Stir-Fried Chicken With Greens
Updated February 17, 2016
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 30 minutes, plus 30 minutes' refrigeration
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut across the grain into ¼-inch-thick by ½-inch-wide pieces
1 tablespoon egg white, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 ½ teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry
Salt to taste
¼ cup chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 bunch kale, stemmed and washed well in 2 rinses of water
2 tablespoons peanut oil, rice bran oil or canola oil
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 fat garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 to 6 scallions (½ bunch), cut on the diagonal in ½-inch lengths, dark green part separated
6 to 8 brussels sprouts, quartered (about ½ pound)
1 small or ½ large red bell pepper, cut in thin 2-inch strips
½ pound baby bok choy, cut in 1-inch slices
Freshly ground pepper
Rice, whole grains or noodles for serving
Nutritional analysis per serving
16 grams carbs; 42 milligrams cholesterol; 222 calories; 4 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 10 grams fat; 6 grams fiber; 736 milligrams sodium; 19 grams protein; 5 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
In a large bowl, stir together the egg white, cornstarch, 1 ½ teaspoons of the rice wine or sherry, salt to taste and 1 ½ teaspoons water. When you can no longer see any cornstarch, add the chicken and stir together until coated. Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes
- Step 2
Bring 2 to 3 quarts of water to a rolling boil in a large saucepan and add the kale. Boil 1 minute, until just tender, and transfer to a bowl of cold water. Do not drain the water from the pot. Drain the kale, squeeze out excess water and chop coarsely
- Step 3
Combine the remaining rice wine, the stock and the soy sauce in a small bowl and set near your wok
- Step 4
Bring the water in the pot back to a boil, add 1 tablespoon of the oil and turn the heat down so that the water is at a bare simmer. Carefully add the chicken to the water, stirring so that the pieces don’t clump. Cook until the chicken turns opaque on the surface but is not cooked through, about 1 minute. Drain well in a colander
- Step 5
Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok or 12-inch steel skillet over high heat until a drop of water evaporates within a second or two when added to the pan. Swirl in the remaining oil by adding it to the sides of the pan and swirling the pan, then add the garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes and stir-fry for no more than 10 seconds. Add the white and light green pieces of scallions, the brussels sprouts and the red pepper and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the bok choy and stir-fry for another minute. Add the chicken, the kale and the broth mixture. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and stir-fry until the chicken is cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle on the green scallion ends. Remove from the heat and serve with grains or noodles
Advance preparation: You can blanch the kale and marinate the chicken several hours ahead, but the stir-frying should be done at the last minute
Private Notes
Comments
Nice texture and colorful mix but too bland. I added more ginger, and an equal amount of tumeric root, plus twice the garlic. That perked it up nicely. And a bag of fresh baby kale makes it faster so skip the boiling and add the kale to the stir-fry stage.
Tasty. I'd consider blanching the brussels sprouts too. Stir frying left them a little raw.
Fussy recipe for something that should be straight forward.
I made this dish and I honestly loved it, I doubted it so hard but it honestly is a must save. that being said, I'm unsure of what the purpose of boiling the chicken before I put it in the frying pan? I'm a mediocre home cook, not professionally trained besides a small stint as a line chef at 21. why the corn starch and egg in the marinade? I felt like it just came right off when I boiled it. does it normally stay on the meat or is there something I'm missing? next time I will marinate and go directly into the fry pan to cook it, remove it and do the rest of the recipe.
The recipe is basically 1) Blanche kale. 2) Blanche chicken. 3) Stir fry. Or, use leftover chicken, skip marinade and poaching for chicken. Get baby kale, skip blanched kale. Stir fry, adding cooked chicken at end, season to taste.
I liked it because it was bland. It reminded me of something one could buy from a restaurant. The thing is: one can easily add spices to add lovely flavors. I think that this recipe lends itself to many spice concoctions. We usually eat complex spicy food and this reminded me of Chinese food I ate as a kid-sort of comforting!