Stir fries are quick, delicious and healthy, often a staple meal in many people’s midweek dinner plans. They’re a great way to use up any vegetables in the fridge, often using noodles as the base, but they are very versatile.
Mary’s panang chicken stir fry is a failsafe weeknight dinner. It uses rice as the base and lots of veggies. The recipe notes on BBC Food said: “Mary Berry’s super easy chicken stir fry is a quick dinner solution for busy days and contains a good hit of protein.” It serves four to six people, is cooked in under 20 minutes and is dairy-free, egg-free and nut-free, perfect for the whole family.
Ingredients:
225g long-grain rice
Two tablespoons of olive oil
Two chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
One tablespoon of runny honey
One onion, finely chopped
One courgette, finely chopped
One red pepper, finely chopped
Two celery sticks, finely chopped
2cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
Two garlic cloves, crushed
One tablespoon of medium curry powder
Three tablespoons of soy sauce
One tablespoon of sweet chilli sauce
Half a lime, juice only
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Four lime wedges, to serve
Method:
Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and cook the rice according to the packet instructions. It will take 10 to 12 minutes. Drain well, rinse, and set aside to cool completely.
For the best results, Mary recommends cooking and cooling the rice before frying so it won’t stick together. The rice can be cooked up to six hours ahead and stored in the fridge.
Heat the oil in a frying pan. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add it to the pan. Drizzle with the honey and fry quickly over high heat for a few minutes until golden and just cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add the onion, courgette, red pepper and celery to the pan. Fry for four to five minutes, stirring and then add the ginger, garlic and curry powder. Fry for one minute before adding the cooled rice, soy sauce, chilli sauce and lime juice.
Toss and season with a little salt and pepper if needed before returning the chicken to the pan. Spoon into hot bowls and serve with the lime wedges.
