Easy Chicken Stir Fry Recipe

Here’s a simple and easy Chinese chicken stir fry recipe that delivers full flavor without much effort. The recipe has no vegetables — only chicken. That’s a pro or a con, depending on your perspective. The good news is, you can easily add vegetables for a more complex dish.

Prep steps for this chicken stir fry recipe Marinate at least 3 hours before meal time

Don’t skimp marinating this chicken. The flavors will be less intense and you’d be missing out.

To make the marinade, mix honey, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, fresh minced ginger and garlic, plus sesame oil and a pinch of black pepper. Give that a whisk and pour it into a resealable bag.

Next, cut boneless, skinless chicken thighs into 1-inch pieces. Drop them into the bag with your marinade.

Place the bag in your fridge and let it hang out for three hours or more. I like the start the marinating process in the morning so the chicken absorbs the flavors by dinnertime.

Heat your wok

You can get a great texture on your Chinese dishes by deep frying — but you know, that approach adds fat and calories. It’s also messy. So this dish relies on wok frying your chicken instead. And I have to say, the end result is amazing. The honey in the marinade and it turns into a sweet glaze as the chicken cooks.

Heat up your wok on a high flame. The high flame is essential to the traditional stir-fry technique. You’ll add sesame oil and vegetable oil to the hot pan. Then dump in your chicken and the marinade. Fry the chicken for 7 or 8 minutes. You’ll see the liquid evaporate as the chicken develops a sticky coating.

Season and serve

Once the chicken is done, turn off the heat. Gently mix in 2 tablespoons of fish sauce.

And that’s it. Serve your tangy, delicious chicken stir fry on white rice. You could optionally top the finished dish with sliced green onions.

Substitutes for chicken stir fry recipe

This recipe calls for boneless, skinless chicken thighs. You could use chicken breast, but the dish won’t be as rich. The fat content plus the dark portions of the thighs add a ton of flavor to your end result.

Another option is to add in vegetables. Good options are broccoli, carrots, green pepper, onion, or mushrooms. Here’s what to do: Cut your veggies into small pieces and do not add them to the marinade. Instead, add them to your wok after your chicken has cooked for 2 minutes or so. It’ll take about 5 minutes for your veggies to get crisp-tender.

Finally, you can swap out the white rice for cauliflower rice.

Want more stir fry recipes? Try these: