Tender Chicken and Green Bean Stir Fry

This Chicken and Green Bean Stir Fry recipe is a delicious quick meal that can be made any day of the week—tender pieces of chicken and green beans covered in an amazing garlic and ginger-based sauce.

 

The full recipe with ingredients/instructions is available on the recipe card at the bottom of the post. Important tips/tricks are also included in the blog post.

I recently purchased a Cast Iron wok, and I’ve been going crazy making stir-fry food lately. I love Asian food, especially stir-fried food. My healthy chicken and green beans recipe is inspired by the famous Panda Express String Bean Chicken Breast.

In order to get the tenderest pieces of chicken in this recipe, I do a process called velveting the chicken. This easy yet simple trick gets the smoothest and velvety chicken you will ever taste. Ever wonder how your favorite Chinese takeout does it? They velvet it. 

Looking for other quick weeknight stir fry meals? Try out my Zucchini Mushroom Chicken, Healthier General Tso's Chicken (Air Fryer Recipe) or Mongolian Beef recipes.

Ingredients

Here's what you will need to make the best Chicken and Green Bean Stir Fry you've ever tasted:

• Oil - I've used vegetable oil to fry the chicken, but any light flavored oil like sunflower oil or avocado oil would work well too. I also use sesame oil later in the cook to flavor the sauce.
• Chicken - Thinly sliced chicken breast meat.
• Baking soda - helps to tenderize and velvet the chicken meat.
• Green beans - washed and trimmed.
• Onion - I used a white onion but a red onion would work too.
• Aromatics - I use both minced garlic and grated ginger in the stir fry.
• Soy sauce - I use both low sodium soy sauce and dark soy sauce in the stir fry sauce.
• Vinegar - I use rice vinegar in the stir fry sauce, sherry vinegar would be a good substitute.
• Seasoning - white sugar to balance sweetness in stir fry and salt and black pepper to taste.

Tools Needed

• Large Wok or Skillet
• Mixing Bowls (for prepping ingredients)
• Tongs or Spatula (for stirring and tossing)
• Sharp Knife (for slicing chicken and prepping vegetables)
• Cutting Board
• Measuring Spoons and Cups

How to Make Chicken and Green Bean Stir Fry

First, I prepare my chicken breasts by velveting them. You can totally skip this step if you are short on time or if you don’t care much about smooth velvet chicken. 

Slice your chicken breasts into thin strips and place them in a bowl. Cover them with baking soda and toss until they are all coated. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, mise en place your ingredients by getting everything sliced, diced, and mixed. Stir fries need to be cooked quickly so you need to have everything already chopped out and prepped. 

Chop your onion, mince your garlic, grate your ginger, and snap/trim your green beans. I place mine into little glass bowls. 

Then I mix my sauce by combining soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and white sugar.

After my 30 min time of the chicken being in the fridge is up, I remove the chicken and rinse it under cold water in order to remove all the baking soda. Then I dry the chicken pieces with good quality paper towels. 

Gather all your ingredients and get ready to cook.

Prepare your wok by turning it on over medium-high heat.

TOP TIP: If using cast iron, I will only go up to medium-high as it gets super hot. If using stainless steel, I'm ok with increasing the heat a little more.

Once the wok is hot, add oil and allow it to heat up a bit, about 30 seconds. Then add chicken and let that cook until all pieces are done, for about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 

Remove chicken and place in a clean bowl. Add onions, garlic, and ginger and cook for about 3 minutes or until onions have softened.

Add green beans, with a pinch of salt and a pinch of black pepper, and cook for about 7-8 minutes until they are slightly tender. 

Then add chicken back to the wok or pan along with the sauce. Stir to combine and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes in the sauce. 

Remove and serve. 

Tanya's top tips

These tips will help you make the best chicken and green bean stir fry you've ever tasted:

• Prepare all your ingredients before you start cooking as stir frying is a quick cooking technique and you need to have everything ready at hand.
• Velveting the chicken is an added step, but it is worth the extra time and results in lovely tender pieces of chicken.
• Make sure you wash off the baking soda before stir frying the chicken, or it will affect the taste.
• Dry the chicken thoroughly before stir frying to ensure it fries rather than steams.
• Don't be tempted to fry the chicken in sesame oil, this is only used to flavor the sauce as sesame oil has a very low burn temperature compared to vegetable oil.

Variations

• I've used chicken breast, but you could swap the chicken breast for thin strips of skinless, boneless chicken thighs.
• Thin slices of pork tenderloin would be a great alternative to chicken.
• Feel free to add in extra vegetables, like bell peppers, mushrooms, baby corn, green onions, or sugar snap peas.
• If you like chili heat, add some freshly sliced red chilies, or a pinch of red pepper flakes to the stir fry.

Serving suggestion

This recipe goes great with a side of steamed white or brown rice, or with some stir fried noodles. Why not try it with this Pressure Cooker Brown Rice.

I hope you enjoy this green bean chicken recipe as much as we do. 

How to store Chicken & Green Bean Stir Fry

Meal prep - This recipe is perfect for a weeknight meal as well as meal prep. I like to store them in my containers along with brown rice (see image below).

Refrigerator - Leftovers or meal prep portions, can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Freezer - Once cooked and cooled, portion the stir fry into individual airtight containers (see meal prep containers below). The place in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost thoroughly before heating up in the microwave.

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Watch this video tutorial and see how I make this Easy Chicken and Green Bean Stir Fry from start to finish. 

FAQs

If you have tried making my Chicken and Green Bean Stir Fry recipe, or any other recipe on my blog, then please rate it and let me know how it turned out in the comments below!

This post was originally published July 16, 2019. It has been updated with new information and photos.