While this post is sponsored by Perdue Farms, all opinions are 100% honest and my own. We made it. It’s the final day of 2020 and we did it, we got here, and we’re going to get to 2021. There are so many things that changed in my life in 2020 – some things I can’t wait to be rid of (hello travel restrictions) and others that I actually thoroughly enjoyed (getting to know my neighbors). And then there are the things that were necessities – one of those being cooking allllllll the time. We did some curbside pickup and ate out a couple of times, but the majority of our eating was things we made. There’s a reason I added so many recipes to the blog this year – there was literally nothing else to do. These double chocolate chip pudding cookies, homemade yeast rolls, and even this easy baked macaroni and cheese – all recipes I came up with simply because I had to come up with new things to try. But I’ll be honest, by the end of the year I’m sick of cooking. All I want to do by the end of the day is play some of my favorite board games with our family or binge watch something on Netflix. Our what sounds good for dinner decisions are no longer based on what actually sounds good but what sounds like it could made the quickest. This teriyaki chicken stir fry is one of those recipes that can be on your table in under 20 minutes. I like to make up some teriyaki sauce at the beginning of the week and do a quick stir fry for lunch or dinner throughout the week. Or if I’m sick of stir fry, I sometimes turn it into a teriyaki chicken sheet pan dinner instead. But this stir fry has noodles so I rarely get sick of it.
Why you’ll love this recipe
Quick and easy – it’s as simple as chopping your veggies and chicken then stir frying in a wok. It’s fast and pretty much fool proof. Amazing flavor – the homemade teriyaki sauce we use for this stir fry is the perfect combination of sweet and savory. Versatile – you’ll see in the ingredient list below that this recipe is super versatile, so you can use what you have on hand already Kid-friendly – customize the recipe to who you’re feeding. Use veggies that your kids like to make this a recipe the entire family will eat!
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
There are only five ingredients in the photo above on purpose. This recipe is designed for you to be able to use what works best for you, so instead of giving you specific ingredients here (there are more detailed ones in the recipe card), I’m going to just talk through my recommended options for the five key ingredients! The recipe card at the bottom of this post has specific measurements for how we made the recipe!
Chicken Breasts
For the chicken, I used Perdue Harvestland chicken breasts in this recipe because we always have them in our freezer. We order them from the Perdue Farms website in bulk and just thaw overnight any time we add a chicken dish to our weekly meal planner. If the Perdue Harvestland chicken breasts aren’t available, you can also use any of these:
Perdue Harvestland Organic Chicken BreastsPerdue Fresh Cuts Thin Sliced Chicken BreastPerdue Chicken Breasts
I personally love using meats from the Perdue Farms line of meat because I know where the meat comes from, I know that Perdue Farms is committed to animal care, and well it just tastes good. Plus, they always have awesome sales going on so often times when you buy their sale items the website, the price is the same if not better than getting it in the stores! And you don’t have to go shopping. Like right now they have a huge sale on the organic version of the Perdue Harvestland Chicken Breasts, so they end up being just about $7 a pound, which is the same as if you were to buy it somewhere like Whole Foods or Sprouts. You can get that deal here! And again, no leaving your house!
Vegetables
You can use a lot of different vegetables in this stir fry. The goal when choosing your vegetables is to choose ones that can be chopped to about the same size so they cook evenly. You also want ones that cook quickly, so things like peppers and broccoli compared to sweet potatoes and butternut squash. (Those make really good roasted root vegetables though…). Use veggies you have on hand or if you’re picking up ones from the store, some of our favorites for this stir fry include:
BroccoliAsparagusRed, green, and yellow peppersCarrots
Asian Noodles
Just like with the vegetables, you can really use a variety of Asian noodles for this stir fry. You just want to make sure that they’re Asian noodles that are designed to be used in stir fries and Asian dishes and not like Italian pasta noodles. So yakisoba noodles, ramen noodles, udon noodles, soba noodles, lo mein noodles, and even rice noodles work well. Spaghetti, fettuccini, and angel hair do not. We prefer to keep udon noodles on hand for stir fry recipes like this, so thats what is written in the recipe – but other Asian noodles work as well.
Teriyaki Sauce
I’ve included a recipe for a delicious homemade teriyaki sauce (and a teriyaki marinade for the chicken) in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. It uses ingredients like rice vinegar, brown sugar, and soy sauce combined with spices like ginger and garlic to deliver an amazing flavor that’s part sweet, part savory. If you don’t have time to make the teriyaki sauce or you have another sauce you love, you can use that as well. But I’m pretty partial to our recipe. Plus, if you double the teriyaki sauce recipe, you can always have teriyaki chicken stir fry at the beginning of the week then use the leftover sauce for teriyaki chicken bowls at the end of the week!
Cooking Oil
Our preferred oil for cooking the teriyaki chicken stir fry is coconut oil. If you don’t have that, you can also use avocado oil as a second choice or olive oil if you don’t have either of the first two.
Prep Your Ingredients
The cooking time for this recipe is super short – stir fries typically cook fast. The bulk of your work will be in the recipe prep, which is also pretty easy.
Marinate Your Chicken
The first thing you need to do is marinate your chicken if you’re going to do it. Simply combine the marinade ingredients then place the chicken breasts in it, making. sure to coat both sides. If you think about it and are planning this out ahead of time, we like to marinate the chicken overnight. If you’re making this for dinner and didn’t marinate overnight, try to marinate for 30 minutes. And if you are doing this last minute like I find myself doing often, you can skip the marinade altogether, but know it does add more depth to the flavor of the chicken itself. When you’re ready to use the chicken, you’ll need to slice it into thin slices for the stir fry. This will ensure they cook quickly!
Chop Your Veggies
Make sure all of your veggies are cut about the same size. For any veggies you can, julienne them into long matchstick size veggies. This goes for things like zucchini, peppers, and carrots. For things that are already smaller, just make sure you chop them into bite-size chunks. This goes for things like broccoli and asparagus. You want everything about the same size so they cook evenly.
Make the Teriyaki Sauce
If you’re using the homemade teriyaki sauce recipe from this post, I recommend making it before you start actually cooking the stir fry. It’s just combining ingredients in a pot on the stove and letting them simmer, so you really can make the sauce while you chop your veggies.
Cook Your Noodles
You’ll need to cook your noodles according to the package instructions – typically Asian noodles include soaking the noodles in hot or boiling water for a few minutes. This is another thing you can get setup and do while you’re chopping veggies. So at the end of the day, your prep looks like this.
How to Make Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry
Alright you ready for a super simple dinner on your table in just a few minutes? Here’s how you actually stir fry everything together! Start by putting two tablespoons of coconut oil into a cold wok, then heat the wok to high heat. This allows the coconut oil to heat up with the wok. Once the oil has melted but before it before it begins to smoke, add the strips of chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes or until it’s cooked through. Remove the chicken from the wok and set aside until later. Add another two tablespoons of coconut oil to the hot wok. Once oil is melted, you’re going to add the vegetables to the wok in the order they should be cooked based on cooking time. For this particular recipe, add the carrots first and allow them to cook for two minutes. Then add the peppers for another two minutes. Finally, add the broccoli and asparagus (the quickest to cook) and cook for another two minutes. Make sure that you’re stirring the vegetables throughout the cooking process to keep them from burning. Once the veggies are cooked, add the udon noodles and cook for one minute, stirring the entire time. Add the cooked chicken strips and the teriyaki sauce and stir for one more minute until the sauce has evenly coated all of the ingredients. Serve immediately while the teriyaki stir fry is hot. It’s still tasty if it sits for a bit, but it’s best enjoyed hot.
Expert Tips
Save time by buying pre-cut veggies, just make sure they are all cut into matchstick slices or chunks that are similar Make the marinade and teriyaki sauce ahead of time when you have a few minutes and store in the fridge until you’re ready to use. Double the teriyaki sauce and use it for other recipes throughout the week like these teriyaki meatballs with coconut rice. Stir the entire time things are cooking in the wok to keep it from sticking. Store any leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to five days. Reheat leftovers by cooking in coconut oil in a wok, just like you did the first time around. Stir constantly to keep things from sticking and just cook long enough for things to warm back up.
More Easy Chicken Recipes
If you like chicken, you’re going to love these other quick and easy chicken dishes!
Coconut chicken tenders – these sweet and crispy chicken tenders will be a new family favorite! Plus, the pina colada dipping sauce is amazing!Almond chicken – this is the recipe you need if you want something different and something amazing, this almond crusted chicken is so good! Chicken noodle soup with egg noodles – grandma’s chicken soup with homemade egg noodles (easier than you’d imagine), this is comfort food at its best! Greek chicken thighs – this simple chicken recipe is full of Mediterranean flavor that’s ready in under 30 minutes! White enchiladas – shredded chicken with southwestern flavors wrapped up in tortillas then covered with a creamy white sauce, yum!
