Chicken Rainbow Vegetable Stir-fry

This chicken rainbow vegetable stir-fry with its vegetables, thin strips of chicken, ramen noodles in a addictive, slightly spicy sauce. SO good, SO easy!

I’ve never been so excited for leftovers in my life.

Even as I type this (at 9:31 in the a.m.) I’m thinking about ditching my breakfast of oatmeal and having my leftover chicken stir-fry instead. Which isn’t too crazy-crazy I guess but if you know me at all then you know I love my breakfast- so this stir-fry is sort of a big deal.

My husband announced while eating his bowl, that stir-fries might be his favorite thing to eat. I’d have to agree. Stir-fries (and anything Mexican) is my favorite. They’re just so easyyyy and take only minutes to cook in a hot wok or pan. Most of the time the only real effort is in prepping and even that isn’t as dreadful as you might think. Many times I’ve done the prep work the night before that way on a busy night, it’s done and we’re all eating in no time.

Start this stir-fry party off right by prepping the veggies. Here we have a rainbow of  healthy veggies starting with  1/2 a large red bell pepper, 1 large carrot and two stalks of celery sliced thin and on an angle, 1/2 a white onion (but yellow would work fine too), 1 cup finely sliced purple cabbage and 1 cup snow peas with their ends trimmed. Like I said, all of this can be done the night before and kept in a large resealable bag for the next day.

Next, slice 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 pounds of thin-cut chicken breasts into thin strips.

Place it all into a pretty medium bowl. Just kidding on the pretty bowl part, any regular bowl will do.

To the chicken, add 3/4 teaspoon of sugar…

…1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil…

…and 1 tablespoon low-sodium tamari.

Toss the chicken around to coat and then set it off to the side.

Meet Gochujang. It’s a fermented Korean red pepper, rice and (fermented) soybean paste that gives this stir-fry sauce its savory, pleasantly warm and back-of-the-throat heat. I’ve been told it can be found and any authentic Korean markets, but I had to order my Gochujang [affiliate] on Amazon since I don’t live near any and couldn’t locate it at my major grocery store. It’s a little pricey but I thought it was worth it because from what I read about it, it’s flavor is uniquely delicious and hard to replace with any other ingredients. BUT if you aren’t willing to shell out the money then I was thinking maybe try Thai red curry paste along with some red pepper flakes? But honestly, I still don’t know if these together are comparable to Gochujang. It’s so good!

Typically I don’t like to use ingredients I can’t find at my grocery store, but sometimes I do splurge and this was worth it.

Measure out 1-1/2 tablespoons of the gochujang…

…and add it to a bowl.

Add in 1 tablespoon of both minced fresh ginger and garlic.

Pour in 6 tablespoons of low-sodium tamari…

…and 2 tablespoons of honey.

Whisk well to incorporate the paste and the honey and set off to the side.

In this stir-fry recipe, I’m using ramen noodles, but soba noodles can be substituted.

Bring a pot of water to a roiling boil.

Add in the entire (9.5 ounce) package of ramen into the water and cook for 3 minutes, 1 minute shy of package directions because the noodles will finish cooking in the wok.

Once the 3 minutes are up, drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.

In a large 12-inch chefs pan or wok, add in 1 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil.

Add the chicken in an even layer and let cook for a few minutes, undisturbed, to form a golden crust.

Once the chicken is almost fully cooked, toss and cook for another minute or so.

Now, add in all of the vegetables…

Toss and cook until the vegetables brighten in color and have a glossy sheen to them.

Add in the ramen…

…the stir-fry sauce…

…when the sauce is boiling add in the cornstarch slurry (1 tablespoon cornstarch + 1 tablespoon water).

Toss and toss and toss until the liquids thicken, about 2 minutes. Then serve this chicken rainbow vegetable stir-fry in to bowls.

Lastly, scatter some sliced green onions over top for some bright fresh flavor.

Then grab your chopsticks and go to town on this scrumptious noodle bowl! Of course the ones you see are just for show because I’ve still yet to get my fingers to cooperate and use them correctly. I just don’t have the patience for them, give me a fork so I can consume this vegetable loaded stir-fry asap!

The vegetables still retain some of their crunchiness- which I like, and the noodles are perfectly cooked. The sauce is absolutely addicting- a smidgen spicy but nothing crazy. Like I said… I can’t stop thinking about this bowl-o-goodness and I just know you’ll love this chicken rainbow vegetable stir-fry too!

Enjoy!

My cookbook Simply Scratch : 120 Wholesome Homemade Recipes Made Easy is now available! CLICK HERE for details and THANK YOU in advance!

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Yield: 4 generous portions

Chicken Rainbow Vegetable Stir-Fry

A rainbow of vegetables, thin strips of chicken and ramen noodles in a addictive and slightly spicy sauce. SO good. SO easy!

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 25 minutes mins

Ingredients

FOR THE VEGGIE PREP:

• 1/2 onion
• 1/2 large bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
• 1 large carrot, sliced thin on an angle
• 2 ribs celery, sliced thin on an angle
• 1 cup thinly sliced purple cabbage
• 1 cup snow peas, ends trimmed

FOR THE CHICKEN PREP:

• 1¼ pound chicken breasts, thinly sliced
• 3/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium tamari
• 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

FOR THE STIR-FRY SAUCE:

• 1½ tablespoons Gochujang, Korean chili pepper paste
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
• 6 tablespoon low-sodium tamari
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup water

For The Stir-fry:

• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 9 ounces ramen noodles
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch, plus 1 tablespoon water for cornstarch slurry
• 3 green onions, sliced thin on an angle

Equipment

• Chung Jung One Sunchang Hot Pepper Paste Gold (Gochujang) 500g

Instructions 

• Prep all the vegetables, marinate the chicken strips and make the stir-fry sauce all before you start, so making the actual stir-fry is a breeze.
• While prepping the vegetables, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook 2 to 3 minutes (or 1 minute shy of the package directions). Drain noodles into a colander and rinse with cold water.
• In a 12-inch chefs pan or wok, heat a tablespoon of toasted sesame oil on high-heat until smoking. Add in chicken in an even layer and cook for 2 to 3 minutes undisturbed until a golden crust forms. Stir and continue to cook for 1 minute.
• Add in all the vegetables, toss and cook until glossy (about 2 to 3 minutes). Add in the cooked noodles and the sauce and toss. Once the sauce is boiling, pour in the slurry and cook for another minute or two until thickened.
• Serve stir-fry in bowls with a sprinkle of sliced green onions.

Calories: 590kcal, Carbohydrates: 65g, Protein: 42g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 91mg, Sodium: 3264mg, Potassium: 1049mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 16g, Vitamin A: 4406IU, Vitamin C: 62mg, Calcium: 84mg, Iron: 5mg

Author: Laurie McNamara

Course: Mains & Entrees

Cuisine: Asian

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