it but family always a critic. They said a little tad bit on the ginger but, their going for leftovers today. Yeah for me. Definitely do over for my house. Thanks

      • DrDan

        May 16, 2014 at 7:34 pm

        My wife is not a ginger person so I leave it out sometimes or at least cut it in half. But the recipe lacks a little Chinese taste without it.
        Thanks for the note
        DrDan

    8. Melissa McKinney

      August 28, 2013 at 6:35 am

      Made this last night and was delicious, also added snow peas, green pepper and onions. Will for sure make again and again!

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell

        August 28, 2013 at 6:46 pm

        The additions sound great. I just used what I had on hand at the time but the variety of what you could add is endless.

    9. Allen Harris

      July 15, 2013 at 3:33 am

      This looks very tasty! I love how you've mixed the ingredients! I would like to cook this so that I can taste this interesting recipe. Anyway, thank you for sharing!

      Easy Stir Fry

      Reply
    10. Dan Mikesell

      March 25, 2013 at 7:15 pm

      Thanks. I like cooking with fewer ingredients like this. It gets down to the soy, garlic and ginger which is what my "American" taste wants. It is not "weekly" just because I have so many other things I love and I tend to make General Tso Chicken when I want Chinese.

      Reply
    11. Saryna

      March 22, 2013 at 1:14 am

      This is amazing and absolutely delicious! Im usually not a huge fan of soy sauce, but because of the ginger it makes it the perfect and I ended up adding more then recommended because I love a good sauce. I know it says up there that this isnt something that would be put into a weekly rotation, but it will be for me because its that good. I love that I can add more veggies to it as well so it an easy, quick and yummy way for me to use up my veggies at the end of the week. Again, this dish is simply amazing and extremely delicious. I highly recommend it!

      Reply
    12. Try It With Carmella

      January 16, 2013 at 5:11 pm

      i'm just serving it over rice!

      Reply
    13. Try It With Carmella

      January 16, 2013 at 5:10 pm

      doing this right now and it looks great! thanks

      Reply
    14. Unknown

      July 02, 2012 at 2:51 pm

      I made this yesterday because I had a spare bag of stir fry veggies that was about to go to waste. It was darn tasty! The only thing I was missing was the ginger and I could definitely feel it missing, but still, it was very, very good. Very easy to make, very simple, very tasty. I'll cut down on the soy sauce just a wee bit though, maybe by a tsp or two. Thanks for the recipe!! I'll be making it again today for my whole family.

      Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    DrDan image Hi, I’m DrDan, and welcome to 101 Cooking for Two, the home of great everyday recipes with easy-to-follow step-by-step photo instructions. About DrDan

    Join the club
    SUBSCRIBE TODAY

    Steak, Steak, and More Steak

    • cut ribeye steak on a gray plate
      How to Grill a Ribeye Steak on the Grill
    • filtet mignon with potatoes on a white plate
      Pan Seared Oven Roasted Filet Mignon
    • Grilled filet mignon on a white plate
      How to Grill Filet Mignon
    • NY strip steak cut on an orange plate
      Pan Seared Oven Roasted Strip Steak
    • a strip steak with grill marks on a gray plate
      How to Grill Strip Steak on a Gas Grill
    • porterhouse steak with fries on blue plate
      Grilled T-bone Steak and Porterhouse Steak

    Chicken, Chicken, and More Chicken

    • pile of chicken legs on a white plate
      Baked Chicken Legs - Quick and Easy
    • Large plage of chicken thighs
      Oven Baked Chicken Thighs
    • cut baked chicken on white plate
      How to Bake Chicken Breasts in a Convection Oven
    • Grilled Chicken Breasts on a blue plate
      How to Grill Chicken Breasts on a Gas Grill
    • grilled chicken drumsticks on a grill
      Grilled Chicken Drumsticks - Quick and Easy
    • grilled chicken thigh with some char
      Grilled Chicken Thighs on a Grill
    graphic of sites that I work with or have had recipes featured or referenced.
    SITES THAT I WORK WITH OR HAVE HAD RECIPES FEATURED OR REFERENCED.

    Footer

    ↑ back to top ↑

    About

    • About DrDan and the Blog
    • Business Questions
    • Comment Policy

    Content

    • Food FAQ
    • Kitchen Reference Sheets
    • Recipes Featured in the Videos
    • Guide To Cooking for Two
    • Saved Recipes Collections

    dogs by the pond

    Privacy Policy | Terms | Contact

    COPYRIGHT © 2010-2023 101 COOKING FOR TWO. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | BASED ON FOODIE PRO THEME