Asian vegetables with chicken from the wok

Asian vegetables with chicken is a simple wok dish that almost always works. All you need is a little chopping work, a hot wok or a large pan and you have an aromatic meal on the table.

This recipe is suitable for after work, but also for lunch in the home office. You can simply reheat the leftovers briefly the next day. This recipe is also very suitable for meal prep. Vegetables and rice can be prepared a few days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. You can easily heat it up in the microwave. This means the food is also suitable to take away.

Recipe: Asian vegetables with chicken

This recipe is intended for about 3 to 4 servings. However, you can easily adjust the quantities if you want more people to eat with you.

Ingredients

For the Asian vegetables with chicken you need:

• 400 g chicken breast fillet
• 1 small broccoli (or 200 g Bimi broccoli)
• 1 red pepper
• 2 carrots
• 1 red onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 piece of ginger (approx. 2 cm)
• 1 small red chili (or to taste)
• 3 leaves lemon-lime leaves (lime leaves)
• 2 handfuls of cashews (roasted, unsalted)
• 3-4 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1-2 tsp grated palm sugar
• 2–3 tbsp neutral oil (e.g. rapeseed or peanut oil)
• 1 tsp sesame oil (optional)
• Fresh coriander for sprinkling
• Boiled rice as a side dish

The list of ingredients may seem long at first, but it is easy to understand. You’ll have a lot of these around the house more often after the first time anyway.

Step-by-step instructions

In these instructions the steps are deliberately kept clear and simple. This means you can cook in a relaxed manner, even if there is something else going on at the same time.

• Prepare chicken
  Cut the chicken breast into thin strips. Wash and pat the meat dry so that it browns well later. Mix 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, add the chicken and stir well. Let the meat sit briefly while you prepare the vegetables.
• Cutting vegetables
  Divide the broccoli into small florets. Remove the thick stem and set it aside. You can use it later. Peel the carrots and cut them into thin slices. Cut the peppers into cubes and the red onion into fine strips. Chop the garlic and chilli into small pieces. Remove the seeds from the chili if desired. Cut the ginger and lime leaves into fine strips.
• Mix the sauce
  In a small bowl, stir the remaining soy sauce with the lime juice and palm sugar until smooth. Add 3-4 tablespoons of water and stir until the sugar is well dissolved. The sauce should taste salty, slightly sweet and slightly sour.

Preparation is so easy

• Fry chicken
  Heat 1-2 tablespoons oil in a wok or large skillet. Place the chicken in the hot oil and fry it over high heat until it begins to color all over. Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside briefly.
• Fry vegetables
  If necessary, add a little more oil to the wok. First add the onion, garlic, ginger and chili to the pan. Fry everything briefly until it smells fragrant. Then add carrots and broccoli and stir for a few minutes. Finally, add the peppers and let the vegetables continue to fry until they are cooked but still crunchy.
• Add sauce
  Stir the prepared sauce briefly and pour it over the vegetables. Bring everything to the boil so that the sauce thickens slightly and coats the vegetables. If you like, add the sesame oil.
• Serve
  Divide the hot rice between plates. Add the Asian vegetables and chicken. Sprinkle everything with the cashews and fresh coriander. Serve the dish straight away while the vegetables are still firm to the bite.

Tips, variations and kitchen hacks

Asian vegetables are very flexible. You can change a lot without the dish losing its character.

For more vegetables in the wok, you can add sugar snap peas, pak choi or bean sprouts. If you don’t like cilantro, use flat-leaf parsley instead. For a vegetarian version, replace the chicken with tofu. For children, you can leave out the chili and add a little more sugar to the sauce. Leftovers can easily be reheated the next day.

Is broccoli really an Asian vegetable?

Broccoli is often used in Asian dishes, for example in stir-fries or curries. However, it does not originally come from Asia, but rather from the Mediterranean region. In modern cuisine, many people still consider it a natural Asian vegetable.

List of alternative ingredients

Don’t have all the ingredients in the house? No problem. Asian vegetables thrive on the mix, not on a fixed list. Possible alternatives are, for example:

• Pak Choi instead of broccoli
• Chinese cabbage or pointed cabbage instead of peppers
• Sugar snap peas or snow peas instead of carrots
• Mung bean or bean sprouts as a supplement
• Spring onions instead of red onions
• Tofu, shrimp or beef instead of chicken

Where can I buy Asian vegetables?

You can get Asian vegetables in many supermarkets these days. There is often a separate Asian corner, fresh herbs, ginger and various sprouts. You can also find Asian vegetable mixes in the frozen section that are ideal for quick wok dishes.

It’s also worth taking a look at Asian supermarkets. There you can get a larger selection of fresh varieties and special vegetables that you don’t always find in normal supermarkets.

Popular Asian vegetables in German supermarkets

A similar selection of Asian vegetables appears again and again in many markets. This makes it easy for you to plan what you want to use in your recipe.

Pak choy, Chinese cabbage, bean and mung bean sprouts, baby corn, fresh ginger and coriander are particularly popular. Thai basil is also often found in the herb section. All of these ingredients go wonderfully in wok dishes, soups or curries.

Organic Asian vegetables in Germany

If organic quality is important to you, you can also find Asian vegetables in organic supermarkets and on the organic shelves of large chains. There you can often find pak choi, Chinese cabbage, sprouts and Asian vegetable mixes in organic quality. Frozen organic Asian mixes are also practical if you want to cook spontaneously.

Asian vegetables for wok dishes

Varieties that cook quickly and still retain their bite are particularly suitable for the wok. This is exactly what makes Asian vegetables so attractive for quick dishes.

For example, bok choy, snow peas, Chinese cabbage, sprouts, baby corn and Asian eggplant are well suited. They absorb sauces well, but still remain crunchy and add structure to your dish.

Conclusion on the recipe for Asian vegetables with chicken

This recipe is so easy to prepare and tastes so good. Try it out and share your experiences. They help other readers a lot.

Did you cook the Asian vegetables with chicken mildly or spicy? What types of vegetables did you use and what did you particularly like about them? Did you prepare the recipe traditionally with chicken or tried a vegetarian version? Feel free to write your tips, ideas and adjustments in the comments and share your photo if you like. I look forward to all letters. Bon appetit!

Print