Hey all! I have another recipe for you today. Stir fry is awesome because it’s versatile, can be meal prep or serve a lot, and isn’t particularly expensive (Plus it can all be cooked on the stovetop for my friends without ovens.)

Disclaimer: It was my first time making it this way, so I’ll include notes of things I would have changed. I’ll also list ingredient substitutes to accommodate food restrictions and/or preferences.

Ingredients:

• rice (about 1/3 cup per person you’ll be serving, or substitute for noodles)
• about 1 lb. chicken breasts (protein substitutes: beef, pork, tofu)
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 head broccoli
• 2 carrots (veggie substitutes: fresh green beans, most in-pod peas, mushrooms, yellow onion)
• 5 cloves peeled garlic, crushed or minced
• about 1/2 cup soy sauce
• about 1/4 cup honey
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. In a bowl, mix together soy sauce, honey, garlic, salt, pepper, and any other seasonings you desire (I added a tangy brown sauce I found in my best friend’s fridge that I’m pretty sure was oyster sauce)
2. Cover chicken breasts in sauce and allow to marinate for at least 15 minutes (the longer the better, though) Note: Make sure to put the chicken back in the fridge to marinate, and observe general food safety when handling raw meats!
3. Chop all veggies into reasonable bite sizes, set aside
4. Prepare rice as indicated on package (it varies depending on what kind of rice you use, but for white jasmine rice use 2 cups water for every 1 cup of rice, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low for about 20 minutes)
5. While rice is cooking, warm a wok pan (or the biggest pan you can find) and add in the chicken and marinade
6. Cook the chicken until no longer pink in the middle — covering it and cooking it on a low or medium heat will help it cook through evenly (if you’re using onions, you can cook them with the meat to make sure they soften enough)
7. While rice and chicken are cooking, pre-steam any particularly tough veggies (broccoli, carrots, etc.)
8. When chicken is almost done, break or slice it into bite-size pieces, then return to pan
9. Add all veggies into wok pan and stir until warm and well-mixed
10. Serve over rice and enjoy!

Cost about $10, makes about 5 servings

Hopefully this didn’t feel too complicated, but it can be kept to just a few pans and makes a healthy and enjoyable meal for a low cost. (I realize I didn’t include cost and servings in the roasted tomatoes recipe, so I’ll add that in asap.)

For the version I made, I used brown rice which I’m not used to and therefore it cooked a little funny. The carrots also didn’t jive as well with the rest of the flavors as I hoped they would, but the chicken and broccoli in particular were phenomenal. So in the future I would probably use rice I’m used to and substitute the carrots for peas. After having the leftovers for today’s dinner, I also realized I would have liked a higher sauce/marinade ratio. Finally, a huge thanks to my best friend’s family for letting me use their kitchen and a few of their ingredients.

I’d love to hear your favorite versions of stir fry, or any suggestions for this recipe! Let me know in a comment below, on Twitter @ohgrowup, or Instagram @oh.grow.up. Thanks for reading, and happy eating!