Chicken Green Beans Stir Fry

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Chicken and Green Beans Stir Fry - 15-Minute Meals

This chicken green beans stir-fry gets done in 15 minutes and is better than any takeaway you can order. Made with chicken breast, fresh green beans, ginger, garlic, and sesame for flavor. In addition to a few readymade sauces like soy sauce. It's a simple meal with crisp green beans, and soft tender juicy chicken cooked to perfection. And, it's also nutritious and healthy. 

Having lived in Singapore for ten years, I love Asian food and I absolutely adore making chicken with veggies. Simple one-pot meals that can be made quickly and easily. Also, if you cook Asian food, then almost all dry ingredients are already in your pantry.

This is a chicken and green beans stir-fry. I also use some onions, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Blending all the flavors together with the chicken and beans. It's a perfect weekday dinner or lunch. Serve it with a bowl of noodles and you have a full luscious meal.

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The benefits of stir-fry cooking

I love stir-fry dishes. Those of you following me on Instagram should be seeing a few variations on these in daily story feed.

• First of all, they are the best thing for working mom like me that have no time to cook.
• Furthermore, you can use frozen veggies so your prep time is almost zero.
• Most of all, veggies stay crisp and retain all the nutrition unlike boiling them.
• Also, noodles take only 4 minutes to cook.
• And, chicken is a much healthy meat option and cooks faster.
• Stir fry is high-heat cooking and cooks so fast!! Hence, dinner in less than 15 minutes is a possibility.
• In addition, Asian cooking is usually dependent on readymade store-bought sauces, which have a long (really long) shelf life. So, you can use them for a long time for such easy quick dishes.

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Ingredients and substitutes (Save/Pin)

• Chicken - I'm big on using thighs meat in general. And yet, chicken breast will also work just as well. And, if you don't want to use chicken, you can also use a thinly sliced beef steak. These flavors work really well. You can also try my Quick and Easy Beef and Pepper Stir-Fry recipe.
• Beans - I love the combination of beans with chicken. And yet, broccoli does also work amazingly. You can see that I used that in my recipe Chicken Broccoli Stir-Fry. In addition, when asparagus are in season, I love to switch the beans with asparagus.
• Sesame seeds and sesame oil - Often used in Asian and Middle Eastern cooking. It's full of nutrition and healthy too. And, the seeds add a nice crunch to the dish. A little oil goes a long way. So, add just as specified in the recipe.
• Cornstarch/cornflour - Helps thicken the sauce and give us that thick rather than watery sauce. It also helps bind everything together.
• Herbs - I love to use cilantro often, and yet parsley works just as well.
• Green onions - Always adds a nice touch to any Asian dish with its fresh leafy greens. It makes a huge difference to the overall dish.

The three golden rules of stir-fry

A stir-fry if done correctly is an absolute treat. The meat has to be well cooked, yet smoky not steam. The veggies have to be cooked al-Dante meaning cooked but with a bite not soft and not mushy. Getting it right means following these three golden rules.

1. The right pan for a stir-fry is a wok. If you don't have a wok use, a light sauté pan that you can heat on medium to high. Never use non-stick pots or heavy bottom pans. Non-stick will get ruined, and the heavy bottom pan will create steam.
2. Mise en plas or prepare before you stir-fry. A stir-fry is a quick dish, which means you have to get all the things ready before you turn that heat on. Cut the ingredients you need, prepare the sauce, have the garnish chopped. Keep that serving platter on hand so you can take it off the heat quickly.
3. Quick cooking - Most stir-fry dishes take not more than 7 to 10 minutes on the heat. The idea of stir-fry is to cook quickly on high heat so keep that flame on high or medium-high. Use a splash of water when necessary to bring down the temperature of the heat in the pan. Never leave the wok unattended (yup, don't answer that phone).

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Useful tips and tools

• A stir-fry is best made in an Asian cooking pot called a [easyazon_link identifier="B000MYI2ZO" locale="US" tag="vesarofca-20"]wok[/easyazon_link]. These are made with a special material that works best for high heat cooking. 
• Always use a [easyazon_link identifier="B005D6FX3K" locale="US" tag="vesarofca-20"]spatula[/easyazon_link] with a long handle to protect your self from the high heat. Also, make sure you use one that is capable of handling high heat.
• Also, you will need a few [easyazon_link identifier="B00LGLHUA0" locale="US" tag="vesarofca-20"]bowls[/easyazon_link] to make sure you have everything ready for a quick stir-fry. 
• Lastly, a [easyazon_link identifier="B01N4KXMLR" locale="US" tag="vesarofca-20"]chopping board[/easyazon_link] and [easyazon_link identifier="B00R200LKU" locale="US" tag="vesarofca-20"]kitchen knife[/easyazon_link] to chop all the veggies and have them ready on hand.

How to make chicken and green beans stir-fry (Save/Pin)

Preparation

• Clean, wash and pat dry the chicken. Cut into bite-size cubes or long strips.
• Add the soy sauce, garlic, cornflour, salt, and pepper. (use less salt as the soy sauce has salt too).
• Stir well and set aside to marinate for 30 minutes on the counter or a couple of hours in the fridge.
• Slice the onions and separate the slices.
• Thinly slice the garlic and ginger - and set aside.
• Roughly chop the parsley and spring onions.
• Prepare sauce - combine all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Stir Fry

First - Chicken

• Add 1 tbsp canola or sunflower oil into a wok or wide surface pan.
• Next, add the chicken pieces in a single layer.
• Followed by the sliced onions, garlic, and ginger.
• Let cook on medium-high tossing as you need too until almost done.
• Remove from pan and keep warm.

Second - Beans

• Add another 1 tbsp of oil to the wok or pan and add in the beans.
• Saute for about 3 to 4 minutes tossing them as needed.
• Add about 2 tbsp of water to create steam which helps them cook without sticking to the bottom of the pan.
• They should be tender to bite into but still firm and not wilted.

Assemble

• When the beans are almost done add the chicken back into the pan - keep tossing them together.
• Followed by the sauce. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes on medium until everything is well coated with the sauce.
• Taste and adjust for seasoning - (note: some soy sauce can be salty so taste first then adjust seasoning).
• Add the sesame seeds, cilantro or parsley, and green onions.
• Enjoy!

Tips for the perfect stir-fry recipes

• Stir-fry is quick cooking so always have all your ingredients ready before you start.
• High heat is always recommended for stir-fry. And yet, some veggies like broccoli, carrots, and beans benefit better from medium-high with a slash of water. While mushrooms and leaves benefit from high heat to quickly evaporate the released moisture. 
• Also, when adding any liquid turn the heat up and stir at the same time so everything is coated in the starch before the water evaporates. 
• And, take the pan off the heat when done to prevent overcooking. 
• Sometimes it’s best to transfer the stir-fry to a serving plate to prevent veggies going mushy. 
• Use salt sparingly because – sauces used in stir-frys have salt added to them as a preservative. 

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Frequently asked questions

What else can I add to this chicken green beans stir-fry?

The best thing about stir-fry dishes is that they are so versatile and leave you so much freedom to add or subtract. In this chicken green beans stir-fry, using other veggies like carrots, broccoli or peppers. You can also add lemongrass, Chinese parsley, or dill.

Can I add vegetables to this stir-fry?

Absolutely! Try adding some veggies like broccoli, green beans, or peppers as I have done in some of my recipes like honey ginger chicken stir-fry, chicken and broccoli stir-fry. I love adding colorful bell peppers when they are in season. Beef and pepper stir-fry is a classic combination, and yet chicken and peppers work just as well.

Can I use other meats instead of chicken?

Yes, beef is very popular in stir-fry recipes. You can even try thinly sliced pork, chopped sausages. Also, fish and seafood is always a great addition on its own or alongside the meat in a stir-fry. Asian cooking uses pork and seafood in stir-fry dishes very successfully.

Can I use olive oil for stir-fry chicken?

It is recommended to use soybean oil, vegetable oil, peanut oil or sunflower oil. All of these have a high smoking point. Any oil that works well for deep frying is preferable for stir-fry because a stir-fry is cooked on high heat. Olive oil, in contrast, is best used raw on salad and when cooking with a light saute method.

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