Stir Fried Chicken and Veggie for Weightloss-Flavor Quotient

Want to master your stir fry game? You are at the right place then! This stir fried chicken and veggie is the ultimate comfort food you can make easily without any fuss!

Stir fried chicken and veggies is a saviour recipe when you don’t know what to cook for dinner as you are committed to your ‘no-junk-food’ principle! The juicy & tender chicken with crunchy veggies is the perfect combination of protein and fibres which is the two most essential things in your weightloss journey!

Why this stir fried chicken and veggie is far better than your favorite take out?

I am sure you will have a favorite place for all your Chinese or Thai dishes where you visit frequently because who doesn’t like a warm bowl of soup and crispy stir fried chicken!

When I was in college back in my hometown, there was my favorite Chinese takeaway outlet on my way back home which used to lure me so much so that it forced me to make a stop at least once a week! I loved their food!

That was a time when I had no idea what blogging is and that I would ever become a blogger. But now that I prefer to make my own meals, I realize how much healthier you can make it for your own good.

Take this stir fried chicken for example; when you make it at home, you can make use of the lean portion of chicken which is the chicken breast, the best lean protein you can have.

You can also load it up with veggies of your choice like I did with broccoli, capsicum and carrots. Without a doubt, your homemade version of stir fried chicken and veggies will be way healthier than any of its takeaway counterparts.

How to make the best stir fried chicken and veggies at home which will not hinder your weightloss journey?

When you want to eat tasty but do not want to jeopardize your weightloss journey by eating some high-calorie and nutrient-less food, the best thing you can do is to make your own food! You must have heard the phrase – “abs are made in the kitchen!”

When you cook your meals at home, you can control the amount of oil to use in your dish which is the main calorie-hoarder. Oil, the right kind of course, is definitely needed for our body, but in the right amount.

Most Asian stir-fries are deep fried in refined oil with a coating of cornflour/corn starch and all-purpose flour. This outer coating soaks up immense amount of oil when deep fried making a small bite of chicken a calorie bomb! So you must avoid it.

While making this stir fried chicken, I did not coat the chicken cubes with any type of flour; they are just sprinkled with salt and pepper and may be a very very light dusting of cornflour (less than half a teaspoon)!

Also, I didn’t deep fry my chicken pieces or veggies. Chicken cubes were very lightly sautéed in cold pressed sunflower oil (I highly recommend using cold pressed oil as opposed to refined oil) and veggies are steamed so that I don’t need to cook them in oil for long.

How to customize your stir fried chicken to make a new version every time?

I made my stir fried chicken with regular veggies like carrot, capsicum and broccoli. But there is no method to this madness (not literally!). Feel free to use any veggie of your choice – you can use this same recipe to make stir fried chicken and mushrooms.

Other good choice of veggies would be baby corn, haricot French beans, cauliflower, shredded cabbage and more. Just steam them similarly as carrot and broccoli and they would be good to go with the stir fry.

This is a very basic recipe of stir fried chicken and veggies where the sauce I have used is also very simple; just a combination of soy sauce for the depth of earthy flavor, vinegar for tartness, hot sauce of your choice and a tiny amount of honey for a sweet balance.

These sauces are all very salty, so use any additional salt very sparingly. Also don’t use too much of each sauce as too much liquid may make your stir fry too soggy. Just use a little of each as mentioned below to make a tasty combination of sauces which would be enough for your stir fry.

With this combination of basic sauces in mind, you can amp it up every time you make it. If you wanna have a spicy affair, add more of the hot sauce. If you are making for kids and want to keep it on the sweeter side, add little more honey. If you want to make a garlicy stir fry, add lots of chopped garlic when onion is sautéed golden brown. Options are really unlimited!

How to serve up your stir fried chicken and veggies in interesting ways?

You can enjoy your stir fried chicken as your main meal and have it for a protein rich dinner. The veggies with the chicken will be perfect accompaniment for your quota of fiber and hence a win-win combination for a fulfilling dinner.

You can also serve your juicy stir fried chicken and veggies on top of warm white rice. When you are adding a carb with your protein + fiber dish, make sure to cut down on the quantity of each portion and you would be sorted with a satisfying meal keeping you full for a long time.

For options of carb, rice is the traditional option; you can also have a small bowl of noodles along with your chicken and veggie stir fry. But don’t make noodles a frequent choice as it has a tad bit more calorie than rice and since it’s tastier than rice (at least for me), you may end up over eating!

However you chose to serve up your stir fried chicken and veggie, you are gonna love it for sure! The simplicity of this dish is the ultimate attraction and hence is perfect for every palate! Enjoy!

Love stir fry recipes? Check out more such delish stir fry recipes here!

Stir Fried Chicken and Veggie | Perfect Combination of Protein and Fibre

Save Print

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

50 mins

Author: Priyanka

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Asian

Serves: 3-4 Servings

Ingredients

Chicken breast – 500 gms, boneless and skinless
Red bell pepper/capsicum – 1, small, cut into 1-inch long strips
Broccoli – 1, cut into florets of about 2 cups
Carrot – 2, medium, cut into thin circles
Onion – 1, medium, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
Garlic – 6 to 8 cloves, minced or grated
Ginger – 1-inch piece, grated
Spring onion – 2 stalks, finely chopped
Salt to taste (about ½ tsp for chicken and ½ tsp for veggies)
Black pepper powder – ½ tsp
Cornflour/corn starch – 1 tsp
Oil of your choice to sauté the chicken – ¼ cup

For Sauce:

Low sodium soy sauce – 2 tbsp
Vinegar – 1 tsp
Honey – 1 tsp
Cornflour/corn starch – 2 tbsp
Chilli sauce/hot sauce – 2 tbsp (any sauce of your choice – schezwan, sriracha or green chilli sauce)
Water – ½ cup

Instructions

Wash and pat dry the chicken breast. Cut it into bite size pieces, about 1-inch cubes.
Take the chicken cubes in a mixing bowl and add salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon of corn flour. Give the chicken cubes a good mix.
Heat half of the oil in a skillet. Once hot, place the chicken cubes in a single layer. Cook the chicken in medium heat for 5 minutes without disturbing.
After 5 minutes, flip the chicken cubes over and cook the other side for 5 more minutes. Chicken breast cooks very fast, so don’t overcook it as it may turn tough.
Once the chicken is lightly golden brown, take them out in a plate lined with kitchen paper to soak the excess oil. You may need to cook chicken in two batches.
To retain the nutrition in my veggies, I prefer to steam them first and then briefly stir fry them with the sauce. So you can use your steamer to steam the carrots and broccoli which would take 10 to 12 minutes. Don’t make them too soft as they will become too soggy after being stir fried.
If you don’t have a steamer, simply boil water in a sauce pan and put a colander on top of it. Then arrange the veggies on the colander. You can cover the colander with a large plate if possible, then steaming will be done quickly, in about 10 to 12 minutes. If not, then it will just take a little longer about 20 minutes.
Now add the remaining half of the oil to the same skillet and add sliced onion to it. Cook the onion in medium flame for 5 minutes or until it turns golden brown. You don’t need to make the onion deep brown for this recipe, just translucent and light golden onion is good enough.
While onion is cooking, prepare the stir fry sauce by mixing everything listed under sauce in a small bowl and whisking thoroughly to make a lump-free mixture. Set it aside.
Back to the skillet – when onion is soft and golden, add the steamed veggies, carrots and broccoli. Stir fry them in medium high flame for couple of minutes.
Then add the capsicum/bell pepper and continue to stir fry in medium high flame for 2 more minutes. Now stir in the cooked chicken cubes to the skillet.
Then add the sauce to the skillet. Make sure to whisk the sauce once before adding to skillet as corn flour will get collected at the bottom of the bowl if left for a while.
Once the sauce is added to the skillet, keep stirring the chicken and veggies on medium high heat; sauce will thicken in no time and cling to chicken and veggies.
After adding the sauce, do not cook the chicken and veggies for more than 2 to 3 minutes as they may turn soggy.
Finally sprinkle the chopped green/spring onion over the stir fried chicken and veggies and give a final stir. Switch off the flame. For an added kick, crush some black pepper on top of the chicken and veggies.
Your delicious chicken and veggie stir fry is ready to devour with white rice or wok tossed noodles or just on its own! Enjoy!