Sick of all your freezer meals being casseroles and pasta sauces? Here’s something different for you! Budget friendly. Freezer friendly. A flavour explosion in a bowl. This dish has it all!
“Take 10 minutes out of your weekend to prepare ahead so you can get this dinner on the table in a snap during the week.”
You don’t ordinarily think of fresh stir fries as make ahead, freezer friendly meals. But that’s exactly what this is. To be honest, I’ve never seen a recipe like this anywhere before. Marinating the meat and popping it into the freezer is nothing new. The unique step is cooking the rice ahead and freezing it.
I think most people assume you can’t freeze rice. Or they simply don’t think of it as a “done thing”. But it is perfectly ok to freeze cooked rice. It’s actually the “norm” in Asian countries. All my relatives in Japan do it. In fact, freezing rice makes it perfect for using for fried rice because it dries it out. Have you noticed that fried rice is not sticky like sushi rice? That’s because it is made using leftover rice from the day before, refrigerated overnight. By freezing rice, you get the same result.
“It’s a meal that kids love but can easily be given a “grown up” touch with a dash of chilli sauce.”
Tomato sauce is also the secret ingredients in these Sticky Chinese Wings.
I’m going to be straight with you – this is not an authentic Chinese stir fry. I am sure I will offend purists! Because the “secret ingredient” I use to make this “sticky” is tomato sauce (ketchup). Yes, it’s true. It is my secret ingredient in my Asian style marinades that I want to be glazed, like my Sticky Chinese Chicken Wings. It’s perfect because it’s thick and sticks to the meat. Plus it has more than just a tomato flavour but it is neutral enough to use as a base so you don’t taste the tomato flavour after you add other ingredients. And it has sugar in it which helps with the caramelisation.
I have written this recipe up as a make ahead, freezer friendly recipe which then takes just over 10 minutes to cook. You can also make it from scratch on the day, but you will need at least 20 minutes marinating time as well as cooking the rice. The whole reason I created this recipe was so I could have a really punchy flavoured Asian stir fry that tastes fresh but is mostly made ahead.
Oh, a word of warning. Turn your fan on or open your windows. Because this is a quick cook stir fry and the marinade is sticky, it will smoke up your kitchen! Trust me, it’s worth it. The flavour you get from the caramelised marinade is gold. 🙂
- 250 g / 8 oz chicken thigh fillets , sliced into 1cm/1/3" slices
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 1/2 tbsp honey (or substitute with 1 tbsp brown sugar)
- 1/2 tsp fresh ginger , minced or finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- 1 tbsp sriracha (or other hot sauce) (optional)
- 1 cup uncooked long grain rice (see notes)
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups cooked rice (see notes)
- 1/2 brown or white onion , diced
- 1 garlic clove , peeled and smashed (see notes)
- 1 carrot , diced
- 1/2 cup frozen peas , thawed
- 1/2 cup baby corn , cut into 1cm/1/3" slices (or canned or frozen corn) (see notes)
- 3 bok choys
- 1 1/2 tbsp peanut oil , separated
- 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (shao hsing wine) or dry sherry
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp chicken stock powder or crumbled bouillon cube , or 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 shallot/scallion , finely sliced
- 1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)
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Combine Chicken and Marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix to coat. Either set aside for 20 minutes or put it in a ziplock bag and place in the freezer until required.
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Place rice and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil, then turn down heat to low and simmer until all the water is absorbed (8 to 10 minutes). Remove from heat and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Remove lid and allow to cool. Divide into two freezer bags - about 1 1/2 cups per bag. You will only use one bag for the meal. Then place in ziplock bag or container and put it in the freezer.
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If you want to go the extra step, you could also cut and measure out the carrots, peas and corn and put them in a freezer bag too. I tend not to bother because this does not take long to do and also, you need to cut the onion fresh anyway.
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Remove chicken and rice from the freezer and allow to defrost.
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Cut the stems off the leaves of the bok choy. Cut the stems vertically into 1cm/1/3" thick sticks.
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Heat wok or fry pan over high heat. Add sesame seeds and toast for 15 seconds, then remove.
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Heat 1 tbsp oil in wok, add garlic and stir fry for 20 seconds to flavour the oil. Remove garlic and discard.
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Add onion and stir fry for 30 seconds.
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Add carrot, peas and corn and stir fry for another 30 seconds.
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Add the bok choy stems, cook for 30 seconds.
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Add the rice, cooking wine, soy sauce and stock powder and stir fry for another 30 seconds.
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Remove wok from heat, then add the bok choy leaves and stir quickly to mix them into the rice. Remove fried rice from wok into large bowl.
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Add 1/2 tbsp oil to wok and return to stove, still on high heat.
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Remove chicken from marinade (reserve marinade) and place in the wok and stir fry for 1 1/2 minutes until nicely browned but not quite cooked through. Then add the remaining marinade into the wok with 2 tbsp water and allow to cook for 30 seconds until it becomes thick and syrupy. Remove from heat.
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Place fried rice into bowls and top with the sticky chicken. Scatter with shallots/scallions and sesame seeds.
1. The best rice to use for fried rice is long grain rice because it is less sticky than short grain rice. If you don't have long grain rice, suitable substitutes (in order of preference) are: brown rice, medium grain rice, jasmine and basmati. Short grain rice is a last resort - it is too sticky to make good fried rice. Risotto rice is not suitable for this recipe.
2. You only need 1 1/2 cups of cooked rice for this recipe. 1 cup of uncooked rice grains makes about 3 cups of cooked rice. It is difficult to cook less than 1 cup of uncooked rice. So the recipe directions are to cook 1 cup of uncooked rice, but then to divide it into 2 bags and only use half for this recipe. Save the other half for the next time you make this!
3. Peel and smash the garlic clove using the side of the knife. You want the garlic to remain in one piece but to burst open to allow the flavours to infuse into the oil.
4. If you need to microwave the rice to defrost it, make sure you remove the cover otherwise it will steam and become mushy which is not suitable for making fried rice.
5. Baby corn spears can be found in the canned vegetables and Asian aisles in supermarkets and are no more expensive than other canned vegetables. You can substitute with canned or frozen corn kernels if you wish.
6. Nutrition per serving.
Hi Nagi,
I’m trying to make some freezer meals to prep for our new baby. With two other small children I know I won’t have the ability to cook like I’m used to. How long will this stay good in the freezer for? Thanks!
Hi Nicia! 3 months is my rule of thumb! 🙂 N x
I am trying to prep me and my husband’s lunches in advance, so we thought we’d try this out. We made it to be a hot salad, so I sautéed the onion and peppers and corn. It was a HUGE hit! Thanks for the recipe, we will definitely be making it again!
I’m so pleased you enjoyed it MaKenna! Thank you for letting me know – N xx
This was fantastic! My fiance’ has zero tolerance for heat so I substituted Mae Ploy sweet chili sauce for the Sriracha and it was perfect! I have yet to try a recipe that I haven’t loved.
Whoot! Fantastic to hear you enjoyed this Michelle, thanks for letting me know! N xx
I tried this recipe, I’m not sure if I didn’t fully read the instructions correctly or what but it didn’t come out how you made it look. I was confused about the bok choy and when do the carrots get added? I ended up adding them with the corn and peas. The chicken didn’t come out sticky either. It smells great though. About to try it.
Thanks for picking that up Jessica! yes the carrots go in with the corn. For the bok choy, just cut the leaves off the stems then chop stems per directions. Reason is because the leaves wilt in an instant whereas the stem requires some cooking 🙂 What did the chicken come out looking like?? Did you cook the sauce down to become glossy?? Hope you enjoyed it though!
Hi Nagi – I’m trying to make some freezer meals for a friend just diagnosed with ovarian cancer and I want to make meals she can just reheat. Do you think I could make this and freeze it after it is cooked – and she could reheat it in the microwave or oven? I know this is outside of the scope of what you need to comment on but this just looked so good and I know she would like it. Thanks!
Oh gosh, I hope your friend is ok 🙁 You’re so sweet to be so helpful! Definitely less this can be cooked then frozen, it is perfect for it! N x
Looks like a great recipe? Can I substitute chicken thighs for breasts? It’s all I have on hand. Thanks!
You sure can! Plenty of glaze and flavour in this to make up for using a leaner cut of chicken! 🙂
Delicious. Great that the ingredients are staples in my pantry. We’ll be adding this recipe to our rotation. Thanks for sharing.
That’s great Pauline! I would love to hear what you think 🙂
Fried Rice….! This is everyone’s favorite dish in Indonesia. I never tried with baby corn into the fried rice before, normally I used the normal corn, I should try this one. I love the picture of sticky chicken with sesame seeds on top of it. 🙂
Looks delicious! I have to try this chicken, I love that you used Sriracha for marinating, it is my favorite hot sauce, and that baby corn is very cute 🙂
Thanks! I agree, sriracha is my favourite hot sauce too. It’s so versatile!
This looks and sounds awesome!! For some reason, even though I’ve seen frozen fried rice packages at the grocery store, I never thought to make and freeze my own. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I have never had sticky chicken but it’s time to try it out! Your pictures make my mouth water and this dish looks better than any take out ever! So colorful too, and I eat with my eyes first. 🙂 Fabulous.
Thanks Meggan! It is quite colourful, isn’t it? I didn’t even realise, I’m so hung up on the stickiness!!