Spicy Chicken And Bacon 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. Love this recipe? PIN IT to your DINNER BOARD to save it!Follow BAREFEET IN THE KITCHEN on Pinterest for more great recipes!

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!