This Chicken Stir Fry recipe was no doubt originated from China but modified to suit to Japanese palate – no garlic. You can use a large amount of celery in this recipe. Carrots and cashew nuts add the colour and extra flavour to the dish. The sauce is thick and clear.
Traditional Japanese dishes do not use garlic to give flavour to the dish. So, it is quite understandable that many Chinese-style dishes in Japanese cuisine use far less garlic than the original version.
In some cases, they completely omit garlic, like today’s recipe Chicken Stir Fry with Celery, Carrot and Cashew. But even if no garlic is added to the dish, it still gives you a hint of the Chinese-style dish and it certainly looks exactly like a Chinese dish.
I made this dish more than 2 months ago when I had excess celery sticks. In my post Mixed Vegetable Salad Dressing, I bitterly complained about how many vegetables my children left with me when they went off overseas. Celery was one of them and I had to come up with a recipe to consume a large amount of it.
It turned out that the Chicken Stir Fry with Celery was delicious, and with so many vegetables in it I felt like I was eating a healthy dish.
Great Combination of Ingredients
There are only 4 ingredients stir fried in this dish – chicken, celery, carrots, and roasted cashew nuts. The chicken is cut into 5cm/2” long strips and the vegetables are diagonally sliced to about the same length as the chicken.
Instead of the chicken thigh fillets that I use, you can use chicken breast. Because each piece of chicken is coated in a thick sauce, you will find the chicken breast is not as dry as it usually is.
Celery leaves are strongly flavoured but stir frying them makes the flavour somewhat milder. Carrots and cashews add sweetness and a crunchy texture respectively to the dish.
Simply stir fry the chicken, then the vegetables, then add the sauce. I use only 200g/0.4lb of chicken for 2 servings but it is quite filling and certainly served as a main dish in my collections.
Sauce
Just like any other Chinese stir fry, the sauce ingredients are mixed first so that you can pour the sauce at the end when chicken and vegetables are stir fried.
The sauce is a mixture of water, chicken stock powder, sake, soy sauce, salt and cornflour/corn starch.
It’s not intended to be a saucy dish. The amount of sauce is just enough to coat each piece of the stir fried ingredients to give flavour and a shiny texture.
Chicken Stir Fry with Celery, Carrot and Cashew is so fast to cook. It takes less than 5 minutes on the stove and is perfect for a mid-week dinner.
Yumiko
PS: I added a new section ‘MEAL IDEAS’ below the recipe card. I hope it is of help to you!
This Chicken Stir Fry recipe Japanese-style Chinese dish. The flavour was modified to suit to Japanese palate - no garlic. You can consume a large amount of celery in this recipe. Carrots and cashew nuts add the colour and extra flavour to the dish. The sauce is thick and clear.
See Suggested Meal below.
- 200g / 0.4lb chicken thigh fillets cut into thin strips (note 1)
- 250g / 0.6lb celery cut diagonally to 5cm / 2” long pieces , 5mm / 3/16” thick
- 100g / 3.5oz carrot diagonally sliced thinly (3mm / ⅛" thick)
- 70g / 2.5oz roasted cashew nuts (unsalted)
- 1 tbsp oil
- Salt & pepper
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp cornflour/corn starch
- 60ml / 2oz water
- ¼ tsp chicken stock powder
- ½ tsp sake
- ¼ tsp soy sauce
- ⅛ tsp salt
-
Add cornflour to a small bowl and gradually add water to dilute it completely. Then add the remaining Sauce ingredients and mix well.
-
Heat oil in a large frying pan over high heat.
-
Add chicken pieces, season with salt & pepper and cook for 1.5 to 2 minutes until the chicken pieces start browning a bit.
-
Add celery and carrot. Cook for 1.5 minutes, then add cashew nuts. Stir for 30 seconds.
-
Add the sauce (note 2) and stir quickly as the sauce will thicken fast. Ensure that sauce coats each piece of stir fry ingredients.
-
Add the sesame oil and quickly stir. Serve immediately.
1. Instead of thigh fillets, you can use chicken breast. The meat will be drier than thigh fillets but it will be coated with the thick sauce so you will not find it too dry.
2. Before adding the sauce to the frying pan, ensure that the cornflour is well mixed in the sauce and not collected at the bottom.
Below is a new section that I am intending to add to every post from now on. ‘MEAL IDEAS’ gives you a list of dishes that I have already posted and the new recipe in this post that can make up a complete meal.
Meal Ideas
A typical Japanese meal consists of a main dish, a couple of side dishes, a soup and rice. I try to come up with a combination of dishes with a variety of flavours, colours, textures and make-ahead dishes.
Today’s recipe is a main dish with a light chicken stock flavour so I matched with the sweet soy flavoured side dish as well as the sour seaweed salad. To supplement protein, I picked a soup with eggs but you can serve any miso soup instead.
- Main dish: Chicken Stir Fry with Celery, Carrot and Cashew – today’s recipe
- Side dish 1: Braised Burdock (Kinpira Gobō) – make ahead
- Side dish 2: Cucmber and Seaweed Sunomono (Vinegar Dressing)
- Soup: Japanese Style Egg Drop Soup (Kakitama-jiru)
- Rice: Cooked Rice
I didn’t have sake so used rice wine vinegar. I also added mushrooms and tossed with kelp noodles. Great recipe. Thanks!
Hi Tara, that’s great. I’m glad that it worked out with vinegar as a substitute.
Very easy and tasty, loved it
Thank you, Wendy!
There was an interesting restaurant in Hawaii named Niniku-ya. Every dish, even the ice cream, had garlic in it. The owner told me he loved garlic so much he opened a restaurant to feature it. He chose Hawaii because it was easier on a cultural level. Everything was absolutely delicious.
The place is closed now, unfortunately. There is a restaurant in Tokyo that seems almost identical. You should try it if you ever have the chance to. I especially recommend the roasted garlic ice cream.
Hi Peter, thanks. There seems to be different kinds of Ninniku-ya in Japan. I might try one of them next year when I go to Japan.
I’ve made this twice. It’s fun to make and delicious. I am indeed used to Chinese cooking and thus garlic-y stir-fries, so this is a nice way to change it up. It’s not just “minus the garlic” though – it still has a rich and interesting flavor. I, too, used shaoxing wine instead of sake.
Hi Mimi, that’s great. Using shaoxing wine gives you a slightly different flavour experience too.
Randomly stumbled upon this recipe as I needed to get rid of some celery. I’ve made this recipe twice because my husband and I loves it! It’s so simple and refreshing and it’s going to be a weekday favourite. Can’t wait to try your other Japanese recipes!
Hi Lee, that’s great! It is a perfect dish to consume a good amount of celery, isn’t it? Please do try other dishes and let me know what you and your husband think.
I loved it, hubby loved it, what else can I say? Thank you very much for sharing the recipe!!!
Hi Lariska, thanks for a great feedback!
Great dish. I added a little bit of oyster sauce and sugar. I didn’t have sake so I used Shaoxing wine instead. I still enjoyed it and will cook it again but will try your exact recipe. Thanks!!!
Hi Chad, that’s great! So quick and easy to make, right?
Easy and delicious! I’ve started making this ahead of time to bring to work for lunch!
Hi Sarah, glad you liked it!
I have been looking for years for inspirations and recipes on the way that I’d like to serve my family dinner, just like how my mum did when raising us in Taiwan, and finally found it! Thank you so much for all the amazing dishes and meal ideas, using ingredients that are easy to find and affordable. You are a godsend!
Hi Josephine, thank you! Enjoy Japanese cooking!
My family’s new favorite dinner! Thank you so much for the fast and healthy recipe!
Hi Dawn, you are most welcome!