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This simple stir fry is full of flavor but contains just a handful of ingredients. This recipe is based on our favorite take-out chicken stir-fry from a beloved Chinese restaurant. And it takes 30 minutes to pull together, which is a huge bonus. I love making a takeout-inspired meal at home, and for a bigger spread, I’d add vegetable fried rice and some baby bok choy.
It started with a chicken and scallion stir-fry dish that we used to order from a local Chinese restaurant when the kids were little. It was very clear to me that scallions must have been almost free to this restaurant since the ratio of scallion to chicken was about 5 to 1 — slices of chicken buried in heaps of gingery, tender green and white spring onion chunks. But everyone loved it.
I was frankly surprised to see my kids eating so many straight scallions. But since most of the scallions were the green part, it was actually a lot milder than one might think and just plain delicious. My version has a more balanced ratio of chicken to scallions since I am a sport, and not trying to increase my profit margin.
Table of Contents
Stir Fried Chicken With Scallions: Scallions actually play a significant supporting role in this stir-fry, adding flavor, color, and interest.
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Ingredients
- Soy sauce – Flavors the sauce and gives it a deep brown color.
- Dry sherry – Similar to mirin, the sherry adds sweetness and acidity.
- Sugar – Adds a touch of sweetness to balance out the salty flavors.
- Cornstarch – When brought to a boil, the cornstarch thickens the sauce, giving it a beautiful sticky and glossy texture.
- Vegetable or canola oil – Use a neutral oil with a high smoke point for high-temperature cooking like in this recipe.
- Ginger – The ginger is sautéed to bring out its fragrance and flavor.
- Scallions – The oniony taste and tender texture of this vegetable are what make this dish special. Don’t think the amount of scallions in this recipe is a typo! Using big pieces of scallions in a dish might seem surprising, but they are actually one of my family’s favorite vegetables to see in a stir-fry.
- Boneless chicken breasts
- Chicken broth – Forms the sauce and adds extra flavor to the dish.
- Sesame oil – Added at the end of the recipe, which preserves its nutty, potent flavor.
- Sesame seeds – These are optional, but they add a nice crunch and make for a good presentation.
How to Make Scallion Chicken
- Make the sauce: In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, sherry, sugar, and cornstarch.
- Sauté the ginger: Sauté half the ginger in some oil.
- Cook in batches: Add half the scallions and half the chicken to the pan. Sauté for about 3 minutes until the chicken is mostly white on the outside but not cooked through and the scallions have started to soften. Remove to a serving bowl and set aside. Repeat with the remaining oil, ginger, scallions, and chicken. Return the first batch of sautéed chicken to the pan.
- Finish the sauce: Add the soy sauce mixture and stir to coat. Add the chicken broth and sesame oil, bring to a simmer, and allow the sauce to thicken while the chicken finishes cooking.
- Serve: Serve hot, sprinkled with the sesame seeds if desired.
FAQs
Green onions are a great addition to any stir fry. They add onion-y flavor without the bite of regular onions and with a beautiful herbaceous hint. In a green onion-forward dish like this one, I cut the scallions into 1-inch pieces so they have good texture and presence.
In my Simple Stir-Fried Crispy Tofu and Vegetables, I slice the green onions into super thin slivers and cook them into the sauce. In my Stir-Fried Chicken and Rice Noodles, I slice them on the bias and sprinkle them on top of the finished dish for a colorful presentation.
The best way to stir fry without a wok is to use a wide saucepan. Heat the saucepan on high heat and allow it to preheat before adding your ingredients. Remember to cook in batches so all of the ingredients get a chance to become golden and not just steam.
You can use cubed chicken thighs or chicken breasts. The chicken will cook quickly since it’s cut into small pieces, so either work here. Dark meat will take a bit longer than white meat, so add a couple of minutes to the sautéing time.
Pro Cooking Tips
- Use either chicken breasts or thighs. Thighs will need an extra few minutes to cook through.
- If you have a really big industrial-sized wok, you could do this in one batch, but the secret to great stir-fries (and lots of other cooking methods, like frying and sautéing) is not to crowd the pan. Giving the individual pieces of food a chance to come into direct contact with the hot pan on a continuous basis is the difference between nicely browned pieces and a pile of steamed food.
- So, cook it in two batches: the cooking process is super quick, made quicker when the batches of food are small, so it only takes a handful of extra minutes.
Make-Ahead, Leftovers, and Storage
- You can cut up all of the ingredients up to 3 days ahead of time and store them separately in the fridge.
- You can make the sauce up to 4 days ahead of time and keep it in a container in the refrigerator.
- Leftovers will last for 3 days in the fridge. Reheat leftovers in the microwave just until warmed through. You can also reheat them over medium heat in a wok or skillet on the stove.
What to Serve With Stir Fried Chicken and Scallions
Herby Brown Rice
Asian Bok Choy
Simple Stir-Fried Broccoli
More Chicken Stir Fry Recipes
- Chicken Stir Fry with Peanuts
- Asian Stir-Fried Chicken and Rice Noodles
- Chicken and Cabbage Stir-Fry with Miso Sauce
- Chicken and Spinach Stir-Fry with Ginger and Oyster Sauce
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Stir Fried Scallion Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons less sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons dry sherry
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 4 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil (divided)
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 2 bunches scallions (trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces; white and green parts; about 20 scallions)
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1-inch pieces)
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- Toasted sesame seeds (to garnish)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, sherry, sugar, and cornstarch.
- In a large skillet or a wok, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over high heat, and add half the ginger. Stir for 1 minute until you can smell the ginger, then add half the scallions and the chicken and sauté for about 3 minutes until the chicken is mostly white on the outside but still slightly raw inside and the scallions have started to soften. Remove the chicken and scallions from the skillet to a serving bowl and set aside.
- Repeat with the remaining oil, ginger, scallions, and chicken. When the chicken is mostly cooked out the outside, return the first batch of cooked chicken and scallions to the pan, along with any juices that have accumulated, and add the soy sauce mixture. Stir to coat the chicken with the mixture. Add the chicken broth and sesame oil, bring to a simmer, and allow the sauce to thicken while the chicken finishes cooking, about 3 minutes more.
- Serve hot, sprinkled with the sesame seeds if desired.
Notes
- You can cut up all of the ingredients up to 3 days ahead of time and store them separately in the fridge.
- You can make the sauce up to 4 days ahead of time and keep it in a container in the refrigerator.
- Leftovers will last for 3 days in the fridge. Reheat leftovers in the microwave just until warmed through. You can also reheat them over medium heat in a wok or skillet on the stove.
- Use either chicken breasts or thighs. Thighs will need an extra few minutes to cook through.
- If you have a really big industrial-sized wok, you could do this in one batch, but the secret to great stir-fries (and lots of other cooking methods, like frying and sautéing) is to not crowd the pan. Giving the individual pieces of food a chance to come into direct contact with the hot pan on a continuous basis is the difference between nicely browned pieces and a pile of steamed food.
- So, cook it in two batches: the cooking process is super quick, made quicker when the batches of food are small, so it only takes a handful of extra minutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I googled for a recipe that would help me use chicken breasts and green onions. I live in Korea, where local green onions are as long as my finger tips to my elbow, so I always have extra. This recipe was perfect! It was simple and flavorful. The whole family enjoyed it.
Although I only stumbled upon this blog by chance, I will now look for more meals I can prepare.
Delicious and easy – especially with her description On how to properly stir-fry in a wok.
Thanks. My family loved it-including my 2 year old.