This Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry with Thai Peanut Sauce is an easy dinner that comes together in 30 min and is a crowd pleasing meal!
The other day, my mom and I looked at the clock and it was already time for dinner! Ah!!
We quickly and NOT quietly vocalized things we could throw together in 30 min or less for and NOT dirty every pan and bowl in the kitchen. Since I was living with her, she whole-heartedly teamed up with me EVERY night to decide what to feed my children for dinner.
No, let me rephrase.
My mother remembered AND decided dinner almost EVERY night and did 98% of the work. Unbelievable. She is good at what she does. So anyway, as we were contemplating what to make-
Our thought process went like this…
“Let’s do take-out!! I don’t want to cook…its too late and we might not have any good ingredients." "Ok, but it's too late and I NEED TO GET THOSE KIDS TO BED and I actually don’t want to go anywhere. Oh, and you can’t think of anything good and healthy to eat that everyone would like? Yeah, me either. Shoot.”
So we weighed the pros and cons of both TAKE OUT! and COOKING @ HOME
TAKE OUT–
PROS:
- Easy.
- Don’t have to dirty even ONE dish!!!!!
- It’s not our fault if it doesn’t taste good…because we didn’t make it!
CONS:
- We would have to LEAVE the comfort of our house! Not interested.
- Compromise on what everyone else wanted…Wawa.
- 74/26 chance it will be healthy. [odds favoring the NOT healthy side]
- Doing dishes would be required of us.
- Still have to clean up.
COOK @ HOME
PROS:
- Easy peasy
- 100% it will be healthy and nutritious [if we decide to make it so—]
- WE, as the chefs, get to soley decide on the flavor of the meal!! And don’t have to consult with anyone. Lucky us!
CONS:
- May still have to take a trip to the store for some good quality ingredients.
- Still have to clean up.
The PROS of cooking at home outweighed the CONs for us this night! Don’t get me wrong, some nights we are very much for the “TAKE OUT!!!!!” but not tonight. We wanted to stay home.
Ok so, we could do Annie’s Mac and Cheese?…that is only one dish and is ready in just min. But it is like 2% nutritious.
Then we thought of a smoothie. Good but doesn’t always fill everyone up.
Then…we thought of the prefect dish. A stir fry! And mixed with our favorite flavor PEANUT?! We had found our flavors and a way to incorporate health.
Why a Stir Fry you ask?
#1: It’s conventional and everyone knows a stir fry.
#2: It’s pretty much a two bowl wonder. You cook the rice in one sauce pan, and the chicken and veggies in another sauté pan. Viola! Only two dishes to clean!
#4: And fairly quick. Under 30 min!
#3: It is customizable to the ingredients you have on hand and/or the ingredients you would like in it.
A few of our favorites are ..
-CHICKEN
-MUSHROOMS
-BELL PEPPERS
-BROCCOLI
-ONIONS
-SUGAR SNAP PEAS
– SQUASH
the INSTRUCTIONS-
If you follow these steps correctly, you WILL achieve your meal goal in only using 2 dishes, completing the meal in 30 min and having a happy family for life:)
STEP #1: the RICE
Cook the rice however you feel fit. Whether that be in your instapot or your rice cooker or on the stove like I do most of the time. Below is my ideal rice cooking method.
– Grease sauce pan.
-Measure rice and rinse well.
-Add rice to sauce pan.
-Add water, stir once and bring to boil.
-Once boiling, cover and turn to simmer.
-Simmer for approx 20 min.
-DONE!!
STEP #2: the CHICKEN
Rinse the chicken breasts.
Trim to remove excess fat and tendons.
Place trimmed chicken into a large gallon ziploc bag, sealing it tightly. Make sure there is no air so when you are pounding your chicken, the bag won’t pop and raw chicken juice won’t go all down your shirt:)
Place bag flat on the kitchen counter.
Pound the chicken breast on top of the bag with a meat tenderizer. [A heavy pan also works if you don’t have a meat tenderizer.] Pound until your heart is content and the desired thinness of the chicken is achieved.
Remove from the bag and cut into thin strips.
Using a large saute pan or Wok, heat approx 2 Tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. [Heating the oil BEFORE putting in the chicken helps to get that caramelized seared flavor on the outside of the chicken.]
Once heated, add chicken pieces, season with salt and pepper and saute [flipping frequently] until chicken is cooked thoroughly. Place cooked chicken in another bowl and set aside.
STEP #3: the VEGGIES
I am a fan of a variety of different veggies, and according to what veggie I choose, determines how long they need to saute.
While the chicken is cooking, slice your desired veggies into thin strips about 2in in length.
Using the same pan the chicken was cooked in, heat another 2-3 Tablespoons of olive oil + a splash of water. And add the sliced veggies. [Add the broccoli first if using because it takes the longest to cook.]
Cover veggies, stirring frequently, and saute until veggies are al dente. Then add the chicken back in and stir to combine and heat.
STEP #4: the SAUCE
Use your favorite peanut sauce or make this Homemade Thai Peanut Sauce in 10 min using the Blendtec Twister Jar!
STEP #5: dish up!
Serve your people by dishing them up rice on the bottom….[we also like to add a layer of spinach for an added green and extra nutrients], followed by the Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry [straight from the pan]. Drizzle with peanut sauce and garnish with cilantro and peanuts!
Chicken & Veggie Stir Fry with Thai Peanut Sauce
Have a healthy, delicious dinner made in under 30 min with this easy Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry dish drizzled with Peanut Sauce and garnished with cilantro.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Total Time: 30 min
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stove-top
- Cuisine: Asian
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
STIR FRY-
- 2 boneless chicken breasts
- 1/2 medium onion [sliced]
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 1 cup broccoli
- Salt and Pepper
- 2–3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cups cooked rice [brown or white]
- Cilantro and peanuts for garnish
HOMEMADE THAI PEANUT SAUCE- [or store bought]
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup peanut butter [chunky is best]
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 3 Tbs soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 2 tsp sesame seeds [optional]
- 1/4–1/2 cup warm water for consistency
Instructions
PEANUT SAUCE- [if making]
- Add all ingredients and blender and process until desired consistency. Set aside.
STIR FRY-
- Rinse and trim chicken breasts. Place in gallon ziplock bag and seal tightly so there is NO AIR in the bag. Using a meat tenderizer or heavy saucepan, pound to flatten chicken breasts.
- Cut thin chicken breasts into small pieces.
- Heat approx 1-2 Tbls olive oil in large saute pan or Wok over medium heat. Once heated, add chicken pieces and saute until cooked thoroughly.
- While chicken is cooking, slice vegetables into thin strips approx. the same size. When chicken is cooked, place cooked chicken in another bowl and set aside.
- Using the same pan as for the chicken, add a tablespoon of olive oil and a splash of water. Add broccoli to the pan first as it takes the longest. Cover with lid and saute until al dente. [Add more water or chicken broth a tablespoon at a time if needed to prevent burning the broccoli.]
- Add remaining vegetables to the broccoli and saute until soft. Stirring occasionally.
- Add chicken to the saute pan and stir to mix.
- Warm up the rice.
- Serve stir fry over rice. Drizzle with peanut sauce and garnish with peanuts and cilantro.
- Enjoy with chopsticks and friends:)
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