Healthy chicken stir fry starts with boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Compared to other chicken parts, boneless skinless breast meat has the fewest calories, fat and cholesterol. When combined with other healthy ingredients, you can make a healthy stir fry meal. Adding fresh vegetables, low sodium seasonings and healthy oils can not only benefit your health, but also please your taste buds.
Step 1.
Cut the chicken breasts into crosswise slices, about 2 inches in length. If you want the additional flavor a marinade can provide, marinate for only a short time and limit acidic ingredients that can make your chicken mushy. You can marinate chicken using as few or many ingredients as you want -- try a mixture of olive oil and lime juice for tropical flavor, or rice wine vinegar, garlic and ginger for an Asian-inspired dish. Marinate chicken in a plastic food bag in your refrigerator for 30 minutes to about two hours before cooking.
Step 2.
Cut up a variety of fresh, healthy vegetables. Consider chopping and adding two to three cups of vegetables such as carrots, green or red peppers, a type of cabbage called bok choy, green onions, snow peas and mushrooms. For an additional burst of flavor, add unsweetened pineapple chunks.
Step 3.
Stir fry using only a small amount of oil, usually no more than 1 tbsp. The healthiest options are olive or canola oil.
Step 4.
Stir fry the chicken and vegetables at a high temperature and do not overcook. Fry the chicken for three to four minutes or until it is no longer pink. Remove from your wok with tongs and add vegetables that take longer to cook, such as carrots and peppers. Stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes, add softer vegetables such as mushrooms and bok choy and stir fry another minute or two. Finally, add vegetables such as snow peas or pineapple chunks that only need to be warmed.
Step 5.
Add a sauce to your stir fry that uses low sodium ingredients. You may, for example, create a sauce that includes low sodium chicken broth and soy sauce and cornstarch as a thickener. If you want a little more zest, consider a mixture of pineapple juice, low sodium soy sauce, rice vinegar, minced garlic and ginger. Mix sauce ingredients separately, add cornstarch and stir to combine before adding to your stir fry as the final step in cooking. Heat the sauce for about one minute and serve over a bed of brown, rather than white rice.
Things You Will Need
Chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
Knife
Mixing bowl
Olive oil
Garlic
Lime Juice
Rice vinegar
Ginger
Corn starch
Vegetables
Plastic food bag
Cooking oil
Cooking tongs
References
Writer Bio
Based in Green Bay, Wisc., Jackie Lohrey has been writing professionally since 2009. In addition to writing web content and training manuals for small business clients and nonprofit organizations, including ERA Realtors and the Bay Area Humane Society, Lohrey also works as a finance data analyst for a global business outsourcing company.