Ginger Chicken Stir-Fry
Velveted chicken and crisp vegetables in a ginger garlic sauce, cooked in twelve minutes.
Takeaway chicken is tender because of velveting: a few minutes in cornflour and soy before it ever meets the pan, which holds the moisture in and gives the sauce something to cling to. It costs two minutes and is the difference between this and a dry stir-fry. Mix the sauce before you light the hob, because after that nothing waits.
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How to make Ginger Chicken Stir-Fry
Ingredients
Quantities scale automatically. Cooking times stay the same.
Velveted chicken
Vegetables
Sauce
Equipment
- Wok or large heavy skillet
- Two mixing bowls
- Fine grater
Method
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1
Velvet the chicken
Toss the sliced chicken with the cornflour, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine and sesame oil until every piece is coated in a thin slick. Leave it 10 minutes while you prepare everything else.
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2
Mix the sauce and prep
Whisk all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl, making sure the cornflour dissolves. Cut all the vegetables and set them by the hob. A stir-fry gives you no time to chop once it starts.
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3
Sear the chicken
Heat the oil in the wok over high until it just smokes. Add the chicken in one layer, leave it 90 seconds without touching it, then stir-fry 2 minutes until it is golden outside and barely cooked through. Lift it out onto a plate.
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4
Cook the hard vegetables
Add the broccoli and beans to the same pan with 3 tablespoons of water and cover for 2 minutes, so they steam briefly, then uncover and stir-fry 1 minute until bright green and still squeaky.
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5
Add the aromatics
Add the pepper, ginger, garlic and spring onion whites and stir-fry 60 seconds. Keep everything moving; ginger and garlic burn in seconds at this heat and turn the whole pan bitter.
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6
Combine and glaze
Return the chicken, pour in the sauce and toss for 1 to 2 minutes, until it thickens and coats everything in a glossy layer. Add the spring onion greens and serve immediately with rice.
Cook’s tips
- Slice the chicken thinly across the grain. Thick pieces need longer than the vegetables can survive.
- Get the pan hotter than feels sensible and cook in two batches if it is small. A crowded wok boils the chicken in its own juices.
- Everything chopped and within reach before the oil goes in. Twelve minutes of cooking does not pause for prep.
Variations
- Swap the chicken for prawns, beef strips or pressed firm tofu, and use hoisin in place of the oyster sauce to keep it vegetarian.
- Use whatever vegetables are in the fridge: cabbage, carrot, mushrooms, baby corn or bok choy all work in the same order, hardest first.
- Add a tablespoon of chilli garlic sauce or a drizzle of chilli oil at the end for heat.
Storage and make-ahead
Keeps 3 days in the fridge, though the vegetables soften. Reheat in a hot pan for 2 to 3 minutes rather than the microwave. Freezing is not recommended, as the sauce separates and the vegetables collapse.
Nutrition per serving
| Calories | 398 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 39 g |
| Carbohydrates | 22 g |
| Fat | 16 g |
| Fibre | 4 g |
| Sugar | 9 g |
| Sodium | 860 mg |
Nutrition is estimated from ingredient averages and will vary with brands and portioning.
