Stir fry is so easy to make, it super flexible and is relatively quick to put together. You can use basically any vegetables, proteins, and/or noodle/rice of your choice to make this fit your tastes. We have stir fry of some variety at least weekly in our house because it is fast and everyone eats it. This particular night, I peeked in the semi-bare fridge, pulled out whatever looked good, and about 20 minutes later dinner was on the table.
Chicken Ramen Stir Fry
1 lb chicken breast
1 head of broccoli
1/2 red bell pepper
1 large carrot
1 zucchini
4 green onion/scallions
2 cloves garlic
9 oz ramen noodles
2 tbsp cornstarch, divided
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 brown sugar
1 cup chicken broth
pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
sesame seeds for garnish
Optional: Trader Joe's "Soyaki" marinade
First I sliced the chicken (2 small breasts) in to thin pieces and then cut those pieces in half to make long thin strips. I placed the chicken in a small bowl and tossed it with a few tablespoons of Trader Joe's "Soyaki" marinade and 1 tbsp of cornstarch. I don't usually use many premade sauces or marinades but I heard good things about this one, so we tried it and it is pretty good. If you don't have a soy or teriyaki type marinade on hand, I usually use a couple tbsp of soy sauce, a spoon of brown sugar, some garlic powder, ginger powder, and a little black pepper on the chicken. Let the chicken marinade while you chop the veggies.
For the vegetables this time, I thinly sliced the red pepper, chopped the zucchini into about 1/4" pieces, chopped the broccoli into bite size pieces, thinly sliced the white part of the green onion and saved the green part for garnish, and minced the garlic. For the carrot, I used a veggie peeler to make thin ribbons of carrot and then cut those ribbons into matchstick size pieces.
For the stir fry sauce, I combined the soy sauce, brown sugar, chicken broth, 1 tbsp of cornstarch, and a few grinds of black pepper into a small bowl. If I had some sesame oil, I would have added a splash of that as well. Stir this up and set it aside.
To cook the meal - bring a pot of water to boil so that is ready for the noodles to go in and also heat a large skillet over medium high heat with about 1 tbsp of olive oil in it. When the skillet is hot, add the chicken and cook, stirring fairly frequently but not constantly, for 5-7 minutes until the chicken is cooked through completely. Remove the chicken from the skillet onto a clean plate or bowl and reserve. Add the vegetables to the skillet and saute until tender-crisp (not too crisp but not soggy or overly tender) another 5 or so minutes. If using ramen noodles from the packages (I used 3 pk), discard the seasoning packet and cook the noodles for about 3 minutes in the boiling water. Drain the noodles well. You can use any noodles that you like or rice is great too. When the vegetables are almost done, add the sauce, bring to a boil and thicken slightly. Add the chicken back into the skillet and the noodles too and stir well. Garnish with sesame seeds and sliced green onion, if desired.
If you try this "recipe", please leave me a comment telling me how you like to make it. I am always looking for new combinations to try! Enjoy!!