Sesame Chicken Stirfry

My 3 daughters love to cook and help out in the kitchen often.  Once a week our eldest cooks dinner and the following night our younger two do, sometimes with a little bit of help depending on the meal.  This meal was cooked by all three!  There were some tense negotiations about who was in charge of which task but they all eventually managed to agree and co-operate to create a delicious dinner for us all.

This is a great recipe for using up vegetables before the weekly shop or ones that have been lurking in the fridge for a while.  We're having a new fridge delivered today (at long last, as old one is knackered!) so needed to use up as many things as possible to empty the old fridge the day before the new one arrives.

You could use pork or turkey instead of chicken, vary the vegetables and serve it with noodles instead of rice.  It is quick to make and very tasty.

All 3 girls took turns preparing the vegetables, 14yo prepared the chicken and cooked the stirfry on the hob. Younger two cooked the rice and served it up.  My husband washed the dishes and I enjoyed a night off. 

Sesame Chicken Stirfry

500g skinless and boneless chicken breasts or thighs cut into thin strips
2 Tblsp cornflour
1 Tblsp soy sauce, we use a low salt version
2 Tblsp sesame oil
2 tsp honey
1 Tblsp oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 peppers, diced (any colour will do)
300g courgettes, sliced thinly or diced
200g mangetout
1 or 2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
125ml water
Noodles or rice to serve

Put the chicken in a non-metallic bowl.  Mix the cornflour, soy sauce, sesame oil and honey together.  Pour over the chicken and toss to coat, leave to marinate whilst you prepare the vegetables.

Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan over a moderate heat.  Stir fry the onion and peppers for 3 - 4 minutes until starting to soften.  Add the courgettes, mangetout, ginger and garlic.  Cook for a further 5 minutes or so, stirring frequently, until courgettes and mangetout soften.

Add the chicken and marinade to the pan and cook for a few minutes then add the water and simmer for a few minutes more until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened.  Serve with rice or noodles.

I'm linking this recipe up with No Waste Food Challenge as we used up the remaining vegetables in our old fridge before it was taken away and made sure nothing was wasted before our next weekly shop was delivered.  The challenge was created by Elizabeth and is being hosted this month by Laura.

I am also joining in with Extra Veg, a monthly blog challenge devised by Helen and I and hosted this month by Sarah.  Extra Veg encourages us all to add extra vegetables to our meals.