Rainbow Vegetable Stir-fry with Chicken or Tofu
Family meal recipe suitable for kids from 2-3 years plus.
I got home from work yesterday at 5.45pm and thought “crap! I haven’t prepared any dinner for tonight!”
To give you a bit of background I like to cook up a couple of big family meals on a Sunday and keep them in the fridge (or freezer). Then each evening I simply heat up (or thaw and heat up) a meal and serve it to the family. At least this way I know we are always eating home-cooked food even though I am at work four days a week.
Anyway I ransacked my fridge, cupboard and freezer and these are the ingredients I found.
I took a long hard look at the ingredients staring back at me and thought “okay, the ingredients have spoken… tonight is going to be stir-fry night.”
The longest part of this stir-fry is the chopping to be honest. Cooking it is very quick, only takes about 15 minutes.
The benefits:
SuperFoods included – olive oil, garlic, ginger, red/ yellow bell peppers, carrots, broccoli, lime SuperSpices included – coriander
This family meal is loaded with vitamin C (from the broccoli and bell peppers), vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene (carrots), protein (chicken or tofu for substitute). Garlic is also anti-viral, helping to keep colds and flu away which might be useful for the forthcoming change in weather.
Serves a family of 4. Total preparation time: 15mins. Total cooking time: 15mins.
Ingredients
- Drizzle of olive oil
- 1 tbsp. minced garlic
- 1 tbsp. minced ginger
- Handful of fresh coriander – washed and torn with hands
- 2 x chicken breast fillets – fresh (or frozen like mine) - thawed in microwave, washed, sliced
- x red bell pepper – washed, deseeded, finely sliced
- 1 x yellow bell pepper – washed, deseeded, finely sliced
- 2 x medium carrots – peeled, washed, finely sliced into strips
- 400g (14oz.) frozen broccoli florets - washed, chopped
- 2 tbsp. dark soy sauce
- Squeeze of half lime – ensuring no seeds fall in
- 1 tbsp. cornflour
- 3 x 150g (5oz.) packs of udon thick noodles – straight to wok
Method
Heat the oil in a wok on medium-high heat and add the garlic, ginger and fresh coriander. Stir-fry for 1-1 ½mins then add the chicken or tofu. Stir-fry until chicken is sealed (approx. 7-8mins).
Add all the vegetables to the wok along with the soy sauce, lime juice and stir-fry continuously for 5mins.
Mix the cornflour in a cup with 3 tbsps of water and add to the stir-fry to thicken the sauce.
Add the udon noodles and stir-fry for a further 2mins.
Serve to kids warm and for those who enjoy a little heat, garnish with chilli flakes.
Note: Substitute the chicken for 300g (11oz.) packet of firm tofu for a vegetarian meal.
Tip: Always keep cornflour in the cupboard. If you are ever cooking anything and think “wow this is tasty", but oh "no, it’s too watery”, whack in a bit of cornflour mixture and suddenly your watery meal turns into a lush tasty sauce.
