This recipe was born out of fridge foresting and just throwing ingredients together to form quick easy meals in the middle of the week. It ended up being so good I just had to recreate it so you could enjoy it as well. This is packed with veggies, protein, and good fats and comes together in less than 30 minutes. No need to marinade the meat, but if you want to that will save you an extra step in the cooking process. You do you!

The heart of this recipe is the sauce. I have been in love with Noble Made Citrus Herb cooking marinade for a while now. Its my go to sauce when I’m cooking Whole30 meals for company and it is always a hit. It is simple, flavorful, and a delightfully different mix of sweet, but earthy flavors. However, I realize this is a specialty item that may not be available for everyone. While I currently live within a 10 mile radius of about 8 different grocery chains, so finding specialty items is generally painless, I’ve lived places were this is not the case. Additionally, a single bottle of this marinade can run $6-8 depending on the retailer you’re purchasing from. I understand this can be a hefty price tag for a single item. With all this in mind I’ve created a delightful copycat recipe so this amazing sauce can be enjoyed by everyone. I’ve paired the marinade with this veggie packed zoodle stir fry for an easy meal that can be thrown together in less than 30 minutes!

If you would rather have the convenience of not having to make the marinade yourself, use the store version and you will save yourself a step and still end up with a great meal.

Ingredients

For the Marinade

There aren’t really any swaps for these ingredients. However, if you are looking for convenience you can use Noble Made Citrus Herb marinade instead! I can find it at my local Publix and Whole Foods. You can also get it online on their website, Thrive Market or Amazon.

For the Stir Fry

Chicken: You want your chicken sliced thin in order to get maximum flavor from the sauce with no marinading required. I’ve used chicken breasts here, but you can use thighs or tenders if that’s what you have on hand.

Vegetables

There are no set rules as far as the vegetables in your stir fry goes. This is a great recipe for fridge foresting and cleaning out those left over veggies before they go bad.

Zoodles: I love zucchini noodles as they are easy to whip up and require minimal cooking. Just make sure you salt them and drain out the moisture so your stir fry is not watery!

Cabbage: I used red cabbage here to give the bowl a nice color pop, but you can use whatever kind you have. This includes bagged options like broccoli slaw, coleslaw mix, or vegetable slaw mix. All easy options that reduce prep times. Radicchio is another great option, though it is a little more bitter than red cabbage.

Peppers: I used a generic term here as well as you can use whatever kind you have on hand. I used shishito peppers I had in my fridge. You can use bell peppers to reduce spice. To kick up the spice a notch use jalapeños or small red chilis. You do you!

Garnish:

The fresh cilantro is a must for me. But if you don’t like cilantro you can garnish with parsley or other fresh herbs.

Everything but the Bagel seasoning: This is just a delightful addition of flavors that I’m obsessed with. If you don’t have this seasoning I would strongly suggest finding it at your local store. I’ve seen it at Aldi, Trader Joes, and whole foods. However, if you don’t have it, you can always just sub sesame seeds!

Cooking Instructions

Marinade

This is so simple to make. But you will need a blender as you want it to be a nice thin and smooth consistency. I personally find my small magic bullet is the perfect size to whip this up in.

To get the best consistency I grate the ginger as I don’t want any large chunks left, but my blender is old and newer models may fully grind whole ginger better than mine. So use your best judgement depending on your blender here.

I usually give my garlic a good smash with the knife to peel it, and I find this breaks it up the perfect amount to be ground evenly in my blender.

Once you’ve prepped your ginger and garlic simply add these to your blender with all the spices, vinegar, lemon and pineapple juices. Blend for 1-2 minutes or until completely smooth.

Add your coconut aminos and oil and blend for an additional 30 seconds to combine.

You want your sauce to be a little thinner than maple syrup in consistency. If you find it is thicker than this, simply add water to thin it out. I usually add water in 1/4 cup intervals until I’m happy with the consistency.

And there you have it. Store in a air tight container in the fridge for up to 3 weeks, if it lasts you that long!

Stir Fry

Start with your zucchini. Cut them into noodles with a spiralizer or mandolin, place them in a bowl, then toss them with salt and let them sit while you prepare everything else. The salt will pull all the excess water out of the zucchini so your noodles won’t turn into a soggy mess when they begin to cook.

Next, prep your chicken. Like I mentioned above you want to slice it into thin strips that are about 1/2 inch thick or smaller.

I use stainless steel pans, but you can use cast iron as well. You can use non-stick if that’s all you have, but I find my meat does not brown well in non-stick pans.

Add sesame oil to a large skillet on medium/high heat. When oil is hot, but not smoking add all your chicken strips. Cook chicken until it’s browned about ~5 minutes. Then add your marinade and allow to reduce by 2/3. When it is a molasses type consistency, it is done.

While the chicken is reducing, start prepping the vegetables. You can use a mandolin to make your slicing easier or go old school like me with a sharp chef knife. I slice my cabbage thin, and my carrots/peppers somewhere between match stick and julienne size.

For the green onions I slice them long and thin. Mostly this just gives the dish a great aesthetic look.

When you’ve finished slicing your vegetables make sure to drain your zucchini noodles as the rest of the process moves quickly once the chicken is finished.

By now your chicken should be fully cooked and coated in a molasses consistency sauce. Transfer chicken and sauce to a medium bowl and set aside.

In the same pan add a drizzle of avocado oil and turn heat to high. Immediately add all your vegetables except your noodles. Toss with tongs consistency until your cabbage is wilted, approximately 2 minutes.

Turn your burner off and add your drained zucchini noodles. Cook until noodles are warmed through.

Divide vegetable mixture between bowls, top with chicken, garnish with fresh cilantro and Everything but the Bagel seasoning (or sesame seeds).

Enjoy!

Let me know what you think in the comments below!