20-Minute Chicken & Snap Pea Stir-Fry

It’s been a long week of goodbyes around here.

Several of my closest friends & colleagues got new jobs and moved off to advance their careers. Also, on Friday, it was my last day with our morning show. Starting Monday, I’ll be working a more normal shift—well, as normal as TV news life goes, anyway—and producing our 9 p.m. newscast. It’s a vast difference from working the graveyard shift and on the 5 a.m. newscast.

I’ve been trying to rearrange my sleep schedule to little success. I tried to stay up as late as possible last night, but ended up passing out around 7 p.m. Guess what time I woke up? 2 in the morning. Gulp. This is going to take some getting used to.

I’ve got plans to make some simple dinners for my new work week. One of those is this one: a simple stir-fry that takes one pan and about 20 minutes. I love stir-frys for those two reasons alone. It’s a great dinner to meal prep, and easy to make your own.

Most of my stir frys include chicken and a ton of veggies. I’ve shied away from snap peas because when I was a kid, I loathed them. I’m glad I reintroduced them to my palate, though. These little green veggies are good.

My stir-fry sauce is simple: garlic, ginger, soy sauce and fish sauce. That’s all you really need. If you want to add some heat, stir in some Srirarcha or sambal oelek–or even a teaspoon of red pepper flakes.

If you don’t have a wok, just use the largest skillet you own. You want to be able to fit all of these veggies and chicken in one pot; stir-frys aren’t worth it if you use more than one pan.

Enjoy!

20-Minute Chicken & Snap Pea Stir-Fry

• Servings: 4-5
• Time: 20 mins
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

A simple stir-fry with chicken, snap peas, mushrooms and carrots that takes no time to whip together.

Ingredients

• 1 TBS. sesame oil
• 1 TBS. olive oil
• 1 lb. chicken breast, cut into thin strips
• salt & pepper
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 12 oz. fresh snap peas
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 12 oz. fresh baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 TBS. fish sauce
• Sesame seeds, for topping

Directions

1. Heat sesame oil and olive oil in a large skillet or wok. Season chicken with salt, pepper, and half the ginger. Add chicken to wok and cook until no longer pink, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute.
2. Add snap peas, carrots, and mushrooms and stir-fry until slightly tender, about 3-4 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining ginger, soy sauce and fish sauce. Pour into wok/skillet and continue stir-frying veggies and chicken in sauce for another 5-6 minutes.
3. Serve with sesame seeds on top.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Heat sesame oil and olive oil in a large skillet or wok. Season chicken with salt, pepper, and half the ginger. Add chicken to wok and cook until no longer pink, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Add snap peas, carrots, and mushrooms and stir-fry until slightly tender, about 3-4 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together remaining ginger, soy sauce and fish sauce. Pour into wok/skillet and continue stir-frying veggies and chicken in sauce for another 5-6 minutes. Serve with sesame seeds on top.