Seared chicken breast with broccoli, carrots, and baby corn in a savory, broth-based garlic-ginger pan sauce, sharpened with rice vinegar and chili garlic sauce. Thinner and brothier than a honey glaze — cooked hot and fast, finished glossy. A weeknight stir-fry that holds its own.
SpicyGluten-FreeDairy-FreeHigh ProteinQuick Meal
Best for: a fast weeknight dinner. Serves about 4. Have everything cut and the sauce mixed before the pan gets hot — this one moves quickly.
Hunan-Style Chicken Stir-Fry — Recipe
Prep
15 min
Cook
15 min
Total
~30 min
Serves
4
Equipment
Cast-iron skillet or wok
Ingredients
Chicken
2 lb chicken breast, pounded to even thickness
Olive oil, for coating and searing — amount TK
Tamari, for the chicken coating — amount TK; clarify if pulled from the sauce or a separate marinade
Vegetables
Broccoli florets — amount TK
Carrots, sliced — amount TK
Baby corn — amount TK
Sauce
1¼ cups low-sodium chicken broth
4 tbsp gluten-free tamari (or GF soy sauce)
2 tbsp gluten-free oyster sauce
1½ tbsp rice vinegar
2–3 tsp chili garlic sauce
1½ tsp honey
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1½ tsp fresh ginger, minced
Slurry
1½ tbsp cornstarch mixed with 3 tbsp cold water
Instructions
Pound the chicken to even thickness and coat with olive oil and tamari.
Heat a cast-iron skillet over high heat until very hot. Add olive oil.
Sear the chicken until just cooked through. Remove and let rest.
Stir-fry the carrots first, then add the broccoli and baby corn. Cook until tender-crisp.
Add the garlic and ginger; cook until fragrant.
Slice the rested chicken thin and return it to the pan.
Mix all sauce ingredients except the cornstarch slurry.
Pour the sauce in. When it simmers, add the cornstarch slurry and toss. Cook 30–60 seconds until thickened and glossy.
Stir and pour around the edge of the pan to coat everything evenly.
Notes from experience
Pouring sauce around the edge of a hot pan lets it heat and thicken on contact instead of cooling the center. Get the skillet genuinely hot before the chicken goes in — a proper sear is the difference between this and a steamed, gray stir-fry.
Storage & reheating
Refrigerate up to 3–4 days. Reheat quickly in a hot pan rather than the microwave to keep the vegetables from going soft. Add a splash of broth if the sauce has tightened.
Dietary note
Built gluten-free with GF tamari and GF oyster sauce. Confirm your chicken broth and chili garlic sauce are also certified gluten-free. Oyster sauce keeps this from being vegetarian.
