Why This Summer Stir Fry is a Must-Try

Life gets busy, but delicious, nutritious meals shouldn’t be a casualty. This chicken and vegetable stir fry is designed for efficiency without compromising on taste or health. In fact, the most time-consuming part of this recipe might just be the joyful process of chopping up all those fresh, vibrant vegetables!

Imagine this: you start your pot of rice, and by the time it’s perfectly cooked, a steaming, aromatic stir fry is ready to be plated. It’s a simple recipe that truly delivers – a fantastic way to encourage everyone, even the pickiest eaters, to enjoy their vegetables.

The Bounty of Fresh, Local Produce

You might assume, given the abundance of zucchini recipes I share, that my backyard boasts a sprawling garden overflowing with summer squash. Interestingly, it’s been at least five years since we planted zucchini ourselves. When we moved to our current home, we downsized our garden space, opting for more vertically growing plants and significantly reducing the number of plants we tend. Zucchini, while delicious and rewarding, does demand quite a bit of space!

However, luck has been on my side this year! As I’ve mentioned, my brother has truly outdone himself with a colossal garden, and even better, he lives just across the street. This convenient proximity means a constant supply of extra homegrown produce, like squash, broccoli, and carrots, regularly finds its way to our kitchen. Armed with such fresh, seasonal ingredients, a vibrant stir fry seemed like the perfect way to celebrate nature’s bounty.

Of course, if you don’t have a generous neighbor with a garden, fear not! Your local farmer’s market is an excellent resource for an array of seasonal vegetables. There’s a unique joy and added flavor that comes from knowing your food is fresh, local, and picked at its peak.

Customizing Your Perfect Stir Fry

One of the most delightful aspects of stir-fries is their incredible versatility. This recipe is a fantastic template, but it’s truly your canvas for culinary creativity. Feel free to adapt it to your taste preferences, what you have on hand, or what’s in season!

• Protein Power: While chicken breast is a fantastic lean choice, you can easily substitute it with other proteins. Thinly sliced beef, pork, shrimp, or even firm tofu or tempeh make excellent alternatives. For a completely vegetarian meal, simply boost the quantity of vegetables.
• Vegetable Medley: Don’t like mushrooms? Leave them out! Want to add bell peppers, snap peas, green beans, or even corn? Go for it! This recipe specifically calls for zucchini, pattypan squash (or yellow summer squash), carrots, and broccoli, which create a beautiful mix of textures and flavors. Experiment with what’s fresh and available.
• Spice It Up (or Keep it Mild): Our household prefers a milder stir fry, especially to keep our “little dude” happy – his palate is still quite sensitive to heat! My husband and I often add a dash of sriracha to our individual servings when we’re craving some extra kick. You can infuse heat directly into the sauce by adding a pinch of red pepper flakes or a teaspoon of chili oil. This allows for personalized spice levels at the table.

Summer Vegetable and Chicken Stir Fry Recipe

Rating: 4.88 from 8 ratings

Summer vegetables and chicken are quickly cooked until tender-crisp and then coated in a delicious stir fry sauce. Dinner is ready by the time the rice is done cooking!

Author: Carlee

Servings: 4 Servings

Ingredients

Sauce

• ⅓ cup soy sauce
• ¼ cup water or chicken stock
• 3 Tablespoons light brown sugar
• 3 teaspoons cornstarch
• 5 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• Optional: pinch of red pepper flakes

Meat and Veggies

• 2 Tablespoons cooking oil
• 2 small zucchini
• 2 pattypan squash or yellow summer squash
• 4 carrots
• 1 small head broccoli
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast

Instructions

1. In a small saucepan, whisk together all the sauce ingredients: soy sauce, water or chicken stock, light brown sugar, cornstarch, finely diced garlic, ground ginger, sesame oil, and optional red pepper flakes.
2. Cook the sauce over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until it thickens to a honey-like consistency. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Chop all your vegetables (zucchini, pattypan/yellow summer squash, carrots, and broccoli) into large, bite-sized pieces. Ensure uniform size for even cooking.
4. Cube the boneless, skinless chicken breast into pieces just shy of one inch.
5. Heat the cooking oil in a wok or large pan over medium to medium-high heat until shimmering.
6. Add the cubed chicken to the hot pan, stirring every so often until it’s browned on all sides and mostly cooked through.
7. Introduce the carrots to the pan and continue to stir-fry for an additional 2-3 minutes, allowing them to soften slightly.
8. Add the broccoli and squash to the pan. Continue to cook and stir until all the vegetables reach your desired tenderness – tender-crisp is ideal for stir-fries – and the chicken is fully cooked.
9. Pour the prepared sauce over the chicken and vegetables. It might not seem like a lot at first, but the vegetables will release some liquid, helping the sauce to coat everything beautifully. Cook and stir until all ingredients are evenly coated and heated through.
10. Serve immediately over a bed of fluffy rice for a complete and satisfying meal.

Tips for a Perfect Stir Fry Every Time

• Mise en Place is Key: “Mise en place” (everything in its place) is crucial for stir-frying. Have all your ingredients chopped, measured, and ready to go before you even turn on the heat, as the cooking process is very quick.
• Don’t Overcrowd the Pan: Cooking in batches ensures that your ingredients brown nicely instead of steaming. If your pan is too full, the temperature will drop, leading to soggy vegetables and less flavorful chicken.
• High Heat is Your Friend: Stir-frying thrives on high heat. This creates that desirable tender-crisp texture in vegetables and a beautiful sear on the protein.
• Uniform Cuts: Cut your chicken and vegetables into similar-sized pieces to ensure they cook evenly and at roughly the same rate.
• Adjust for Texture: Add harder vegetables (like carrots) first, then medium (like broccoli), and finally softer ones (like squash/zucchini) so everything finishes cooking around the same time.

Nutritional Information (Estimate)

Serving: 1 Serving | Calories: 428kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 43g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 98mg | Sodium: 1375mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 17g

“Cooking With Carlee” is not a dietitian or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

More Quick & Flavorful Recipes You’ll Love

If you enjoyed the simplicity and deliciousness of this Summer Chicken Stir Fry, you’ll definitely want to explore these other fantastic recipes:

• My venison stir fry recipe offers another quick and unique protein option for a flavorful meal.
• For another Asian-inspired dish, try this irresistible Char Siu Chicken – it’s packed with savory-sweet goodness.
• Or, for a different veggie-rich, easy-to-clean-up dinner, give sheet pan Italian sausage and summer vegetables a try.

Did you try this recipe?

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