Tender bites of chicken, salty bacon, and crisp bell peppers are tossed in a fantastic sweet and spicy sauce to make our all-time favorite Chicken Stir-Fry.
Just a little bit of bacon adds a huge amount of flavor to this meal. It takes almost no extra work and the unexpected salty bites are irresistible.
For several years now, this spicy Chicken Stir Fry has been Sean’s go-to dinner to make when he’s in charge of cooking. Sean was actually the first one to make this recipe when I found it in an issue of Everyday Food.
When Sean offered to make dinner one night several years ago, I handed him the magazine recipe.
“Best Chinese food you’ve ever made” was my kids’ verdict the first time we made this recipe.
We’ve made the recipe countless times since then, adapting it slightly and making changes here and there to make it even better. Every single time, we all clear our plates and even go back for seconds.
I think the reason why this has been a favorite from day one is the BACON. There are few recipes that aren’t made even better by adding a bit of bacon to them.
The spicy sauce in this recipe is a simple mix of soy sauce, brown sugar, fresh ginger and chili paste.
The sauce from this recipe alone would be delicious on just about any time of stir-fried meat and vegetables. It only takes a couple more minutes than using a store bought sauce and delivers TONS more flavor.
This is a very simple stir fry with outstanding results. It has been making regular appearances on our dinner menu ever since and when I made this stir-fry again last week, I decided it was way past time to update the photos.
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How To Stir Fry
- The key to stress-free stir-fry recipes is prepping everything in advance. Make sure that every ingredient is lined up next to the stove before you turn on the heat.
- The bulk of the prep time for this recipe is spent slicing and dicing the meat and vegetables, give yourself about 20 minutes for prep time. Once everything is assembled and ready to cook, the actual cooking time is just a few minutes.
- Cut similar ingredients the same size to help things cook evenly.
- Start with a wok or a large deep skillet to stir-fry. I’ve tried classic woks, countless skillets, and frying pans over the years. I now use this everyday pan to stir-fry and I absolutely love it.
- I typically use tongs or a fish spatula for stir-frying. You can use any sturdy wooden or metal spatula, but fish spatulas really are the ultimate turner, stirrer, stir-fry tool.
MEAL PREP TIP: Chop all the veggies and meat in the morning or the day ahead. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge so that, come dinner time, all you have to do is pull everything out of the refrigerator. A little planning will make this homemade meal even faster than take out or a frozen dinner!
Spicy Chicken Recipes
Those of you who’ve been reading for a while have probably gathered that my family loves a little (or a lot) of heat in our food. The spice in this chicken comes from a spoonful of Asian chili paste and a nice dose of fresh ginger.
If you aren’t a fan of spicy heat in your foods, feel free to reduce the amount of chili paste in this recipe. However, if you DO like some heat on your plate, check out these other spicy chicken recipes.
A batch of Spicy Honey Brushed Chicken is great on salads, or over rice. It’s also terrific on sandwiches.
These Spicy Chicken Patties by Family Food On The Table are going to make amazing sliders soon and Spicy Chicken Rigatoni is going on my meal plan too.
The Spicy Chicken Tamale Pie is a great combination of Southwestern flavors with green chile, red chile, and chipotle peppers in the mix.
Chicken Stir-Fry Recipes
Stir-Fry is a mainstay in my meal planning rotation. Stir-fry recipes make it so easy to cook a well-rounded meal with lots of vegetables and meat that everyone enjoys.I have enough Chicken Stir-Frys in my arsenal that we never grow bored of eating the same stir-fry over and over.
If you like the ginger flavor in Chicken and Bacon Stir-Fry, give this Ginger Chicken and Broccoli Stir-Fry a try soon. We also love Orange Chicken Stir-Fry that mimics a popular take-out favorite but has more flavor than most restaurant versions I’ve had.
Tender chicken pieces are sautéed to perfection, along with crisp broccoli florets, in this Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry.
Tender chicken in a sweet and sour sauce is combined with fresh chunks of pineapple to make this delicious stir-fry dinner.
For a stir-fry dish that features noodles as the starch instead of rice, check out Stir Fry Noodles with Chicken and Vegetables. Rice noodles, vegetables, chicken and an incredible sauce come together in a pan to satisfy even your most intense late night craving for Chinese food!
Chicken Stir Fry Recipe
- In a large bowl, whisk together the arrowroot and the egg white. Toss the chicken pieces in this mixture and set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, brown sugar and chili paste and set aside.
- Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the bacon pieces and cook, stirring frequently, until they are crisp and browned approximately 7 minutes.
- Drain all but 1-2 tablespoons of bacon grease and add the chicken and the ginger to the pan. Cook over high heat until browned, approximately 3-4 minutes.
- Add the bell peppers and green onions and stir to combine. Cook over high heat, stirring until crisp-tender, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the soy sauce mixture and stir to combine.
- Cook about 2 minutes, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the meat and vegetables.
Spicy Chicken and Bacon Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 large egg white
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot
- 1/2 pound bacon cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1- inch fresh ginger cut into tiny matchsticks
- 2 bell peppers any color, stemmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 bunch of green onions trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon chili paste we use Sambal Oelek
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the arrowroot and the egg white. Toss the chicken pieces in this mixture and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, brown sugar and chili paste and set aside.
- Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the bacon pieces and cook, stirring frequently, until they are crisp and browned, approximately 7 minutes. Drain all but 1-2 tablespoons of bacon grease and add the chicken and the ginger to the pan. Cook over high heat until browned, approximately 3-4 minutes. Add the bell peppers and green onions and stir to combine. Cook over high heat, stirring until crisp tender, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the soy sauce mixture and stir to combine. Cook about 2 minutes, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the meat and vegetables. Enjoy!
Notes
FREEZER MEAL: Let the stir-fry cool completely before
transferring to an airtight container or freezer safe Ziploc bag.
Thaw completely in the refrigerator before reheating in the microwave or on the stove-top.
Nutrition
{originally published 1/6/12 – recipe notes and photos updated 3/19/19}
Sue/the view from great island says
Your household sure eats well. Those peppers are gorgeous! I hope you feel better soon, but it it looks like you're being well taken care of!
The Blonde Duck says
A man who cooks is hard to find! Definite keeper!
Jean | Delightful Repast says
What a guy! He did good! This really looks delicious and like something my husband would like. I just printed it out.
The Slow Roasted Italian says
Looks and sounds mouthwatering delicious!!! Great job Mr. Barefeet. ; )
SixBalloons says
That's a great idea! I love cooking with chicken thighs. This looks delicious. Was it too salty to eat on its own, or did you have it with a side of rice or veg?
Mary says
We skipped the rice and ate this on it's own. It would be delicious with rice as well though. If it had been a dinner instead of a lunch, I might have made some roasted vegetables or a salad to go with it. It was definitely not too salty by itself though.
sweetcarolinescooking.com says
Mmmm yes please! I'll have three helpings. Looks deeelicious.
Pam says
I hope you feel better soon. This recipe has been bookmarked… it looks wonderful!
hobby baker says
Your honey is such a sweetie! Cookies AND dinners, wow. I am trying this out tonight, just gotta thaw the bacon!
My Journey With Candida says
Mary,
I hope you get to feeling much better soon. But maybe you should milk it awhile longer and let Hubs do the cooking so you can rest. He does GREAT!
Marjie says
Do you want to know how my man cooks? With a phone book and credit card. This looks like a nice bit of pampering for you!
sportsglutton says
Looks like a fresh, flavorful and delish stir fry.
Words Of Deliciousness says
Yum, I love the colors in this stir fry.
Chris says
I never had bacon in a stir fry before but I like that idea! It looks like it turned out perfectly.
Hope you are feeling better.
hobby baker says
Just wanted to let you know, hubby loved this!
Mary says
Marjie, you totally cracked me up! That would work for me too.
Kelly, I'm glad he liked it!
Jenn says
I've used bacon in stir fry before and it really does bring a whole other dimension to the meal! This sounds amazing.. can't wait to try it!
Anonymous says
We've made this several times. It is requested at least once a month now. Love it!
Kalyn Denny says
Oh yes, how could this not be good! Thanks for the mention of my stir-fry!
Anonymous says
Would it be OK to leave out the chili paste, or is there something (milder) that can be substituted?
Mary says
You could use a lesser amount of chili paste or leave it out entirely if you don't want any heat at all. However, this stir-fry isn't crazy hot as it is written.