String Bean Chicken

Tender chicken stir fried with string beans in a delicious brown sauce! This quick and easy string bean chicken is ready in 30 minutes and it's restaurant quality! A tasty main dish that is great for all the chicken and green bean lovers.

String bean chicken is a popular Chinese dish served at many Chinese restaurants. It features succulent chicken breast stir fried with tender green beans in a savory sauce.

This Asian chicken dish is best paired with steamed rice for a complete meal. It's absolutely scrumptious and the chicken breast is very tender thanks to the marinade.

The marinade velvets the meat locking in the moisture with the help of baking soda, cornstarch, water and oil. This is a common method marinate meat in Chinese cooking for extra tender meat.

You'll also love this chicken recipe because it's:

• simple to make in one-pan!
• ready in 30 minutes or less.
• better-than-takeout, saving you money in the long run.
• serves a whole family fast.
• fantastic for meal preparation.
• a great way to add fibre to your diet!
• low in calories.

I adore this dish and I hope you do, too!

Ingredients & Substitutes

Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.

• Skinless Boneless Chicken Breast: or substitute with chicken thighs but reduce the cooking time. Not a fan of chicken? Substitute with pork shoulder, flank steak, skirt steak or flat iron steak.
• String Beas (aka Green Beans): or substitute with frozen string green beans but reduce to medium heat.
• Water: to cook the string beans.
• Neutral Cooking Oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a high smoke point. Avoid olive oil or coconut oil.

Chicken Marinade

• Water: room temperature or cold.
• Cornstarch: or substitute with tapioca starch or potato starch.
• Regular Soy Sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce. If you're gluten-free, substitute with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce.
• Baking Soda: avoid skipping this ingredient as it tenderizes the meat.
• Neutral Cooking Oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, or vegetable oil (see above for more examples).

Stir Fry Sauce

• Low-Sodium Chicken Broth: or substitute with room temperature or cold water.
• Regular Soy Sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce. If you're gluten-free, substitute with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce.
• Oyster Sauce: or substitute with vegetarian stir-fry sauce. If you're gluten-free, substitute with a gluten-free version.
• Dark Soy Sauce: this is darker and thicker than regular soy sauce. Or substitute with mushroom soy sauce. If you're gluten-free, substitute with a gluten-free dark soy sauce.
• Cornstarch: or substitute with tapioca starch or potato starch.
• White Granulated Sugar: or substitute with cane sugar.
• Shaoxing Wine: a Chinese rice cooking wine available at Asian grocers. Or substitute with dry sherry wine, dry white wine or chicken broth.
• Sesame Oil: or substitute with ½ teaspoon sesame seeds.
• Garlic Cloves: or substitute with ½ teaspoon garlic powder.

Note: Most Asian grocery stores will carry most of the Asian specific ingredients or check online stores, like Amazon. 

Instructions

Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make string bean chicken:

1. In a large bowl, marinate sliced chicken breast with the marinade ingredients as listed above. Marinate for 15 minutes.

2. In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients as listed above and set aside. 

3. Heat 1 tablespoon or 15 ml vegetable oil in a large pan on medium-high heat, cook marinated chicken until cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside. 

4. Add remaining vegetable oil into the pan followed by string beans and ⅓ cup or 80 ml of water. Toss for 10 seconds. Then cover and steam until all the water has evaporated and the string beans taste tender, about 3-4 minutes. If not tender yet, add 2 tablespoons or 30 ml of water and continue steaming until they are.

5. Pour in the stir-fry sauce and simmer to thicken.

6. Then toss in the cooked chicken until coated in sauce, about 10 seconds. Remove off heat. Serve and enjoy!

Storage & Reheating

• Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
• Freezer friendly? String bean chicken can be frozen for up to 3 months. To freeze: let the dish cool down and then store into a freezer-safe bag squeezing out the residual air. To reheat: defrost it overnight in the fridge and reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop until hot throughout.

Pairing Suggestions

This chicken and green bean stir-fry serves well with:

• starters like egg rolls, crab rangoons, egg drop soup, hot and sour soup
• white or brown rice, cauliflower rice, or fried rice
• chow mein or lo mein
• cooked vegetables like bok choy, spicy garlic bok choy, choy sum, gai lan, garlic green beans or stir fried snow pea leaves.
• protein dishes like Mongolian Beef, Honey Walnut Shrimp, Soy Garlic Tofu and more!

FAQ

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