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Original video by @applesauceandadhd — all credit to the creator.

Jessica Secrest

String Bean Chicken Stir-Fry

Tender strips of cornstarch-coated chicken and green beans tossed in a glossy, garlicky soy-ginger sauce. It comes together fast in one big skillet and beats takeout.

Chinese-Americanstir-frychickengreen beansquick dinnertakeout copycat

Ingredients

  • —avocado oil
  • 3chicken breasts · thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespooncornstarch · for coating the chicken
  • —green beans · trimmed, sliced, and washed

For the sauce

  • —hoisin sauce
  • —reduced-sodium soy sauce
  • —ginger paste · a squirt
  • —dark soy sauce · optional, for color and depth
  • —oyster sauce · use sparingly; it's potent
  • —chicken broth
  • —garlic · a lot
  • —toasted sesame oil
  • —brown sugar · for sweetness
  • 2 tablespoonscornstarch

Steps

  1. 1

    Thinly slice the chicken breasts and coat them in 1 tablespoon of cornstarch.

  2. 2

    Heat avocado oil in a large skillet until hot and shimmering.

  3. 3

    Carefully add the chicken and move it around the pan so the pieces break apart and don't clump.

  4. 4

    When the chicken is nearly cooked, add the green beans.

  5. 5

    Make the sauce by stirring together the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, ginger paste, dark soy sauce (if using), oyster sauce, chicken broth, garlic, toasted sesame oil, brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.

  6. 6

    Pour the sauce into the skillet and stir so everything cooks in the sauce as it thickens.

  7. 7

    The sauce is thick enough when you can drag a spoon across the bottom of the pan and it takes a second for the sauce to close back up. Make sure the chicken is fully cooked through.

  8. 8

    Turn off the heat. For softer green beans, let them sit in the hot sauce for a few minutes before serving.

Creator's notes

Use reduced-sodium soy sauce. You can skip the dark soy sauce if you don't have it, but the dish won't be quite as good. Go easy on the oyster sauce because it's potent. Jessica lets the green beans soften in the sauce off the heat because her husband likes them limp, not crunchy.

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