Dollop
Ginger garlic chicken with bok choy
A light, fast skillet dinner of juicy chicken and tender bok choy in a gingery garlic sauce, ready in 25 minutes.
- 25 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 2
- About $3.51 a serving
- 400 calories
- Good the next day
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 25 minutes.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 lb boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
- 4 baby bok choy, halved lengthwise
- 1 package microwave rice pouches (optional)
From your pantry
- 1½ tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- ⅓ cup water, divided
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
Each serving has about 400 calories, 49 g protein, 8 g carbs and 19 g fat, and costs about $3.51 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No boneless chicken thighs? Chicken breasts or chicken tenderloins work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the soy sauce, vinegar, cornstarch, 3 tablespoons of water and the sesame oil together in a small bowl.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large over medium-high. Add the chicken in one layer and cook 4 minutes without , until underneath.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium-high heatTimer: 4 min
Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
and cook 3 to 4 minutes more, until the biggest piece reads 165°F.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Medium-high heatTimer: 3 min 30 sec
Food safety: Chicken and turkey are done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
Push the chicken to one side, add the garlic, ginger and pepper flakes to the empty spot, and 30 seconds, .
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Medium heatTimer: 30 sec
Lay in the bok choy cut side down, add the last 2 tablespoons of water, cover, and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until the stems are .
Tender-crisp. Tender-crisp means vegetables cooked until just tender but still with a little snap. They keep their bright color and crunch instead of going soft and dull.
How you’ll know: A fork goes in with slight resistance, and the color is bright, not olive or gray.
Medium heatTimer: 2 min 30 sec
the sauce, pour it in, and 1 minute, until everything is glossy.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
Serve on its own or over warmed microwave rice.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
More dinners like this
Air fryer chicken thighs
25 min
Cumin chicken
30 min
Garlic butter chicken thighs
30 min
Garlic chicken and zucchini
25 min
30-minute dinners ›One-pan dinners ›What to make with chicken and rice ›