Name: Quick Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 4 tablespoons soy sauce (divided); 2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil (divided); 1 tablespoon cornstarch; 1 tablespoon Sugar; 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar; 8 ounces vermicelli, linguini or spaghetti; Salt, for the pasta water; 2 large boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 1/4 lbs total), thinly sliced (1/4-inch); 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; 1 carrot, cut into matchsticks; 1⁄2 pound snow peas, stringed and thinly sliced, lengthwise; 6 scallions, thinly sliced, crosswise; 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root; 1⁄2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

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This easy Chinese chicken and vegetable stir fry has everything you want for dinner in one skillet (or wok). A weeknight dinner favorite with chicken, veggies and noodles all tossed with a flavor-packed sesame soy ginger sauce.

I adapted this dish from a recipe called 7 Flavor Precious Chicken which I discovered many years ago at the checkout counter of my grocery store.

It was in a little recipe booklet published by Kikkoman that I browsed through as I waited for my turn to check out. There were lots of tasty looking, easy looking recipes in there, all calling for Kikkoman products (of course).

I bought the booklet and I cooked a bunch of the recipes. This chicken and vegetable stir fry with noodles became an instant favorite. It's ridiculously easy, packed with flavor, and a huge hit with my whole family. It quickly earned a place in our weeknight dinner rotation.

How to make Chinese Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry (7 Flavor Precious Chicken)

The main ingredients in this dish are chicken, noodles, snow peas, and carrots. The 7 flavors are: soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, sugar, scallions, ginger, red pepper flakes.

Marinate the Chicken: Slice the boneless chicken breasts thinly and toss with the 3-ingredient marinade of soy sauce, sesame oil and corn starch. Set aside and let the chicken marinate for ten minutes.
Make the Sauce: While the chicken marinates, whisk soy sauce, sesame oil, white vinegar and sugar in a small bowl.
Slice and dice the veggies: I like to cut the carrots and snow peas into thin, long pieces but feel free chop them, if that's easier. Slice the scallions thinly, crosswise. Finely chop or grate the ginger root
Cook the pasta in salted boiling water.
Stir Fry: While the pasta is boiling, heat up the oil in a large skillet or wok. Stir-fry the chicken for about 3 minutes and transfer it to a plate. Add carrots and snow peas to the pan and stir-fry them for a minute or so. Add scallions, ginger and red pepper. Stir-fry for one more minute. Return the chicken to the pan and pour in the sauce.
Finish: When the pasta is ready, drain it and put it in a large bowl. Heat the chicken and vegetables mixture, pour it over the pasta, toss and serve.

Sliced and chopped carrots, snow peas, scallions and ginger, for 7 Flavor Precious Chicken

Have you ever noticed how the names of dishes on Chinese restaurant menus often evoke scenes or emotions, rather than describing what's in them?

In contrast American restaurants are often extremely literal in describing the dishes on their menu. American restaurant menus often include details like the name of the farm that the meat or vegetables were sourced from, plus every ingredient in the sauce, accompaniments and even the garnish.

I'm not knocking the American way. I like knowing all those things. But I'm also charmed by Chinese dish titles that tell a little story or set a little scene, like "Ants Climbing a Tree," bits of ground beef or pork clinging to bean thread noodles, or "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall," a shark fin soup that is said to be so delicious that it can entice monks to give up their vow of vegetarianism or "Lion's Head Meatballs," over-sized meatballs (the lion's head) cooked with long shreds of cabbage (the mane).

I love the name "7 Flavor Precious Chicken." It evokes the sense of a very special chicken dish with lots of exciting flavors. And this dish is all that.

Other easy recipes for delicious Chinese dishes

Chinese Orange Chicken
Moo Shu Pork Lettuce Wraps
Authentic Chinese Ham and Egg Fried Rice
Chinese Fun Noodles with Beef.

Here's the recipe for this Quick Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry with Noodles (7 Flavor Precious Chicken). If you try this recipe I hope you'll come back to leave a rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think!