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Chicken stir-fry with red bell pepper and broccoli
After long time, I am coming back with new recipes as I am creating a new recipes section for my website of my wife.
Aim is to create a recipe section of meals that we love to eat and that keeps us in shape.
Since we strive to stay in shape 365 days a year, you can rest assured that my recipes will not only taste great but also help you maintain your fitness. And if you correctly calculate your daily calorie intake, you can even lose weight.
Stir-fry
What better way to start than with a simple stir-fry recipe (literally translated as "mix-fry")?
The magic of stir-fry lies in its simplicity and, most importantly, its quick preparation, making it the foundation of our everyday healthy cooking.
Preparing Stir-fry
- Chop all ingredients.
- Sauté the vegetables and set them aside.
- In the same pan, sauté the protein.
- Add the vegetables back, mix, season, and cook through.
And that's it! Learning to estimate how long to cook vegetables and meat takes a bit of practice, but there's not much you can do wrong.
Vegetables for Stir-fry
I personally prefer 3–4 types of vegetables cut into similarly sized pieces, but feel free to get creative. You can make a stir-fry with just one type of vegetable or anything you have on hand.
In this recipe, you'll find a combination of onion, broccoli, red bell pepper, and spring onion. The mix of onion and red bell pepper is one of our favorites, and the broccoli was in the fridge, so I added it. Spring onion is a staple—we put it in almost everything.
Protein for Stir-fry
A stir-fry is best complemented with a protein, whether it's meat that doesn't need long cooking (like chicken breast, pork tenderloin, or shrimp). Fish is also an option, though it tends to break apart in stir-fry.
Eggs or plant-based options like tofu or tempeh work great too.
In this recipe, I used chicken breast, and the next day we mixed in some tempeh with the leftovers since we didn’t have much chicken left.
Sauce (Seasoning) for Stir-fry
For a basic stir-fry, simply seasoning with salt and pepper is enough. If you want to enhance the flavor, start with soy sauce. Soy sauce pairs well with grated garlic and ginger. If you're not avoiding sugars, a bit of mirin is a great addition—this is the combination used in this recipe.
Feel free to experiment with different sauces and proportions. You can try oyster sauce, fish sauce, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, sake, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, and more.
Add any chili sauce, and you'll create a flavor explosion.
Fat for Stir-fry
Use whatever you like most, but don’t overheat it.
I personally prefer butter (the taste!), though it’s harder to cook with properly. Ghee, coconut oil, avocado oil, or olive oil can replace it. Even lard works, though I’m not a fan of the taste.
Side for Stir-fry
Use whatever you like!
I favor jasmine rice (for the flavor), but anything from rice noodles to spaghetti—or even bread—works.
If you're going low-carb, you can skip the side. In that case, don’t skimp on fats and add plenty of nuts to increase the fat content.
What’s Next?
If you try this recipe and enjoy it, don’t hesitate to experiment next time! Swap out a few ingredients for whatever you have on hand. Over time, you’ll surely find your favorite combination.