Hot Wok Chicken Stir-Fry
You guys know when you go to a Chinese take-out joint, they’ll serve some dishes with creative names? I’ve always really liked that.
I’m looking at a menu from one of the nearby places here where we’ve gone for years at a list of items that they given those ‘special names’. The funny thing about it is that they don’t really describe what the food is; it’s as if they just expect you to know what it is beforehand. I don’t, but I can always speculate:
1) “Eight Parts Delicious”- I’ve never tried this one before. I’ve always been too scared. Why ‘eight parts’? Why not five, or six, or four? Does eight parts mean eight different spices? Eight different vegetables? Eight different meats? (Wait, that’s really probably not it, I can’t even think of eight meats right now).
2) “Happy Family”- I’m assuming this is just a big assortment of meats and veggies stir-fried together to make one big “happy family” of a dish. It better be for what they’re charging for it. Sheesh.
3) “Phoenix and Dragon”- well, let me see. I couldn’t swear to what the protein in this would be, but I’m going to make a wild guess that whatever it is, it’s pretty spicy. The ‘phoenix’ part can obviously pass for chicken, but what’s the term used for reptiles? Do people even eat reptiles?
4) “Four Seasons”- This one I’m almost positive had four proteins in it. I mean it’s almost too easy: chicken, beef, pork, fish. The REAL question is which protein stands for which season. I’ll think about it and get back to you guys on that one.
I got one of my mad, notorious cravings for some Asian stir-fry and rather than just pick up the phone and order in, I remembered that I’m a freakin food blogger and went into the kitchen to fire up my wok instead. That’s pretty impressive for me guys, so you should be giving me a pat on the back.
There really was no rhyme or reason for the ingredients I picked out when planning this recipe. I just used what I knew would be easy, and pretty accessible for most people to get. My protein of choice was chicken (which is par for the course for me), but if you’re more partial to using beef or pork, then feel free to swap it out.
I was really very happy with how this dish turned out. There’s the perfect ratio of meat to the veggies, the sauce (although literally thrown together at the last minute) turned out really good, and what’s more the dish can feed a pretty good sized crowd. The only problem I could find with it was when I finished cooking and taking pictures and needed to come up with a good name for it to post on the blog.
See, I really, really REALLY wanted to give it one of those ‘creative’ names I’ve seen in Chinese take-out menus. Don’t ask why, I just wanted to.
My ‘other’ hobby is writing, so at first I tried to get REALLY out there with this. My first idea was “Buddha’s Delight”, but I seemed to remember hearing of that somewhere else, so I binned it. Then I thought maybe “Year of the Snake” would be kinda cool since according to the Chinese Calendar, that’s my animal/sign. But I just couldn’t marry the idea of a snake with a dish where the protein is chicken so that was out too. After looking at the pictures from the photo shoot the name “Rainbow Stir-Fry” occurred to me to illustrate all the pretty veggie colors. Then I said it out loud and realized that it sounded stupid.
As you guys can see, the winner didn’t turn out to be all that impressive or creative. My wok stayed pretty hot while I was cooking the dish, and the stir-fry part would also make it pretty obvious what it was to avoid any confusion.
So there you have it: Hot Wok Chicken Stir-Fry. I can promise you that it MORE than makes up for in taste what it lacks in name originality.
I’ll be bringing this over to the Fiesta Friday #56 party hosted by Angie@TheNoviceGardener and co-hosted this week by Tina @Mademoiselle Gourmandeand Juju @cookingwithauntjuju.
Hot Wok Chicken Stir-Fry
Recipe by Jess@CookingIsMySport
Ingredients
- 4-5 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced thinly into strips
- 3 tri-color bell peppers (red, yellow and orange), thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 cups matchstick carrots
- 8 oz. white mushrooms, stems removed, caps thinly sliced
- 12 oz. broccoli florets
- 1-2 tbsp. of your favorite stir-fry seasoning
- Asian stir fry oil
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp. agave nectar or honey
- 2 tbsp. hoisin sauce
- 1/4 tsp sesame oil
- Dried Chow Mein Noodles, optional
- Egg or vermicelli rice noodles, optional
Directions
1. Heat 1-2 tsp. of Asian stir-fry oil in the bottom of a wok or large skillet over medium high heat. Add the peppers and carrots and sautee until softened and slightly limp, 7-10 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
2. Add another 1-2 tsp. of stir-fry oil to pan and sautee mushrooms about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and place with peppers and carrots.
3. Season chicken with stir-fry seasoning in a large bowl, stirring to make sure meat is evenly covered. Add additional stir-fry oil to pan and allow to heat. Add chicken to the pan (you may have to do this in multiple batches, don’t crowd it) and sautee until completely cooked through.
4. Meanwhile, combine soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, agave nectar/honey, hoisin sauce and sesame oil in a measuring cup.
5. When all of the chicken is finished cooking, add the peppers, carrots and mushroom mixture back to the pan. Turn heat up to high. Drizzle the sauce into the mixture and stir to combine. (Note: you may not need to use it all depending on how you like your stir-fry seasoned, so taste and adjust accordingly) Continue to cook until all of the liquid in the pan has been absorbed. During the last minute or so of stir-frying add the broccoli to the pan.
6. When stir-fry is completed, sprinkle chow mein noodles on top and serve atop egg noodles or vermicelli rice noodles if desired.
Love your recipe and have printed it! Love Chinese food and yes I hear you about the names. My favorite is “The Honeymooners” yummy and spicy shrimp with a black bean/pork side. Thanks for a great post and sharing with all of us party goers at Angie’s. Happy FF 🙂
Yum, I’ve never heard of The Honeymooners before, but your description sure makes me want to give a try. Thank you!
I sure as hell am patting you on the back. This looks delicious I must say. I love stir fries aas they are so easy yet sooo delicious. And I don’t have a Chinese takeout where they have such creative names for their dishes near me. Sadly.
I love that you make rice noodles with it rather than using rice. Thank you for sharing and happy Fiesta Friday. The people will love that! 🙂
I actually preferred using the rice noodles to rice with this- thanks a lot 😀
Looks like a fabulous dish, Jess. I bet the flavors were leaps and bounds better than most carry out meals. I think hot wok says it all. 🙂
It definitely didn’t taste as salty Nancy-I felt better being able to control the sodium content in it, that’s for sure. It goes down really fresh on the palate I think. Thank you 🙂
This sounds like a great stir-fry-so fresh-looking and colorful!
Thank you Nancy- it’s pretty straight forward and to the point and hard to mess up. Which is right up my alley lol
Ooh this stir fry looks amazing!
We don’t seem to get many creative names at chinese restaurants round here, but at the chinese place we eat at in Atlanta my friend always gets the Dragon Horse Chicken – and I’m pretty sure there’s neither Dragon nor Horse in it! I go with the cashew chicken myself, which is a little more descriptive!
Hahaha- Dragon Horse Chicken- I love it!
Thanks Michelle, whenever I order Chinese takeout I usually stick to my staple choices too.Cashew Chicken is one of them 😉
These look so delicious, Jess 🙂
Thank you- I don’t think the taste disappoints either, but I could be biased lol
Your dish looks 100% more appetizing than Chinese takeout! I’m bookmarking for a weeknight meal idea. Last time Matt and I ate Chinese at a restaurant I’m pretty sure I got the dish called Happy Family lol 😉
Thanks Heather- this dish can definitely be made for a weeknight dinner- especially if your veggies are chopped ahead of time- then it’s SUPER quick.
I am so curious about that “Eight-parts”. I haven’t seen that in any menus I’ve seen. I better search. 😀
I am so crazy about Chinese foods, Jess. This is so delicious. Happy FF. xx
Me too Jhuls, after I published this post I started googling Eight Parts to see what it really was.Still haven’t come across any answers, but I’ll get back to you if I ever do.
Thanks so much- Happy FF 😀
Big pats on the back for this one girl… it looks amazing!! I love to stir fry and this one will definitely be making our dinner rotation 🙂 As for the name… I like it! It’s catchy and makes you think “I’ve got to see what that looks like” 🙂
Thank you Amanda- I HATED the name when I first settled on it, but now I actually think it’s growing on me lol
This looks so delicious, the pictures are absolutely mouthwatering! You make me wonder if I should renounce my butter-and-sugar diet and start cooking proper food … 😉
Happy FF!
Everyone deserves a break, right Ginger? And I could think of worse things you could break your diet on than a fresh veggie stir-fry 😉
How about Chicken take a wok? Sorry I am a bit goofy. I love cooking stir-fry and other chinese dishes at home. You can get amazing flavors without the preservatives or sodium that the restaurants use. Your stir fry is colorful and looks delicious!
Hahaha, I actually do REALLY like that Julie. I should’ve talked to you first before posting this lol I SO agree homemade Asian food is so much better for you, and you really don’t miss all that msg and sodium at all. Thank you 🙂
The dish looks as if it is smiling at me. Cheerful and fresh 🙂
Aww that’s such a nice compliment. Thank you!
I love a good stirfry! it’s one of my go-to meals 🙂 Yours looks so colourful and flavourful!
I love authentic chinese restaurants where the names are just mumbo jumbo! 😀 The place I used to go actually was all chinese, so we had to point to pictures to order… always keeping our fingers crossed it was edible!!
Oh wow, that would’ve been SO ‘interesting’ for me to try to do…and by interesting I mean a disaster, I don’t speak or read a word of Chinese lol Thank you!
Absolutely need to make this for my girls! It looks so inviting and delicious!
Thanks Serena, I hope they like it 🙂
so mouth watering…I love it!
Thank you Rai!
Jess, this looks soo delicious that i feel like taking a piece from the screen n having. Sooo good. 😀
Thank you Sadia, that’s so nice of you to put it that way 😀
What a coincidence that I just made Chinese too. I am always amused with the fancy names they use. But I wouldn’t ever try a dish without a description to it. Especially from the Chinese cuisine because they are known to be experimental with their mets. Your chicken stir fry lòoks very appetizing 🍛🍗
Thanks again 🙂
Wow! This looks so delicious it’s making me hungry. I love Chinese foods. It’s one of my weaknesses. Yum!