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Quick & Easy Chicken, Bacon, and Cabbage Stir-fry

stir-fried chicken, bacon, and cabbage in round white serving dish.
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This Quick & Easy Chicken, Bacon, and Cabbage Stir-Fry is loaded with tender chicken breast pieces, smoky bacon, and an abundance of light and fresh Napa cabbage. It’s ready to go in just 35 minutes, and perfect for busy weeknights with a bowl of steamed white rice!

Ingredients

Scale

CHOPPING

  • 10–14 Garlic cloves – minced
  • 3 TBLS Ginger (about 2″ chunk) – minced
  • 3–16 Fresh Red Chilies, to taste and deseeded depending on your desired heat level – chopped
  • ¼ of a whole large Napa Cabbage head (about 3 cups chopped) – chopped into bite sized pieces, washed, and dried
  • ½ Yellow Onion – thinly sliced
  • 2 Spring Onions (Scallions) – chopped into 1” pieces, whites & greens separated

CHICKEN MARINADE

SAUCE BOWL

OTHER

  • 4 & ½ TBLS Peanut Oil (or any other cooking oil)
  • 1 TSP Chili Oil (optional)
  • 1 TSP Sesame Oil
  • 2 Chicken Breasts (about 400g), boneless, skinless – diced into bite sized cubes
  • 2–6 Thai Dried Red Chilies, more or less to taste and deseeded if desired – Cut into halves and thirds depending on length*
  • 5 slices Bacon – chopped into bite sized strips (I used Oscar Mayer’s Naturally Hardwood Smoked Bacon)
  • 1 TSP Kosher Salt, to taste*
  • ½ TSP coarse ground Black Pepper, to taste*
  • 3 grinds (about 1/8 TSP) Ground White Pepper*
  • 1–2 TSP Crushed Red Chili Pepper flakes, more or less to taste*

Instructions

Prep:

  1. Chopping: Prepare and chop all the “CHOPPING” ingredients and set aside. (Note: Remember to separate the spring onion whites from the greens.)
  2. Chicken Marinade: Mix together the corn starch, low sodium light soy sauce, shao xing rice wine, a splash of sesame oil (about ¼ TSP) in a large bowl. Add the diced chicken and mix to coat them well with the marinade. Set aside to marinate while you prepare the other items.
  3. Sauce Bowl: In a medium bowl, corn starch, white sugar, low sodium light soy sauce, shao xing rice wine, black rice vinegar, and water. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
  4. Prep for the Marinated Chicken: Turn on the stove and set to high heat. Add 2.5 TBLS peanut oil and ½ TSP sesame oil to a wok. Lift and rotate the wok in a circular motion so that the oil spreads around the perimeter, then place it back on the stove to let it heat up. Once heated, add the chicken and spread evenly in the wok. Let the chicken cook and brown for about 1 minute before tossing and flipping the pieces. Once they are about three fourths of the way cooked, remove the chicken pieces to a fine mesh strainer and hold above the wok to let the oil drain. (You can gently shake the strainer to speed up the draining process, but be careful not to shake with too much as it will cause some of the cornstarch to come off and make the chicken a bit mushy.) Transfer the chicken to another clean large bowl and set aside. Discard the oil in the wok and wipe with paper towels. Set back on stove.

For the Chicken, Bacon, and Cabbage Stir-Fry:

  1. Heat 2 TBLS peanut oil, 1 TSP chili oil (if using), and about a ½ teaspoon of sesame oil in your wok over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot – about 30-40 seconds later, add the bacon pieces. Stir-fry them for 2-3 minutes or until brown, but not fully cooked and crispy.
  2. Add the onion and continue stir-frying for 1-2 minutes or until they are translucent and tender.
  3. Add the garlic, ginger, and spring onion whites. Continue stir-frying until fragrant for about 1 minute. [Note: Do mind the garlic as you don’t want it to burn. You can turn down the heat here if your wok is pretty hot already, but I found that I didn’t need to.]
  4. Add the fresh red and Thai dried red chilies and continue stir-frying for another minute. Then, add the cabbage and stir fry to combine for a minute.
  5. Add the semi cooked diced chicken back into the wok, and toss to combine everything in the wok.
  6. Stir the contents of the sauce bowl with a spoon (the corn starch will have clotted up at the bottom of the bowl) and then pour in the sauce in a circular motion to coat all the ingredients in the wok. Stir-fry and keep tossing to combine for about a minute.
  7. Season with kosher salt, black pepper, white pepper, and crushed red chili pepper flakes to taste and add the remaining ½ TSP sesame oil. Continue stir-frying for 1-2 minutes. The cabbage will be tender but not have completely wilted by now.
  8. Add the spring onion greens and stir fry to combine for about 30-40 seconds.
  9. Turn off the heat and transfer to a serving dish. Serve immediately with steamed white rice.

Equipment

Notes

  1. Seasonings: I have provided the measurements that I use for the kosher salt, black pepper, white pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. I recommend adjusting the seasonings to your own taste as you’ll know best how much salt or spice you prefer. 😉
  2. To make it gluten-free: Use tamari or a gluten-free soy sauce instead of the low sodium light soy sauce. Also, it’s best to double check that the brand of Black Rice Vinegar and Shaoxing Rice Wine that you’re using is indeed GF certified. The Pat Chun Black Rice Vinegar I have linked to is gluten-free. Other than these mentioned ingredients, the rest of the ingredients in this dish are naturally gluten-free.
  3. Feel free to serve this with brown rice or quinoa for a healthier dinner!

Nutrition

Find it online: https://thatspicychick.com/quick-easy-chicken-bacon-and-cabbage-stir-fry/