Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry Recipe
Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry is a quick and easy one pan meal with a healthy homemade teriyaki sauce. Make with frozen vegetables or a variety of fresh seasonal vegetables. Looking for a quick meal? This is it! Ready in under 20 minutes. Perfect meal for busy mid-week dish or make in advance and enjoy for lunch all week long.
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Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry From Scratch
Stir fry is a Chinese cooking technique where meat and vegetables are continuously stirred over high heat in a wok. This method of cooking is often improvised by replacing a traditional wok to a large skillet.
Every time I make this dish it comes out a little different. Sometimes I’ll clean out my refrigerator with all my vegetables. Other times, I want specific vegetables like broccoli and a melody of peppers in this meal.
For a super easy no-thinking option, I will grab a bag of frozen vegetables from the grocery store.
In addition, sometimes I add cashews for a nice chewy bite, and other times I leave them out of the dish completely.
What doesn’t change in this recipe is the teriyaki sauce. I make this from scratch each time.
How To Make Teriyaki Sauce From Scratch
Although there are several ready made sauces, making your own stir fry sauce couldn’t be easier and healthier! In fact, you probably have all the ingredients stocked in your pantry.
You’ll whisk together the following ingredients for homemade teriyaki sauce:
- Water
- Low-sodium soy sauce or liquid aminos for a gluten free option
- Rice vinegar
- Brown sugar – feel free to use a sugar free alternative to keep this sauce low carb.
- Sesame oil – add delicious flavor. Don’t skip this.
- Sriracha hot sauce add a little or a lot depending on your preference.
- Fresh garlic – I also keep frozen cubes in the freezer that I get from Trader Joes. Those come in handy when I don’t have fresh garlic available.
- Ground ginger – or use fresh ginger. I always have the spice, so I use it in this stir fry sauce often.
- Cornstarch (optional) – used to thicken the sauce. See below for thickening options.
Preparing Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry
First you will need to decide if you want to use fresh or frozen vegetables. For either option, you will need about 3 cups of vegetables. Sometimes I like more vegetables than chicken, so adjust to your preference.
Step one:
Whisk ingredients for the teriyaki sauce together and set aside. This can also be made several days in advance.
Step two:
Clean and dice vegetables into bite size pieces if you are using fresh ingredients and set aside.
Step three:
Dice chicken in bite size pieces. Over medium high heat add oil to the skillet. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken in a single layer. Stir until the meat is mostly cooked, then add vegetables.
Continue to stir until the vegetable reach your desired tenderness and the meat is thoroughly cooked.
Step four:
Add nuts and prepared sauce. Cook until warm and bubbly. Top with fresh scallions and enjoy!
Frozen or Fresh Vegetables
For this recipe you can use either frozen or fresh vegetables. In fact, feel free to use a combination of both!
If you use a combination of frozen and fresh vegetables add the fresh vegetables prior to adding frozen to avoid mushy vegetables. Frozen vegetables cook faster than fresh.
Frequently Asked Questions
What To Serve With Teriyaki Stir Fry
This dish is a complete meal with your protein, vegetables and fat from the cashews. However, to add some bulk, and a whole lot of goodness, serve with ramen noodles, sticky rice, healthy cauliflower rice or cauliflower fried rice.
You can also turn this into an appetizer or grain free dish by serving with lettuce leaves.
How Do I Store Teriyaki Stir Fry Chicken?
Keep stir fry for a maximum of 4 days as leftovers in the refrigerator. It will last for one month in the freezer when stored in an airtight freezer container or freezer bags.
Can I Use Different Types Of Meat?
You can substitute the chicken thigh with chicken breast, or use beef strips or chunks instead. Another option to make it vegetarian is to substitute the chicken with tofu, or take out the main protein all together and simply add extra stir fry vegetables.
Should I Thaw Frozen Vegetables?
No. When stir frying frozen vegetables, add them to the skillet right out of the freezer. Stir fry for 3-5 minutes or just until tender.
How To Thicken The Sauce Without Cornstarch?
Thickening the stir fry sauce by making a slurry, equal parts (1:1) of water and a thickening agent. Cornstarch is usually what I have on hand, but you can also use arrowroot, tapioca flour or rice flour in the same manner. Use up to 1 tablespoon of your choice.
For a low carb thickening option, consider using xanthan gum or glucomannan. You will only use a small amount (1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon). Glucomannan should be whisked with cold water before adding it to the sauce. Xanthan gum should be lightly sprinkled over the sauce (add on the side of the pan by moving the stir fry aside), and whisked vigorously to avoid clumping.
Looking for a meal prep idea? This one warms up nicely for that. Let me know what our favorite ingredient combination is!
Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry Recipe
Ingredients
- 1- 1 ½ pounds or 4 chicken thighs skinless and boneless cut into 1” cubes
- 2 cups stir fry mix of frozen or fresh vegetables
- ½ cup cashews
- 1 Tablespoon avocado or canola oil
Teriyaki Sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce or
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar or sugar free alternative
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons Sriracha hot sauce
- 2 cloves fresh garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch optional
Garnish
- Scallions sliced
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl whisk together water, soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, Sriracha hot sauce, garlic and ginger. Set aside.
- Heat a large stir fry skillet over medium high heat.
- Add in oil and chicken.
- Stir fry until chicken is mostly cooked.
- Add in vegetables and cook until vegetables are heated through and fork tender, about 3-4 minutes for frozen and 5-7 minutes for fresh vegetables; and internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees F. Add cashews (optional).
- Add prepared teriyaki sauce and fold into vegetables and chicken until all ingredients are coated and warm.
- To thicken sauce (optional), mix one tablespoon of cornstarch with one tablespoons of water until smooth. Push stir fry to the side of the pan and whisk slurry (cornstarch mix) into the sauce. Fold into all ingredients and heat until it reaches your desired consistency.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Please note that the nutritional information provided are guidelines and may vary based on the brand of products used. For your specific nutritional goals use My Fitness Pal or Verywell Fit recipe calculators. All content within this site is not intended as medical diagnosis or treatment and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical expertise.
