Stir-fried chicken with mixed vegetables

This stir-fried chicken with mixed vegetables is a great weeknight dinner that doesn’t take long to make. It has a lot of juicy, tender chicken breast and vegetables in a brown sauce. It’s easy to make and tastes great! To finish the meal, serve this with some shrimp lo mein or egg fried rice.

Overview

This stir fry with chicken and mixed vegetables is a great meal for the week that only takes 30 minutes to make. It’s simple, easy, and delicious, with lots of juicy, tender chicken breast and vegetables in a brown sauce. To finish off the meal, serve this with some egg fried rice or shrimp lo mein.

Time to Get Ready: 15 Minutes
Time to cook: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 3

Notes about the ingredients

Please scroll down to the recipe card to see how much of each ingredient you need!

To marinate the chicken:

Chicken breast: We usually choose dark meat chicken, like thighs, because they are the juiciest and tastiest. For simple stir-fry dishes like this chicken with mixed vegetables, though, it’s best to use boneless, skinless chicken breast because it tastes cleaner.
Water: To keep the chicken hydrated so that the meat stays as juicy as possible.
Shaoxing cooking wine: Shaoxing rice wine helps get rid of any bad taste in the chicken when it’s marinated.
Salt: Used to flavor the chicken.
Baking soda: Will make the chicken a little softer. Baking soda also makes the chicken breast hold onto more water, which keeps it very juicy.
Cornstarch: A key ingredient for velveting the chicken breast slices and holds the batter together. Velveting is a way to prepare and cook meat that keeps it juicy and tender.
Oil: Any oil that isn’t too strong will do. The oil helps the chicken come apart more easily.

To make the sauce for the stir fry:

Soy sauce: Light sodium soy sauce can make your sauce taste too “salty” because it is acidic. We suggest that you use regular soy sauce instead.
Water: To thin out the soy sauce and make it taste better. You could also use chicken stock that isn’t salted.
Sugar: Regular granulated sugar is fine to make the stir fry sauce a little sweeter, which makes it more balanced and complete. Honey could be used instead but it will taste a little different.
Dark soy sauce and chicken bouillon powder: Optional. Dark soy sauce makes the sauce darker, and chicken bouillon powder adds more flavor.
Cornstarch: Used to make the sauce thicker.
Toasted sesame oil: Gives stir-fried chicken and mixed vegetables a nutty, toasted flavor.

For the rest of the meal:

Mixed vegetables: Any vegetables are fine. Used snow peas, broccoli, carrots, red bell pepper, zucchini, and mushrooms, cut into easy to eat shapes and sizes.
Garlic and ginger: Spices to give the stir fry sauce a lot of flavor.
Oil: For cooking, any oil that isn’t too strong is fine.

Things you need

For the chicken that has been marinated:

20 ounces of skinless, boneless chicken breast into ¼-inch slices (about 2 chicken breasts).
1 tablespoon of Shaoxing rice wine (optional)
3 tablespoons of water
½ teaspoon of Kosher salt (fine salt is fine too)
¼ teaspoon of baking soda
2 tablespoons of cornstarch
1 tablespoon of oil (any neutral oil is fine)

To make the stir fry sauce:

¾ cup of water
2½ tablespoons of regular soy sauce
1½ tablespoons of granulated sugar
1 teaspoon of chicken bouillon powder (optional)
¼ teaspoon of dark soy sauce (optional for color)
2 tablespoons of cornstarch
1 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil

For the rest of the meal:

1 pound of mixed vegetables of your choice, cut to the size you want (We used broccoli, carrots, bell pepper, zucchini, mushrooms, and snow peas.)
2–3 cloves of garlic, minced, or 1 tablespoon
1 tablespoon of ginger, peeled and chopped (about 1 inch knob)
Oil for cooking as needed (any neutral oil)

How to do it

How to stir-fry chicken with a mix of vegetables

Please scroll down to the recipe card to see the full recipe and how to make it.

To soak the chicken:

Marinate. Mix together the sliced chicken breast, water, Shaoxing rice wine, salt, and baking soda. Stir until the chicken has soaked up most of the liquid.
Use cornstarch to bind. Add the cornstarch and mix until the chicken is evenly coated. Add the oil at the end and mix until everything is well combined. Let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes, but the best time is 30 minutes or overnight in the fridge.

Tip: First, cut your chicken breasts and let them soak in the marinade. To make the most of your time, you can get the rest of your ingredients ready while the chicken marinates.

Make the sauce:

Put all the stir fry sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk them together until there are no more lumps of cornstarch. Put it away until you need it.

If you want a thinner sauce, use 1 to 2 teaspoons less cornstarch. If you want your stir fry sauce to be thicker, add 1 to 2 teaspoons more.

Blanch the vegetables that are mixed together.

Put a pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil. Then, depending on how hearty they are, add the mixed vegetables. Cook the vegetables until they are as soft as you like.

Note: Broccoli and carrots, for example, are heartier vegetables that can handle being cooked for a little longer. On the other hand, snow peas are much softer and only need to be added at the last few seconds of cooking. You could also cook each vegetable on its own if you want.

Make the stir fry with chicken and vegetables:

Fry the chicken in a pan. Put enough oil in a wok or pan to cover the bottom and heat it over medium-high heat. Add the marinated chicken and cook it on both sides until it is just done. Take the chicken out and put it aside until you need it.
📝 Important: Don’t put too much food in the wok or pan! If you need to, cook the chicken in smaller batches and make sure that each piece is cooked evenly. You don’t have to color the chicken, but if you want to, you can sear each piece until it’s golden.
Stir-fry the spices and make the sauce. Keep 2 tablespoons of oil in the same pan and turn the heat down to medium. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for 15 to 30 seconds, or until they smell good. Put the sauce in the pan and stir it up. Let the sauce cook until it gets thick and shiny. Make sure to stir all the time.
Cover everything with sauce. Add the chicken and mix until it is well covered. Then, add the mixed vegetables that have been blanched and toss them until they are well coated with sauce. Eat while it’s hot!

Advice on how to make recipes

Don’t cook the mixed vegetables too long! Put the vegetables in the boiling water based on how strong they are. This will keep your vegetables from getting too soft. For instance, carrots and broccoli are much more filling than snow peas. So, put in the broccoli and carrots first. Then, add the snow peas about 5 to 10 seconds before the end of cooking.
First, put the chicken in the stir fry sauce. It’s easier to coat the chicken with sauce first. Next, put in the vegetables. The vegetables are bigger, which will make it harder to mix and toss them. This method also stops broccoli florets and other vegetables from soaking up all the sauce.

How to store and reheat

You can keep leftover chicken and mixed vegetables in the fridge for up to four days in an airtight container. Before putting the leftovers in the fridge, make sure they are completely cool.

You can use the microwave or a pan on the stovetop to reheat the chicken and mixed vegetable stir fry. When you reheat the chicken in the microwave, make sure to use a container that is safe for the microwave and cover it with mixed vegetables.

Please keep in mind that the stir fry sauce will be thinner and the vegetables won’t be as crunchy on day two as they were when they were first made.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I use instead of Shaoxing rice wine?

You can use dry sherry instead of Shaoxing rice wine if you can’t find it. Just mix the sherry with half water and use it like you would Shaoxing rice wine. Instead of alcohol, you can just use water or some stock.

Is it okay if I leave out the baking soda?

We strongly suggest using the baking soda because it is the most important part that makes the chicken tender and keeps it juicy after cooking.

What can I use instead of cornstarch?

Potato starch can be used instead of cornstarch. Use the same amount.

Notes

Please see the post above for step-by-step photos, tips, storage, and answers to common questions.
Put the chicken in the freezer to make it easier to cut. It will be easier to cut the chicken breast if it is partially frozen. But before you start marinating, make sure the chicken is completely thawed and drained.
If you’re using frozen vegetables, make sure to blanch (boil) and drain them first. You can also heat it up in the microwave. Be sure to get rid of most of the water.
Soy sauce: After getting a lot of complaints that the sauce was too salty, we tried the recipe again with different soy sauces. We found that Kikkoman soy sauce with less sodium is less salty but more acidic, which can make the sauce taste “salty.” So, instead, we changed the recipe to use less soy sauce.