Stir-fried chicken with broccoli and bell pepper, one of those easy chicken recipes I cooked during the last few days in Sydney when I was home alone and cooking just for myself. The recipe is inspired by a chicken stir fry I used to buy often at a Chinese food stall that would be so simple but so delicious with steamed rice. If you like broccoli and bell pepper, then you'd love this easy stir-fry of the vegetables with chicken.
I love the combination of broccoli and bell pepper, especially when stir-fried with just chilli flakes and salt. In this recipe, I added some corn flour and soya sauce to get a semi gravy that would go with rice. The recipe can be adapted in so many different ways with whatever vegetables you like. I had some leftover soaked almonds after making badam milk and added that too but some roasted cashew nuts or peanuts can be substituted too (or completely left out).
Our apartment in Sydney was near this lovely organic supermarket called About Life and they'd have GMO-free, organic chicken cut into strips, ready for you to stir-fry or make into chicken fingers. I loved how easy it was to buy a pack and quickly cook up something. Sometimes I marvel at how easy it is to put together a simple stir-fry dish rather than a South Indian lunch which has to have some kuzhambu, curry, maybe another curry, papad, curd, phew. Yes that's comfort food but I felt pretty well comforted by this simple one-pot dish too.
I love cooking with chicken but don't do it often since TH is vegetarian and it's too bothersome cooking something for myself and then separately for him. Doesn't really go with my goal of staying in the kitchen as little as possible. That said, here are some popular chicken recipes in Edible Garden.
Chicken 65
Dry chilli chicken
Kerala chicken curry
Chicken fried rice
Simple chicken curry with coconut milk
Let me know what your favourite chicken recipe is in the comments!
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves 2
INGREDIENTS:
100 gm of chicken strips or chicken breast cut into long strips
2 cups of broccoli florets
1 cup of bell pepper, cut into cubes (any colour)
A fistful of almonds, cashew nuts, anything you'd like (optional)
1/2 cup of chopped onions
2 tsp of corn flour (corn starch)
2 tbsp of oil (I used rice bran oil)
For the marinade:
1 tsp of vinegar
2 tsp of soya sauce
1 tsp of minced garlic
1 tsp of corn flour (corn starch)
1/2 tsp of chilli powder (or to taste)
1/2 tsp of black pepper powder
INSTRUCTIONS:
To marinate the chicken strips:
Add the corn starch, pepper powder, chilli powder, some salt, garlic, soya sauce, vinegar, and chicken pieces to a bowl. Add about 1-2 tbsp water to bring everything together, mix well, and set aside while you chop the vegetables and prepare the other ingredients. You don't need to marinate a lot, 10 mins is plenty.
To prepare the stir-fry:
Heat oil in a wok or non stick pan and add the onions. Keeping flame on medium, cook until the onions turn soft. I also added a few pieces of garlic at this stage but this is optional.
Next, add the broccoli florets and bell pepper. Mix well to combine.
Then add the marinated chicken pieces and mix well again. Lower heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently until the chicken is cooked through. The time it takes to cook will depend on how thinly you cut them. I'd recommend keeping the strips about 1/2" thick since that would make sure it cooks fast but if you cut them too small, then on cooking the meat will shrink further and turn the chicken into an almost-minced stage. That won't be fun in a stir-fry, I think.
OK so once the chicken seems cooked through, add the nuts (I added soaked and skinned almonds) if you want to use any and give a quick mix. Also add more salt if, needed, at this stage,
Now the final step. Do this only after ensuring your vegetables and chicken are cooked fully and you have adjust salt, pepper, chilli, etc.
Mix 2 tsp cornflour in 1/4 cup water and add to the above. Keeping flame low, mix throughly and remove from heat. The mixture will look watery but it will thicken quite a bit on cooling. This will give you some delicious gravy when it cools down.
All done! This chicken stir-fry with broccoli and bell pepper can be made into many different versions. For instance, try adding some chopped celery for a change in texture and flavour. Use tomatoes, beans, carrots, anything you'd like, keeping the base the same. The vinegar adds a bit of tang so don't skip it.
The black pepper is an important addition too so highly recommend adding that. Doesn't matter if it's freshly cracked or bought powdered.
You can also add some ginger garlic paste to the onions when they are frying up. Adds a bit more zing but personally I prefer to only flavour this chicken stir-fry with garlic.
Enjoy hot with some steamed white rice!
I love the combination of broccoli and bell pepper, especially when stir-fried with just chilli flakes and salt. In this recipe, I added some corn flour and soya sauce to get a semi gravy that would go with rice. The recipe can be adapted in so many different ways with whatever vegetables you like. I had some leftover soaked almonds after making badam milk and added that too but some roasted cashew nuts or peanuts can be substituted too (or completely left out).
Our apartment in Sydney was near this lovely organic supermarket called About Life and they'd have GMO-free, organic chicken cut into strips, ready for you to stir-fry or make into chicken fingers. I loved how easy it was to buy a pack and quickly cook up something. Sometimes I marvel at how easy it is to put together a simple stir-fry dish rather than a South Indian lunch which has to have some kuzhambu, curry, maybe another curry, papad, curd, phew. Yes that's comfort food but I felt pretty well comforted by this simple one-pot dish too.
I love cooking with chicken but don't do it often since TH is vegetarian and it's too bothersome cooking something for myself and then separately for him. Doesn't really go with my goal of staying in the kitchen as little as possible. That said, here are some popular chicken recipes in Edible Garden.
Chicken 65
Dry chilli chicken
Kerala chicken curry
Chicken fried rice
Simple chicken curry with coconut milk
Let me know what your favourite chicken recipe is in the comments!
CHICKEN STIR FRY WITH BROCCOLI & BELL PEPPER
Preparation time: 15 minutesCooking time: 15 minutes
Serves 2
INGREDIENTS:
100 gm of chicken strips or chicken breast cut into long strips
2 cups of broccoli florets
1 cup of bell pepper, cut into cubes (any colour)
A fistful of almonds, cashew nuts, anything you'd like (optional)
1/2 cup of chopped onions
2 tsp of corn flour (corn starch)
2 tbsp of oil (I used rice bran oil)
For the marinade:
1 tsp of vinegar
2 tsp of soya sauce
1 tsp of minced garlic
1 tsp of corn flour (corn starch)
1/2 tsp of chilli powder (or to taste)
1/2 tsp of black pepper powder
INSTRUCTIONS:
To marinate the chicken strips:
Add the corn starch, pepper powder, chilli powder, some salt, garlic, soya sauce, vinegar, and chicken pieces to a bowl. Add about 1-2 tbsp water to bring everything together, mix well, and set aside while you chop the vegetables and prepare the other ingredients. You don't need to marinate a lot, 10 mins is plenty.
To prepare the stir-fry:
Heat oil in a wok or non stick pan and add the onions. Keeping flame on medium, cook until the onions turn soft. I also added a few pieces of garlic at this stage but this is optional.
Next, add the broccoli florets and bell pepper. Mix well to combine.
Then add the marinated chicken pieces and mix well again. Lower heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently until the chicken is cooked through. The time it takes to cook will depend on how thinly you cut them. I'd recommend keeping the strips about 1/2" thick since that would make sure it cooks fast but if you cut them too small, then on cooking the meat will shrink further and turn the chicken into an almost-minced stage. That won't be fun in a stir-fry, I think.
OK so once the chicken seems cooked through, add the nuts (I added soaked and skinned almonds) if you want to use any and give a quick mix. Also add more salt if, needed, at this stage,
Now the final step. Do this only after ensuring your vegetables and chicken are cooked fully and you have adjust salt, pepper, chilli, etc.
Mix 2 tsp cornflour in 1/4 cup water and add to the above. Keeping flame low, mix throughly and remove from heat. The mixture will look watery but it will thicken quite a bit on cooling. This will give you some delicious gravy when it cools down.
All done! This chicken stir-fry with broccoli and bell pepper can be made into many different versions. For instance, try adding some chopped celery for a change in texture and flavour. Use tomatoes, beans, carrots, anything you'd like, keeping the base the same. The vinegar adds a bit of tang so don't skip it.
The black pepper is an important addition too so highly recommend adding that. Doesn't matter if it's freshly cracked or bought powdered.
You can also add some ginger garlic paste to the onions when they are frying up. Adds a bit more zing but personally I prefer to only flavour this chicken stir-fry with garlic.
Enjoy hot with some steamed white rice!
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