Alright my friend, today I want to share with you this delicious, easy ginger chicken stir fry recipe. I had been on the lookout for the perfect stir fry for a while, and ended up creating this one to satisfy my cravings and hopefully create something that would appeal to you as well!

This recipe is packed full of fresh veggies, tender chicken, delicious sauce and long egg noodles. You can make it mild or spicy, and of course, feel free to adjust it with additional vegetables or nuts for a topping. I’ll get into that a little further on in this post!

What makes the perfect stir fry (in my opinion)

There are a few things that, I think, make the stir-fry experience exceptional. It’s true, there are so many delicious vegetables and sauces that make different kinds of stir fry great, but here are the main things that I think make any recipe shine.

Crisp vegetables

Stir fry veggies that are crisp, full of flavor and vibrant color are the best! I’ll give you some tips for how to make your stir fry veggies shine the most later on in this post.

Tender meat

Delicious, flavor-soaked, tender meat is a must for the best stir fry experience! To achieve this, I use Chinese cooking wine in my sauce; an optional, but great addition for making the meat nice and tender.

Not too salty

I’ve been guilty of over-salting stir fry in the past. In this recipe, I rely only on soy sauce to give that salty flavor to my meat and veggies, leaving the table salt aside.

Lots of sauce

Having a lot of sauce for your stir fry allows it to coat everything nicely, making the whole thing rich with flavor and not too dry.

Noodles

While this recipe is great with rice as well, I have to say… noodles are a weakness for me! The perfect stir fry, in my opinion, is full of delicious noodles.

In this recipe, you might find that you want more noodles than I’ve got in this recipe… In which case, check out the notes at the end of the recipe card to see what you can do!

How to make stir fry sauce

I make my stir fry sauce with a chicken broth base, and then I rely in the flavors of soy sauce, onion, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil to carry the rest of the flavor. In this recipe, I’ve also added a little bit of Chinese cooking wine (sherry) to tenderize the meat and add a little bit of that flavor as well.

If you prefer to cook without the wine, you can easily do that (I’ve done it before and it’s still totally delicious).

Making perfect stir fried vegetables

To make perfect stir fried vegetables, there are two main tips I have for you:

1. Don’t salt the vegetables.
   Salting the veggies ahead of time will A) make them too salty to pair with the sauce well, and B) cause the vegetables to release water, making them a softer texture.
2. Fry each type of vegetable separately, or at least, pair veggies together that cook at a similar rate.
   Cooking each type of vegetable separately will help you make sure that nothing gets overdone. For example, I really like crisp bell peppers and broccoli in my stir fry, but carrots I like to have a little bit softer. Carrots also take longer to cook, however, so if I would cook all of my veggies together, they bell peppers and broccoli would be too soft by the time the carrots reach my desired texture.

Making chicken stir fry with rice

If you prefer rice to noodles (or if you need a gluten free version of this recipe), go ahead and plan to serve it that way. I’ll include a note below on how much rice to make and how to cook it (if you need that).

I would recommend Jasmine rice or long grain white rice for this recipe.

How to cook white rice

For this recipe, you will need to cook about 3 c. of white rice. Here’s how I like to make my rice:

1. Rinse the rise thoroughly in a sieve with warm water. Drain, and pour the clean rice into a medium, heavy bottomed saucepan. Add 1/2 Tbsp salt, 3 Tbsp olive oil, and 4-1/2 c. water. Stir the mixture together slightly.
2. Bring the rice to a boil and cook until the water is mostly absorbed by the rice (you will still see some bubbles peeking out around the grains). Cover tightly with a lid, and cook for a couple of minutes more or until the rice is fluffy and the water is absorbed.
3. Remove the rice from the heat, and fluff with a fork or spoon before serving.

Ingredients and substitutes

Not sure what you need to make this beautiful dish? Well, here you have it- a list of ingredients and possible substitutes!

Boneless skinless chicken breasts

You can make this recipe with any kind of chicken, but I like to use boneless skinless for ease of prep and also making sure you get those nice big chunks of meat that cook in the sauce. I have made this recipe with shredded, cooked chicken before with great success, however, so feel free to go that route if it makes more sense.

You can also sub the chicken for another type of meat – ie, you could make this into a beef stir-fry with strips of steak for the meat and beef broth in the sauce (rather than chicken broth). The same would be true for pork, or if you wanted to do shrimp, I’d recommend keeping the chicken broth for the sauce in that case.

Carrot

Personally, I think carrots are a must for this recipe! If you don’t like them, you can leave them out without altering the recipe.

Red bell peppers

Any type of sweet bell pepper works well for this recipe; I just like to use red for their beautiful, vibrant color.

Cabbage

Cabbage is a delicious, inexpensive addition to stir fry. If you prefer, you can substitute some or all of it for bok choy, broccoli, cauliflower or kale.

Broccoli

Broccoli has to be my favorite vegetable of all time. If you need to sub it out for something else, you can try using cauliflower, kale, or green beans.

Onion

For this recipe, I just use a white cooking onion to give that oh-so-important onion flavor. Any type of onion would make an adequate substitute in this recipe (with the exception of leek).

Garlic

In a pinch, you can use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic for this recipe. Use 1/4 tsp garlic powder per 1 clove of garlic in this recipe.

Ginger

Ginger is one of the defining flavors of this recipe! Again, in a pinch you can use powdered ginger if you need to. Use 1 tsp fresh ginger in this recipe in place of fresh, if you need to.

Chicken broth

Chicken broth makes the sauce for this recipe rich and flavorful but not overwhelming. In a pinch, go ahead and use chicken bouillon to make your broth.

Soy sauce

A natural substitute for soy sauce is coconut aminos; personally, I don’t like the taste as much (it’s a little sweeter, and different), but you could use that as a decent substitute in this recipe if you prefer.

Chinese cooking wine (Sherry)

This is added to the meat for the purpose of keeping it tender and for adding extra flavor. If you prefer to cook without wine, feel free to omit this ingredient.

Sesame oil

Sesame oil is a flavor I would not want this recipe to go without! If you don’t have the oil, you can add 1-2 Tbsp of sesame seeds to this recipe.

Cornstarch

I use cornstarch to thicken my sauce so that it coats everything really nicely. If you prefer, you can also use flour or a more natural alternative like cassava flour to thicken your sauce rather than cornstarch.

Egg noodles

For this recipe, I recommend using egg noodles. That said, I have used shrimp noodles as well, and rice noodles would also be totally delicious. Go for whatever you have that suits you best!

My only note would that for something like vermicelli (thin rice noodles), I might serve the stir fry vegetables and chicken on top of plain noodles (rather than mixing them together) to prevent the rice noodles from becoming too mushy.

You will need:

• Ingredients (see recipe card)
• Cutting boards (one for cutting raw meat, one for vegetables)
• Vegetable peeler
• Paring knife
• Chef’s knife
• Garlic press
• Large mixing bowl or roasting pan
• Large wok or frying pan
• Stir spoon
• Spatula
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Measuring pitcher

Scroll down for the step-by-step pictures and instructions!

How to Make Easy Ginger Chicken Stir Fry with Noodles

Here’s the visual breakdown of how to make this delicious homemade stir fry!

Prep your ingredients

Wash and chop the vegetables, slice the chicken, and prepare the onion, garlic, and ginger.

In a measuring pitcher, combine all of the sauce ingredients except for the cornstarch. Set aside.

Cook the noodles according to the package directions, or just until al dente. Drain, rinse in cold water, and set aside.

Cook the vegetables

In a large wok or frying pan with a little bit of oil, stir-fry the vegetables all separately until they are al-dente. Add each cooked vegetable to a large mixing bowl or roasting pan (to be mixed later).

Note: I have cooked my broccoli and cabbage together in these photos because I find them to cook at a similar rate.

Cook the meat and aromatics

When the wok is no longer being used for veggies, add a little bit of oil with the garlic, ginger, and onion (not pictured). Fry for about 30 seconds and then add the chicken with the stir fry sauce, reserving about 1/4 cup of the sauce for later.

Simmer until the chicken is tender and cooked through.

Thicken the sauce

In a small container, mix together the cornstarch and reserved sauce until smooth. Slowly pour this into the simmering chicken/sauce mixture, stirring as you add it, and cook until thick and smooth.

Toss to coat and heat through

To the large bowl or roasting pan, add the cooked noodles to your stir-fried vegetables, and top with the sauce and chicken. Toss to coat, and then return to the wok. Cover and allow the mixture to cook on low heat until the whole mixture is heated through.

Serve

Serve hot. Top with chopped green onions, red chili flakes, or nuts (if desired).

If you like this recipe, you may also like:

• The Best Way to Improve Instant Ramen Noodles
• Juicy Roasted Chicken with Rosemary and Lemon
• Chicken Pot Pie
• Roasted Tomato Soup with Fresh Basil

That’s it for today! If you like this recipe, feel free to tag me in your stir-fry photos on Instagram @naomicakesofficial; I love to see your beautiful work!

Bye for now,

Naomi

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