Take hen breast in a savory, candy, and spicy route in my Hen Stir-fry with Garlic Chives. Seared to seal within the juices and seasoned with a straightforward mix-and-pour sauce, this lean protein recipe will probably be your new dine-in favourite.
If you happen to’re like me, you attempt to prepare dinner gentle and wholesome meals when consuming in. For a fast and scrumptious method to put together lean hen breast, strive my flavorful Hen Stir-Fry with Garlic Chives recipe. I’ll share my technique to maintain the hen juicy and tender and make a balanced sauce that’s savory, candy, and slightly spicy.
Craving extra hen dishes? Strive my Baked Hen Katsu, Hen Teriyaki, and Butter Shoyu Hen recipes subsequent!
Why I Love This Recipe
- Extremely straightforward to make – Slice the hen breast, mud it with flour, stir-fry with the chives, and add the sauce. It’s such a easy, 20-minute dish for any night time of the week.
- A fast sauce that hits all the precise notes – It’s savory, candy, salty, and a bit spicy. Even with the complicated flavors, it’s tremendous easy to make—simply combine and pour.
- An effective way to prepare dinner hen breast – My technique seals within the juices and evenly cooks this lean protein so it stays tender and flavorful.
Components for Hen Stir-fry with Garlic Chives
- Hen breast
- Garlic chives – they’re additionally known as nira in Japanese or Chinese language chives
- All-purpose flour
- Kosher salt and floor black pepper – or use white pepper powder
- Toasted sesame oil – for cooking
- Sauce
- Sake
- Mirin
- Miso – any kind
- Soy sauce
- Honey
- Doubanjiang – spicy chili bean paste
Discover the printable recipe with measurements beneath.
Substitutions
- Hen breast – You possibly can substitute skinless hen thighs. They take longer to prepare dinner, so modify the cooking time accordingly.
- Garlic chives – If you happen to can’t discover it, you’ll be able to substitute different aromatics like inexperienced onions/scallions.
- Miso – Use any kind. The commonest ones you’ll discover in Japanese grocery shops are white miso, crimson miso, and awase miso. I exploit my favourite additive-free, crimson koji miso from Hikari Miso that you’ll find on Amazon.
- Mirin – For 1 tablespoon of mirin, you’ll be able to substitute 1 Tbsp sake (or water) + 1 tsp sugar. It doesn’t style the identical, but it surely’s shut.
- Sake – In a pinch, you’ll be able to substitute Chinese language rice wine, dry sherry, or water.
- Doubanjiang—Skip or cut back it to fit your desire. I personally use the Taiwanese manufacturers Lian How (岡山) or Ming De (明徳), which have a no-heat and spicy variations. I mix them together for a milder warmth degree. You could find spicy Sichuan doubanjiang on Amazon or at Asian markets. Different choices for spicy warmth are gochujang (spicy Korean chili paste) and sriracha. Use gluten-free doubanjiang for GF.
Find out how to Make Hen Stir-fry with Garlic Chives
Preparation
Step 1 – Combine the sauce. Add the sake, mirin, miso, soy sauce, honey, and chili bean paste to a small bowl. Stir to dissolve the miso.
Step 2 – Reduce the garlic chives and hen. Slice the nira into quick items and reduce the hen breast into flat, bite-size items of equal thickness.
Step 3 – Season and dredge. Season on each side with salt and pepper, then coat evenly in flour.
Cooking
Step 4 – Sear. Warmth sesame oil in a sizzling frying pan or wok set over medium warmth. Sear the hen in two batches. Fry till golden brown, flip, and brown the opposite facet.
Step 5 – Stir-fry. Toss the chives with the hen within the pan to mix. Add the sauce and coat the components rapidly earlier than the sauce thickens.
Step 6 – Serve. Switch to a serving plate and luxuriate in.
Nami’s Recipe Ideas
- Reduce the hen items the identical thickness – The hot button is to create thinner, flatter items which have an open floor space. This enables it to prepare dinner evenly and on the identical fee, so nothing overcooks. I obtain this with the sogigiri Japanese slicing approach by tilting my knife again and slicing at a slanted angle.
- Dredge the hen evenly – A skinny dusting of flour will assist lock within the seasonings and juices. Remember to shake off the surplus, which might make the sauce cloudy and smash the hen’s texture. I shake the hen items and flour in my favourite stainless prep tray for the proper gentle coating.
- Sear till golden brown – Fry the hen undisturbed till the underside is golden brown, then flip over to brown the opposite facet. This can seal within the juices and develop a scrumptious taste and aroma.
- Don’t crowd the pan – Area the hen items aside for higher air circulation and browning. Because of this I seared it in two batches. You’ll find yourself steaming the hen in the event you add an excessive amount of directly.
- Don’t overcook it – The hen needs to be totally cooked as soon as seared, so that you simply must briefly toss it on the finish with the chives and sauce.
Variations and Customizations
- Add garlic and ginger. For an added layer of aromatics, strive including sliced garlic cloves and/or contemporary minced ginger to the sauce.
- Toss in different greens. You possibly can bulk up this dish with veggies like bean sprouts, candy bell peppers, zucchini, eggplant, snow peas, mushrooms, or onions.
- Swap pork or beef. Slice tender cuts of meat into flatter items of equal thickness in order that they prepare dinner on the identical fee.
- Make it vegan/vegetarian. Sear cubes of tofu as an alternative of hen breast to make it plant based mostly.
What to Serve with Hen Stir-fry
Storage Ideas
To retailer: You possibly can maintain the leftovers in an hermetic container and retailer within the fridge for as much as 3 days.
Regularly Requested Questions
No. We coat the hen with flour, which is able to naturally thicken the sauce.
Forestall your display screen from going darkish
To Combine the Sauce
-
Add 1 Tbsp sake, 1 Tbsp mirin, 1 Tbsp miso, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp honey, and 2 tsp doubanjiang (spicy chili bean paste) to a small bowl. Stir nicely to dissolve the miso. Put aside.
To Put together the Chives and Hen
-
Reduce off the powerful ends of 1 small bunch garlic chives (Chinese language chives or Nira). Slice the leafy elements into 1½-inch (4-cm) items.
-
Slice 1 hen breast into 1½-inch (4 cm) squares of equal thickness. I exploit the sogigiri Japanese slicing approach. To do that, tilt your knife again and slice at a slanted angle. This creates a thinner, flatter items with an open floor space so the hen cooks evenly and on the identical fee within the frying pan.
-
Season the hen items on each side with ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and ⅛ tsp freshly floor black pepper.
-
Flippantly dredge the hen with 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour (plain flour). Tip: I put the hen and flour in my favourite stainless prep tray and shake collectively for the proper gentle coating.
To Prepare dinner
-
Preheat a big frying pan or carbon metal pan over medium warmth. When it is sizzling, add 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil. When the oil is sizzling, add the hen. leaving area between the items. I cooked it in two batches. This enables the air to flow into in order that they sear properly. Cowl and prepare dinner for 3 minutes.
-
When the hen is barely brown on the underside, flip over the items and sear the opposite facet for 2 minutes. In case your items are thick, cowl the pan and prepare dinner for 3 minutes. Take away to a tray. Repeat searing the remaining hen. Tip: Ensure that the hen is sort of cooked via at this stage. You’ll solely prepare dinner it briefly on the finish to toss with the sauce and garlic chives.
-
As soon as each batches are executed, add all of the hen again into the pan. Then, add the garlic chives.
-
Toss collectively the hen and chives to warmth. Then, add the sauce. Combine to mix.
-
Coat the components nicely with the sauce rapidly earlier than it thickens. Switch to a serving plate and luxuriate in.