Seriously my husband’s FAVORITE meal I’ve ever made. This has become a go-to meal for us at least twice a month. We love it so much and have it so often, that we shortened the name to Chicken Yaki. (This may be partially due to the fact that neither one of us is entirely sure how to pronounce the full word.) ((Much less spell it…I had to look it up before writing the title of this post.))
Anyway, it is definitely one of our favorite meals. It’s so easy, so delicious, and really not terrible for you if you choose the right ingredients! One reason I love it so much is that you can change it every time using whatever ingredients you have at home, and it’s always still just as tasty! You can add any other vegetables to it, or take out any that you don’t like or have. It’s the basic concept that counts!
Chicken Yaki
Ingredients
1 lb (or more) chicken, chopped into bite sized pieces
1/2 green bell pepper
1/2 head of cabbage
1 small head of brocolli
2-3 madium sized carrots
1 cup fresh spinach
1/2 medium sized onion
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup soy sauce (or substitute: I use Bragg’s Liquid Aminos)
1/4 cup sriracha sauce (more or less depending on your family’s preference) **I don’t like for my mouth to catch on fire, so I let my husband add more sauce to his own bowl once I serve it.
1 1/2 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp olive oil
8 oz. thin spaghetti pasta (You can use gluten-free or other options to keep this meal decently healthy)
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. I like to have all my vegetables chopped before I begin cooking anything. You’ll need to chop up the broccoli, pepper, cabbage, onion, and carrots into bite-sized pieces. Once you do this, put them aside into two separate bowls: cabbage and spinach in one bowl, all others in another.
2. Cook the chicken in a large skillet with olive oil, and add some of the soy sauce as it cooks. Once the outsides of the chicken pieces are white, toss in the garlic.
3. When chicken is mostly cooked through, add in the vegetables, saving the cabbage and spinach for later. Saute them all together and add a little more soy sauce and sriracha.
4. Begin cooking the pasta according to package directions, while periodically stirring the chicken and veggies mixture.
5. When pasta is almost done, add the cabbage and spinach to the rest of the veggies with the chicken. (I save them until now because I like the slight crunch of the cabbage) Add the rest of your soy sauce, ketchup, and sriracha sauce. Mix well so there is an even coat of sauce on all veggies and chicken.
6. If your skillet is large enough, add the pasta in with the chicken/veggie mixture and stir altogether. If not, you can serve by placing a serving of pasta in the bottom of a bowl and the chicken mixture on top.
