Easy Stir Fry Recipe (made with stuff around the house)

I was set on making stir fry for dinner but we have used a bunch of different options previously and I was putting an end to it (mostly based on poor planning but trying to be frugal).  We have used jarred sauce, bagged sauce, pre-packaged kits and spice packets previously looking for something to rival take out Chinese food.  We did find some that we liked but it was discontinued and too expensive to eat often.  I defrosted the chicken cubes and bought the green beans but didn't have any sauce for dinner so I was off to the internet and I found this recipe (here).


I started by coating the chicken with corn starch.  We found this to be a wonderful a way to get a crunchy outside on the chicken to make it taste a little bit more like take out.  It is easiest to shake in a bag or you can use a bowl if you don't like to use plastic bags.  I used the same bag that I froze the chicken in so there wasn't any added trash.  Sorry, I never take pictures of raw chicken if I can avoid it because I have "chicken hands" because I am touching it and no one wants to see it. This is a picture of my freezer from my old house...can't wait to fill up the freezer again at the new house.

Add the chicken (or other meat) to hot oil like canola or vegetable oil mixed with sesame oil (if you have it which I didn't).  I added a little garlic to the pan because I think that it infuses the flavor into the meat.  Cook the chicken on all sides until crispy.   Add veggies and more garlic or oil if needed.  Stir fry until the vegetables are warmed or browned.  We did green beans and I might have overcooked a little but it was still yummy. 

Add the mixed stir fry sauce and boil until it thickens.  I used about half of the jar.  The small black bits are because I decided to put minced garlic in the oil while stir frying because I didn't know if the sauce would have enough flavor but it was totally unnecessary.

Serve over rice or pasta.  If you are interested, you can also mix the rice or pasta in the sauce to have added flavor to the whole dish.  I like to do it with pasta but not as much with rice unless throwing in leftover rice to heat up.  There are plenty of options to make this dish your own. 

I hope that you try it out for yourself.  It is super easy to make the sauce and this yummy dish that tastes like good Chinese food at home.  Next time, I might add a little bit of crushed red chili flakes to spice it up!!  We like our Chinese food spicy.

 

Easy Stir Fry Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 -3 tbsp cornstarch
• ¹⁄₄ c brown sugar, packed
• ¹⁄₄ tsp ground ginger (or a bit of fresh minced ginger)
• 2 cloves garlic or 1 tsp minced or chopped
• ¹⁄₂ c soy sauce or Ponzu sauce
• ¹⁄₄ c cider vinegar or white vinegar
• ¹⁄₂ c water
• 1 ¹⁄₂ c vegetable broth or 1 ¹⁄₂ cups beef broth or 1 ¹⁄₂ cups chicken broth (based on what you are cooking)
• 1 tbsp teriyaki sauce

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a large glass jar with a lid.
2. Screw lid on.
3. Shake well.
4. Can store in fridge up to 2 weeks.
5. Shake well before using.
6. To use sauce: stir fry your vegetables and meat as desired, add appropriate amount of sauce, bring to a boil, boil for 1 minute or until slightly thickened.
7. Serve over rice or pasta.