Chicken Stir Fry with Baby Corn

Chicken Stir Fry with Baby Corn combines thinly sliced chicken breast with baby corn, carrot, and snow peas. Everything cooks in one wok with oyster sauce, soy sauce, and a little chicken broth. I don’t use cornstarch here because I like the sauce light, with just enough left to spoon over rice.

I usually make this when I can get fresh young corn from the wet market near us in the Philippines. The taste of stir fried fresh baby corn is what that I like most with this dish, and the crisp texture is the part I look for. I learned to make the dish with canned young corn after we moved to the US. It tasted the same to me, but the canned pieces were not as crisp as the fresh ones. Both versions turn out good.

The chicken is easier to slice into thin, even pieces while it is still cold, so that is when I cut it. The chicken cooks in about three to five minutes and stays in the wok while the vegetables are added. This is different from my Beef and Baby Corn Stir Fry, where I cook the vegetables first and take them out before browning the beef.

What is Chicken Stir Fry with Baby Corn?

Chicken Stir Fry with Baby Corn is a simple chicken and vegetable stir fry with a light oyster and soy sauce. Baby corn is harvested while the cob is still young and tender enough to eat whole. It is mild and slightly sweet, and it holds its shape in a hot wok.

The baby corn stays whole in this recipe, and the carrot and snow peas go in near the end so the vegetables still have some bite. One wok is enough for four people when I serve it with rice.

Ingredients for Chicken Stir Fry with Baby Corn

Main Ingredients

• Chicken breast – Boneless and skinless. Cut it into thin slices.
• Baby corn – Ten ounces, and I leave the cobs whole.
• Snow peas – Twenty pieces is right for a pound of chicken. Snap off the stem end and pull the string down the side before cooking.
• Carrot – Slice it thin and on a diagonal. Thick coins are still hard when the two minutes are up.
• Leeks – Use the white and light green parts, and rinse between the layers because grit collects in there.
• Onion – Sliced, not chopped. It only gets thirty seconds and it should still have some shape on the plate.
• Ginger – Minced. Use fresh ginger here because ground ginger gives the dish a different flavor.
• Garlic – Two cloves, minced fresh.
• Cooking oil – Any neutral oil that takes high heat.

Sauce Ingredients

• Oyster sauce – A tablespoon and a half seasons the whole wok.
• Low sodium soy sauce – Three tablespoons. Regular soy sauce works if you pull it back to two, since the oyster sauce is already salty.
• Sesame oil – One teaspoon, measured out with the other sauce ingredients.
• White sugar – Half a teaspoon. It rounds off the salt and you should not taste it on its own.
• Chicken broth – A quarter cup, and it is the only liquid in the dish.
• Ground white pepper – White rather than black. The heat is different and it does not leave dark specks in a pale sauce.

Fresh baby corn comes in the husk and needs trimming before it goes in the wok. Canned and jarred baby corn is already cooked and packed in water. Fresh and canned baby corn can both be added at the same time and cooked for two minutes. I use the same baby corn in my Chop Suey. Whole water chestnuts give you a similar crunch if you cannot find baby corn at all, though you lose the sweetness.

Equipment

• Wok or large skillet – A wok holds heat and gives you room to toss. A wide heavy skillet does the job if you keep the burner high.
• Colander – For draining the baby corn.

Have everything sliced and ready before you start because stir frying moves quickly.

1. Heat the cooking oil in a wok or large pan over high heat until it shimmers.
2. Add the minced ginger, minced garlic, and chopped leeks. Sauté for about 1 minute until fragrant.

Keep the aromatics moving. Garlic burns quickly over high heat and can make the sauce bitter.

1. Add the sliced chicken. Stir fry for 3 to 5 minutes, tossing frequently, until it is cooked through.
2. Add the sliced onion. Sauté for 30 seconds.

Cut open the thickest slice the first time you make this. The inside should be white with no pink left. Chicken is safe at an internal temperature of 165°F.

1. Pour in the oyster sauce, white sugar, low sodium soy sauce, sesame oil, and chicken broth. Stir well so the chicken is coated.
2. Add the baby corn. Cover the wok and cook for 2 minutes.

Stir once before covering so the sauce is evenly distributed.

1. Add the sliced carrot and the snow peas to the wok.
2. Stir fry for 2 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender but still crisp and the sauce is glossy.
3. Season with the ground white pepper.
4. Transfer to a serving plate and serve hot with steamed white rice. Share and enjoy!

The sauce should be glossy and barely pooling, not soupy. If liquid is still running loose after the two minutes, raise the heat for another thirty seconds before you plate it.

What to Serve with Chicken Stir Fry

• Steamed white rice – Plain rice is what I put next to this. Anything with its own seasoning starts competing with the oyster sauce.
• Yang Chow Fried Rice – Fried rice with pork, shrimp, and egg if you want something more filling than plain rice.
• Sinangag – Garlic fried rice. I like it with dishes that leave some sauce behind.
• Hot and Sour Soup – I like this on the side when I want to serve the stir fry as part of a bigger meal.
• Chili garlic oil – A bit on the side for anyone who wants heat. Nothing in the dish itself is spicy.

Storage

Chicken Stir Fry with Baby Corn keeps in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, although the vegetables will soften as it sits.

• Refrigerator: Keep leftovers in an airtight container. I only take out what we plan to eat at that meal so the rest is not reheated twice.
• Freezer: I skip freezing the finished dish because the snow peas lose their crisp texture. If I want to prepare ahead, I freeze the sliced chicken separately and buy the vegetables fresh when I am ready to cook.
• Reheating: A hot pan brings it back better than a microwave does. Give it a minute without touching it so the moisture that came out in the refrigerator can cook off, then toss it through. If the sauce has gone tight, a tablespoon of broth loosens it without watering down the taste.

More Stir Fry Recipes

• Asian Chicken Stir Fry – Chicken marinated in soy sauce, then cooked with broccoli, carrots, and two colors of bell pepper in a honey soy sauce.
• Chicken with Oyster Sauce Stir Fry – The chicken marinates in the oyster sauce itself, with sherry wine and four colors of bell pepper.
• Baby Corn, Ham, and Jicama Stir Fry – Chopped ham with jicama, or singkamas, and mixed vegetables in a cooking wine and broth sauce.
• Stir Fried Beef with Oyster Sauce and Snap Peas – The beef marinates for 30 minutes, and you can do that part the night before.
• Squid Stir Fry in Oyster Sauce – A short baking soda soak goes on the squid before it ever reaches the wok.
• Shrimp and Broccoli Stir Fry – A simple shrimp stir fry with broccoli.

• Chicken breast – Chicken thighs, cut to the same size. Give them a minute longer and check that the thickest piece is white all the way through.
• Chicken – Peeled shrimp. Cook them for about a minute on each side, take them out of the wok, then put them back in with the carrot and the snow peas.
• Snow peas – Snap peas or green beans. Both take the same two minutes.
• Leeks – Green onions, white parts only, in the same quarter cup.
• Oyster sauce – Hoisin sauce in the same amount. The dish comes out sweeter and less savory.

The baby corn should still have some snap by the time it reaches the table. The rice goes on the side at our house rather than underneath, and whatever sauce is left on the plate ends up on the rice.