Green bean chicken is a quick, delicious, and healthy stir fry that is perfect for a busy weekday dinner or lunch. With thin slices of chicken breast, slivers of onion, and a generous amount of green beans. All stir fried in a savory brown sauce.
What is Green Bean Chicken?
If I had to make a list of my top 10 favorite stir frys of all time green bean chicken would definitely make the cut. I just love how incredibly delicious and comforting the dish can be. While also being super easy to make and requires only a few simple ingredients.
Honestly, the only vegetables that you need are the eponymous green beans a.k.a. “string beans”, and one onion. Which are both stir fried with thinly sliced chicken, and a few cloves of garlic, and coated in a savory brown sauce.
It’s really that simple! And best of all the whole process only takes a few minutes which makes it great for those busy weekday dinners.
Tips, Tricks & Suggestions
- Other protein options: Want to make this without chicken? Then no worries, as you can easily swap it out with a similar-sized portion of thinly sliced beef, pork, or even whole shrimp.
- Make it vegan: You can also make this dish entirely vegetarian by replacing the meat with more vegetables or tofu. Just make sure you also swap out the chicken stock with vegetable stock/water, and the oyster sauce with a vegetarian version if you want to make the dish completely vegan-friendly.
- Prep, Prep, Prep: This is a friendly reminder that stir fry cooking is a quick process. So make sure that you have all of the ingredients (veggies chopped, chicken sliced, sauce stirred up) prepared and ready to go before cooking.
- Serving suggestions: What’s the best way to serve green bean chicken? Well, I like to keep it simple with some white rice which helps to soak up any excess sauce. However, if you want to go the extra mile then serve it with an extra side dish like Vegetable Chow Mein, and a starter of Hot & Sour Soup.
Other Stir Frys You Might Enjoy
- Bell Peppers & Beef
- Hunan Shrimp
- Kung Pao Chicken
- Orange Chicken
- Thai Basil Chicken (Pad Kra Pao)
- Vegetable Stir Fry
Green Bean Chicken Recipe
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Servings: 2
Ingredients
Chicken & optional marinade ingredients:
½ Lb of boneless & skinless chicken (breast or thigh), cut into thin slices
1 Teaspoon of soy sauce
1 Teaspoon of cornstarch
1 Teaspoon of Vegetable oil
For the sauce:
⅓ Cup of chicken stock
1 Tablespoon of either Chinese cooking wine/Dry sake/Dry white wine (optional)
2 Teaspoons of soy sauce
2 Teaspoons of dark soy sauce (optional mainly for color)
1 Teaspoon oyster sauce
1 Teaspoon of sugar
½ Teaspoon of toasted sesame oil
¼ to ½ Teaspoon of ground white pepper (depending on how spicy you like it)
Corn starch slurry:
1 Tablespoon of water
2 Teaspoons of corn starch
For the rest of the dish:
2 to 4 Tablespoons of vegetable oil
9 oz. of green beans, ends removed and cut into 1 to 1½ inch sized pieces
1 Small onion, thinly sliced
2 to 3 cloves of garlic, minced
Instructions
- (optional) Marinate the chicken: This step is completely optional but will result in juicer ad tastier chicken. Simply place the sliced chicken and the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add a splash of water and mix so that the chicken is thoroughly coated. Let this rest for 15 to 30 minutes.
- Combine the sauce ingredients in one bowl, and mix the corn starch slurry in a separate bowl. Set both of these aside until later.
- Stir fry the chicken: Add roughly 1 to 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to either a wok or large walled pan. Place this over high heat and let it heat up until the oil is smoking. Then toss in the chicken and stir fry for 3 to 4 minutes or until the chicken is mostly cooked through and slightly browned.
Transfer the chicken to a plate and set it aside.
- Stir fry vegetables: Add another tablespoon or two of vegetable oil to your wok/pan and place it back over high heat. Toss in the green beans and stir fry for 2 minutes. Then toss in both the onion and the garlic. Continue to stir fry these ingredients for a couple more minutes or until the green beans and onions begin to soften.
- Finish the dish: Add the chicken back to your wok/pan and stir fry it with the vegetables for a few seconds.
Pour in the sauce and combine it with the other ingredients. Let everything cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until the sauce comes to a simmer. Then pour in the cornstarch slurry and stir so that it is incorporated with the sauce. Continue to stir the ingredients until the sauce thickens up and coats everything, about 1 minute.
- Serve the green bean chicken immediately with a side of rice and enjoy!
Green Bean Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
Chicken & optional marinade ingredients:
- ½ Lb of boneless & skinless chicken breast or thigh, cut into thin slices
- 1 Teaspoon of soy sauce
- 1 Teaspoon of cornstarch
- 1 Teaspoon of Vegetable oil
For the sauce:
- ⅓ Cup of chicken stock
- 1 Tablespoon of either Chinese cooking wine/Dry sake/Dry white wine optional
- 2 Teaspoons of soy sauce
- 2 Teaspoons of dark soy sauce optional mainly for color
- 1 Teaspoon oyster sauce
- 1 Teaspoon of sugar
- ½ Teaspoon of toasted sesame oil
- ¼ to ½ Teaspoon of ground white pepper depending on how spicy you like it
Corn starch slurry:
- 1 Tablespoon of water
- 2 Teaspoons of corn starch
For the rest of the dish:
- 2 to 4 Tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 9 oz. of green beans ends removed and cut into 1 to 1½ inch sized pieces
- 1 Small onion thinly sliced
- 2 to 3 cloves of garlic minced
Instructions
- (optional) Marinate the chicken: This step is completely optional but will result in juicer ad tastier chicken. Simply place the sliced chicken and the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add a splash of water and mix so that the chicken is thoroughly coated. Let this rest for 15 to 30 minutes.
- Combine the sauce ingredients in one bowl, and mix the corn starch slurry in a separate bowl. Set both of these aside until later.
- Stir fry the chicken: Add roughly 1 to 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to either a wok or large walled pan. Place this over high heat and let it heat up until the oil is smoking. Then toss in the chicken and stir fry for 3 to 4 minutes or until the chicken is mostly cooked through and slightly browned. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set it aside.
- Stir fry vegetables: Add another tablespoon or two of vegetable oil to your wok/pan and place it back over high heat. Toss in the green beans and stir fry for 2 minutes. Then toss in both the onion and the garlic. Continue to stir fry these ingredients for a couple more minutes or until the green beans and onions begin to soften.
- Finish the dish: Add the chicken back to your wok/pan and stir fry it with the vegetables for a few seconds. Pour in the sauce and combine it with the other ingredients. Let everything cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until the sauce comes to a simmer. Then pour in the cornstarch slurry and stir so that it is incorporated with the sauce. Continue to stir the ingredients until the sauce thickens up and coats everything, about 1 minute.
- Serve the green bean chicken immediately with a side of rice and enjoy!
