Deconstructed Chicken Stir Fry: Try This Unique Recipe

Chicken stir fry is a great meal. It’s quick, delicious, healthy, and budget friendly. It checks all the boxes. But, have you ever though about elevating it? Making it just a little bit different; dare I say, somewhat fancy…

Well, you know miss fancy pants herself did! Chicken stir fry is great, there is no doubt about that, but I’m all about taking the familiar and just changing it enough so that it’s a little different but still super tasty and easy!

If you are a restaurant fan or maybe a fan of various cooking shows, then you will be familiar with the deconstructed style of cooking. Essentially, it’s taking something familiar, like a chicken stir fry, and changing it’s form but not the overall nature of the dish. It is culinary rebellion and breaking free of doing things the way that they have always been done. Sign me up.

So, with my deconstructed chicken stir fry, I am air frying the chicken in an attempt to get it crispy. Steaming the rice with some sesame oil and rice wine vinegar, and stir frying the vegetables in the sauce. So it is literally deconstructing your chicken stir fry. It’s still quick, delicious, healthy, and budget friendly, but it just looks a little different. Check out my recipe below and let me know your thoughts.

Serves 4

Suggested Wine Pairing:

Because my deconstructed chicken stir fry is umami rich and vegetable forward, I think a Sauvignon blanc pairs well.

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

4 chicken breasts, pounded relatively thin

1 cup cornstarch

1 tablespoon of white pepper

For the rice:

1.5 cups of rice

3 cups of water

1 teaspoon of sesame oil and rice wine vinegar

For the vegetables:

8 ounces of baby corn, chopped. Canned baby corn works too

1 red bell pepper, chopped

8 ounces of snap peas, chopped

2 carrots, sliced on the bias

8 ounces of mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 chili, minced

For the sauce:

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 red chili, minced

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon Hoisin sauce

2 tablespoons of cornstarch

1/2 cup chicken stock

For the pretty:

Sesame seeds and scallions chopped on the bias

Instructions:

1. Start by pre-heating your air fryer (or oven) to 400F. Combine cornstarch and white pepper together and dredge the chicken breast in the mixture one by one. Shake off the excess and add to the air fryer. Mine uses a small baking sheet, so I oiled that surface and misted oil over the top of the chicken. Cook for 10 minutes at 400 and then flip the chicken and cook for 10 more minutes.
2. Meanwhile, start the rice by bringing the water, sesame oil, and rice vinegar to a boil. Add the rice and reduce the heat to low. Allow the rice to steam for about 20 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed.
3. Make the sauce by adding all ingredients and stirring to combine. Set it aside, but stirring occasionally so that the cornstarch doesn’t settle on the bottom.
4. In a frying pan or wok, heat vegetable oil over medium high heat. Add the vegetables and sauté for about 5 minutes or until they are just beginning to soften. You want the vegetables to have a little crunch when finished.
5. To the vegetables add about half of the sauce and allow it to thicken. Remove the vegetables from the pan and heat up the rest of the sauce until just thickened and bubbling and remove from the heat.
6. To plate, add one chicken breast per plate and a generous portion of vegetables and rice. Top the chicken and rice with a bit of sauce and sprinkle sesame seeds and scallions of the plate for this beautiful and elegant deconstructed chicken stir fry.

If you like this, be sure to check out my cashew chicken with rainbow vegetables or my spicy pepper chicken stir fry.