This chicken with mixed vegetable stir fry is a great weekday meal that takes less than 30 minutes. Loaded with juicy, tender chicken breast and vegetables all tossed in a brown sauce, it is simple, easy, and delish! Pair this with some egg fried rice or shrimp lo mein to complete the meal.
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Ingredient notes
Please scroll down to the recipe card for the ingredient quantities!
For marinating the chicken:
- Chicken breast – Although we usually opt for dark meat chicken, like chicken thighs because they are the juiciest and most flavorful. But for simple stir fry dishes like this chicken with mixed vegetable, it is best to use boneless, skinless chicken breast because the flavor is much cleaner.
- Water – For hydrating the chicken which ensures the meat stays as juicy as possible.
- Shaoxing cooking wine – A Chinese pantry staple and must have. In the marinade, Shaoxing rice wine helps to get rid of any unwanted flavor in the chicken.
- Salt – For seasoning the chicken.
- Baking soda – To slightly tenderize the chicken. Baking soda also encourages water retention, which helps to keep the chicken breast super juicy.
- Cornstarch – Cornstarch binds the batter and a crucial ingredient for velveting the chicken breast slices. Velveting is a preparation and cooking technique that helps to keep meat juicy and tender.
- Oil – Any neutral oil will do. The oil makes it easier to separate the chicken.
To make the stir fry sauce:
- Soy sauce – After some feedback, we did a deep dive into different soy sauces and rested our sauce recipe. We found that, although light sodium soy sauce is less salty, it can make your sauce taste too “salty” due to its acidity. This is especially prominent with Japanese low sodium soy sauce, like Kikkoman. So we recommend using regular soy sauce instead.
- Water – For diluting the soy sauce and making the sauce more balanced. You could also use unsalted chicken stock instead.
- Sugar – Regular granulated sugar is fine. It’s to add a little sweetness to the stir fry sauce, which balances and rounds out the sauce. If you prefer, you could use honey instead, but the flavor will be slightly different.
- Chicken bouillon powder and dark soy sauce – Both of these are optional. The chicken bouillon powder adds another layer of depth to the sauce while the dark soy sauce gives the sauce a darker color.
- Cornstarch – For thickening the sauce.
- Toasted sesame oil – An Asian pantry must have! Sesame oil adds a toasted, nutty flavor to chicken and mixed vegetable stir fry.
For the rest of the dish:
- Mixed vegetables – Feel free to use any vegetables you like. We used broccoli, carrots, red bell pepper, zucchini, mushrooms, and snow peas. Cut them into bite size or your preferred shapes and sizes.
- Garlic and ginger – These are aromatics that will add tons of flavor to the stir fry sauce.
- Oil – For cooking. Any neutral oil is fine.
How to make chicken with mixed vegetables stir fry
Please scroll down to the recipe card for the full recipe and instructions!
Marinate the chicken:
1. Marinate. Combine the sliced chicken breast, water, Shaoxing rice wine, salt, and baking soda. Mix until the chicken absorbed most of the liquid.
2. Bind with cornstarch. Add the cornstarch and mix until the chicken is well coated. Finish by adding the oil and mix until evenly combined. Set aside to marinate for 10 to 15 minutes, best 30 minutes, or overnight in the fridge.
🌟 Pro tip: Cut and marinate your chicken breasts first. You can prepare the rest of your ingredients as the chicken marinates to maximize your time.
Prepare the sauce:
Combine all the ingredients for the stir fry sauce and whisk until no more clumps of cornstarch is visible. Set aside until needed.
📝 Note: If you prefer a thinner sauce, use 1 to 2 teaspoons less cornstarch. Likewise, if you prefer your stir fry sauce thicker, use 1 to 2 teaspoons more.
Blanche the mixed vegetables
Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the mixed vegetables according to their heartiness. Cook the veggies to your desired tenderness.
🌟 Pro tip: For example, broccoli and carrots are heartier vegetables that can handle being cooked a little longer. Where as snow peas are way more tender and only require to be added at the last few seconds of cooking. If you prefer, you could also cook each vegetables separately.
Make the chicken and vegetable stir fry:
1. Pan fry the chicken. Add enough oil into a wok or pan to cover the bottom and heat over medium high heat. Add the marinated chicken and cook on both sides until the chicken is just cooked. Remove the chicken and set aside until needed.
📝 Note: Don’t overcrowd the wok/pan! Cook the chicken in smaller batches if necessary and make sure to separate the chicken so that each piece is cooked evenly. Also, there’s no need to have color on the chicken, but if you prefer, you can sear each piece of chicken until golden.
2. Stir fry the aromatics and make the sauce. In the same pan, reduce the heat to medium and keep 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the garlic and ginger and sauté until fragrant, about 15 to 30 seconds. Stir up the prepared sauce and add to the pan. Let the sauce cook until thickened and glossy. Make sure to stir constantly.
3. Coat everything in sauce. Add the chicken and mix until the chicken is well coated. Then, add the blanched mixed vegetables and toss until the veggies are well coated with sauce. Enjoy while hot!
Recipe tips
- Don’t overcook the mixed vegetables! Add the vegetables to the boiling water according to their heartiness. This way, your vegetables won’t become overcooked. For example, carrots and broccoli is much heartier than snow peas. So add the carrots and broccoli first. Then, towards the last 5 to 10 seconds of cooking, add the snow peas.
- Toss the chicken in stir fry sauce first. It is easier to coat the chicken with sauce first. Then add the vegetables. The vegetables are bulkier and will make mixing and tossing harder. This method also prevents vegetables like broccoli florets from soaking up all the sauce.
Storage and reheating
Leftover chicken with mixed vegetables can be stored in the fridge, in an airtight container, for up to 4 days. Make sure to let the leftover cool completely before refrigerating.
You can reheat the chicken with mixed vegetable stir fry using the microwave or in a pan, on the stovetop. If you’re reheating in the microwave, make sure to use a microwave safe container and cover the chicken with mixed vegetables.
Do note that the stir fry sauce on day two will be thinner and the vegetables won’t be as crispy as when freshly made.
FAQ
If you can’t find Shaoxing rice wine, you can substitute it with some dry sherry. Simply dilute the sherry with half water and use as you would the Shaoxing rice wine. If you want an alcoholic substitute, simply use water or some stock instead.
We highly recommend using the baking soda because it is the key ingredient that helps to tenderize the chicken and helps the chicken retain moisture, keeping the chicken juicy after cooking.
Potato starch is a suitable substitute for cornstarch. Use in equal quantity.
Chicken with Mixed Vegetable Stir Fry
Ingredients
For the marinated chicken:
- 20 ounces skinless boneless chicken breast cut into ¼ inch slices (about 2 chicken breasts)
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine (optional)
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt fine salt is okay too
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon oil any neutral oil is fine
For the stir fry sauce:
- ¾ cup water
- 2½ tablespoons regular soy sauce
- 1½ tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder optional
- ¼ teaspoon dark soy sauce optional for color
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
For the rest of the dish:
- 1 pound mixed vegetables of your choice cut into desired size (We used broccoli, carrots, bell pepper, zucchini, mushrooms, and snow peas.)
- 1 tablespoons garlic minced (about 2-3 cloves)
- 1 tablespoons ginger peeled and minced (about 1 inch knob)
- Oil as needed for cooking (any neutral oil)
Instructions
To marinate the chicken:
- In a mixing bowl, combine the sliced chicken breast, water, Shaoxing rice wine, salt, and baking soda. Mix until the chicken has absorbed most of the liquid.
- Add the cornstarch and mix until the chicken is well coated. Finish the marinade by add the oil. Mix until well combined. Set aside to marinate for 10 to 15 minutes as you prepare the rest of the ingredients. If you have time, let the chicken marinade overnight in the fridge.
Prepare the sauce:
- In a bowl or measuring cup, combine all the ingredients for the sauce (water, soy sauce, sugar, chicken bouillon powder, dark soy sauce, cornstarch, sesame oil). Whisk until no more cornstarch clumps are visible. Set aside until needed.
Blanch the vegetables:
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the vegetables to the boiling water according to heartiness and cook to desired tenderness. Once cooked, drain the vegetables and set aside.
*For example, broccoli and carrots are heartier vegetables that can handle being cooked a little longer. Where as snow peas are way more tender and only require to be added at the last few seconds of cooking. If you prefer, you could also cook each vegetables separately.*
Make the chicken with mixed vegetables:
- In a wok or sauté pan over medium high heat, add enough oil to generously coat the bottom of the pan/wok. Once the oil is hot, add the marinated chicken and cook on both sides until the chicken is cooked through. Make sure to separate the chicken so that each piece gets cooked evenly. Cook in small batches if necessary. Remove from the wok/pan and set aside.
*The chicken doesn’t need to have color, but if you prefer, you can sear the chicken until golden brown.*
- Reduce the heat to medium and keep about 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan. Drain excess oil if necessary. Add the mined garlic and ginger and stir fry until fragrant, about 15 to 30 seconds.
- Give the prepared stir fry sauce a good mix and pour it into the pan with the garlic and ginger. Let the sauce heat up until it starts to simmer and the sauce looks thickened and glossy. Make sure to stir frequently to prevent the sauce from scorching on the bottom and to help the sauce thicken evenly. Reduce the heat to medium low if necessary.
- Once the sauce looks thick and glossy throughout, reduce the heat to low and add the chicken. Mix until the chicken is well coated. Then, add the blanched mixed vegetables and toss until the veggies are well coated with sauce.
- Serve with rice or lo mein and enjoy while hot!
Notes
- Freeze the chicken for easier cutting. Having the chicken breast semi frozen will make slicing easier. But make sure to have the chicken full defrosted and drained before you start marinating.
- If using frozen vegetables – Make sure to have the vegetables blanched (boiled) and drained. You can also microwaved it until hot. Make sure to drain most of the water.
- Soy sauce – After receiving many feedback about the sauce being too salty, we retested the recipe with different soy sauces and found that light sodium Kikkoman soy sauce is less salty but more acidic, which can make the sauce taste “salty”. So instead, we updated the recipe using regular soy sauce but in smaller quantity.