Chicken stir-fry with almonds and snap peas

9
Points®
Total Time
18 min
Prep
8 min
Cook
10 min
Serves
4
Difficulty
Easy
This easy stir-fry features five spice, an aromatic blend of cumin, star anise, cinnamon, peppercorns and cloves, which is commonly used in Chinese cuisine. Look for it beside other specialty spices at your grocery store or nearby Asian market. Delightfully sweet sugar snap peas are a quick cook’s best friend. They’re entirely edible so there’s no prep involved. If you can’t find sugar snap peas, substitute snow peas. The cooking time will remain the same. For a quick meal, multitask while making the stir-fry and either boil udon noodles, soak rice noodles or cook rice to serve as a side dish.

Ingredients

Garlic

2 clove(s), crushed through a press

Canola oil

2 tsp

Sliced almonds

¼ cup(s)

Sherry (dry or sweet)

3 Tbsp

Less sodium soy sauce

2 Tbsp

Water

2 Tbsp

Cornstarch

2 tsp

Five-spice powder

½ tsp

Chicken tenders, restaurant type

1 pound(s), cut into 1-inch chunks

Sugar snap peas

½ pound(s), fresh, trimmed

Scallions

3 medium, cut into 1-inch pieces

Instructions

  1. Heat a nonstick wok or a large skillet over high heat until a drop of water sizzles. Add 1 teaspoon of the oil, swirl to coat the pan, then add the almonds. Stir-fry until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Transfer the almonds to a plate.
  2. Meanwhile, combine the sherry, soy sauce, water, cornstarch, and five-spice powder in a small bowl until smooth; set aside.
  3. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil to the wok, swirl to coat the pan, then add the chicken. Stir-fry until lightly browned, 3–4 minutes. Add the snap peas, scallions, and garlic; stir-fry about 1 minute. Stir in the sherry mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture bubbles and thickens, and the chicken is just cooked through, 1–2 minutes. Stir in the almonds. Yields scant 1 cup per serving.