My tasty chicken and veggie stir fry – a quick mid-week meal with a kick of chilli heat that you can get on the table in less than 20 minutes!
It’s very easy to fall into the stir fry trap – a few veggies, maybe some meat and a jar of stir fry sauce.
We all do it, but it can get boring very quickly! Sauces from a jar have their advantages, but making your own sauce can be just as quick and you can easily change it up to make an endless number of variations
This is a sweet and spicy version – made using sweet chilli sauce, chillies and brown sugar  – plus a few other goodies. If you don’t want too much heat, then leave out the fresh chillies – my kids still eat every bite even with a little sweet chilli sauce!
What do we need
How to make it
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
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Coat the chicken in a dusting of cornflour, salt and pepper, then fry in a wok with oil over a high heat until lightly browned and cooked through.
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Add in sugar snap peas, peppers, garlic, soy sauce, Chinese rice vinegar, brown sugar, sweet chilli sauce and tomato ketchup.
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Continue to heat on high, tossing everything together until heated through, then stir through chopped spring onions and chopped chilli, heat for one more minute until they’re hot, but still crunchy.
Sauce Variations
- You could add a little more sugar, plus the juice of a lime for a tangy-sweet sauce.
- Try adding pineapple chunks and juice, a tablespoon of malt vinegar and sugar and an extra squirt of ketchup for a quick sweet and sour stir fry.
- Add hoisin and oyster sauce for an earthier sweet/salty flavour
Pile in the veggies and watch the kids eat them up with no complaints! So much tastier than take-out!
More Stir Fry Recipes
Beef Chow Fun (Beef Stir Fry with Noodles)
Honey and Garlic Chicken Stir Fry with Cauliflower Egg Fried Rice
Quick Honey and Soy Chicken Stir Fry with Noodles (this one does use a shop-bought sauce)
Chicken thighs or breast?
You can use either for this recipe. Coating the chicken in the cornflour helps to keep the chicken juicy and tender, so go with your own preference.
I use chicken breast for this recipe because I find chicken breast generally less fiddly to slice up.
Vegetarian version
Swap out the chicken for quorn, mushrooms or tofu for a vegetarian alternative.
Veggie swaps/additions
You can use whatever you’ve got in that will cook relatively quickly over a high heat. Such as:
Baby corn, beansprouts, bamboo shoots, tender stem brocolli, strips of carrot, asparagus, strips of cabbage (white or green), leeks, radish or courgette (zucchini).
What to serve with chicken stir fry
- Boiled Rice – check out my full post on how to boil rice (the method I ALWAYS use)
- Special Fried Rice – masterclass post on getting it perfect!
- Just leave the chicken out of my Lo Mein recipe for a lovely noodle side dish
If you’ve tried my recipe then please rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing your thoughts and add-ons to my recipes!
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Watch how to make it
Quick Chicken Stir Fry (without the shop-bought stir fry sauce!)
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breast fillets sliced into bite-size pieces
- 2 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch
- pinch salt
- pinch pepper
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 85 g (1 cup) sugar snap peas/snow peas
- 1 yellow pepper deseeded and sliced
- 1 red pepper deseeded and sliced
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Chinese rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
- 1 bunch spring onions/scallions chopped
- 1 small red chilli deseeded and sliced
To serve:
Instructions
- Place the chicken onto a plate, add the cornflour, salt, and pepper, and toss together to coat the chicken.3 chicken breast fillets, 2 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch, pinch salt, pinch pepper
- Add the oil to a wok and heat on high. When the oil is very hot, add in the chicken and fry for 5-6 minutes – turning a couple of times until lightly browned.2 tbsp vegetable oil
- Add in the sugar snap peas and peppers and fry for a further two minutes85 g (1 cup) sugar snap peas/snow peas, 1 yellow pepper, 1 red pepper
- Add in the garlic, soy sauce, Chinese rice vinegar, brown sugar, sweet chilli sauce, and tomato ketchup. Continue to heat on high, tossing everything with a spatula, until heated through. Check the chicken is cooked by taking a large piece and slicing it in half. If it’s no longer pink in the middle, it’s cooked.2 cloves garlic, 4 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp Chinese rice vinegar, 3 tbsp brown sugar, 3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce, 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
- Stir through the chopped spring onions and the chopped chilli, and heat for one more minute until they’re hot, but still crunchy1 bunch spring onions/scallions, 1 small red chilli
- Serve with rice or noodles.boiled rice or noodles
Video
Notes
- You could add a little more sugar, plus the juice of a lime for a tangy-sweet sauce.
- Try adding pineapple chunks and juice, a tablespoon of malt vinegar and sugar and an extra squirt of ketchup for a quick sweet and sour stir fry.
- Add hoisin and oyster sauce for an earthier sweet/salty flavour
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This post was first published in March 2016. Updated in May 2020 with new photos, video and recipe tips.
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I loved this, so easy to prepare and cook and happily my wife loved it! Lovely summer evening treat.
Terrific recipe it will be a staple in our household. Thank you.
This was delicious. I made my own sweet chili sauce, easy to do. Did not use cornstarch. Used peppers, celery, sweet onions instead of green. Added cashews at the end?
I also like pineapple chunks in my stir fry. I use toasted sesame oil in my sauce, but also lately have been adding some “Spicy Chili Crisp” that I get at WalMart. Seems to also be sold under the name “Fried Chili in Oil.” Addictive flavor and turns the sauce red. — WalMart also sells “Stir Fry Vegetables” in a can which includes bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, baby corn & water chestnuts. I cook for one, so I can make two meals out of the stir fry veggies. Sometimes I also add sesame seeds which add visually to the sauce.
Once again Nicky this was a triumph, this was so tasty and so easy, fantastic!
My family thought I had bought this in! It is (at the very least) a match to ANY Chinese I have ever paid for! I used chili oil, instead of veg oil and chili- this worked really well. Can’t wait to try out the other recipes!
Really tasty, quick recipe. I’m making it again tonight. My kids loved it! I served it with noodles. It’ll def be on my weekly rotation from now on. Thanks for a great recipe!