MyBESTRuns

Shalane Flanagan’s stir-fry recipe: a ‘choose your own adventure’ meal

Every household should have an easy, quick stir-fry to whip up on busy days, and Shalane Flanagan‘s recipe, packed with veggies of your choice, is versatile and easy to match the tastes you’re cooking for.

Flanagan, a four-time Olympian (twice in the marathon) and the 2017 New York City Marathon champion, may be retired from professional competition, but she’s still a busy coach for Bowerman Track Club, a mom, and co-author of three cookbooks with her former teammate and friend, Elyse Kopecki.

Flanagan says her family counts on a weekly stir-fry to use up what they have at home and suggests: “choose your own adventure, but aim for a range of colors to max out nutrition potential.”

Shalane and Elyse’s Eat the Rainbow Stir-Fry

Ingredients (marinade)

8 ounces skinless chicken, chopped

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp lime juice

2 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp minced garlic and/or ginger

Veggies

2 Tbsp high-heat oil (like sesame, avocado or safflower oil)

1/2 large or 1 small onion, sliced

2 heaping cups chopped hard vegetables (broccoli, carrots, celery)

1 heaping cup sliced soft vegetables (snap peas, bell pepper, cabbage, box choy, mushrooms)

Directions

Place the chicken, soy sauce, lime juice and honey in a quart-size zipper bag and shake to combine. Leave out for 20 minutes to allow meat to marinate and come up to room temperature (for even more meat flavour, marinate overnight in the fridge).

Heat a wok or high-sided sauté pan over high heat. Add the oil, onion and hard vegetables. Cook, stirring frequently until the veggies begin to brown–about five minutes.

Turn the heat down to medium-high, add the soft vegetables, and sauté for about two minutes. Add the chicken with the marinade and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through, about five minutes.

Use a clean spoon to serve on top of brown rice or quinoa (or noodles) and drizzle with your favourite sauce, like sriracha or peanut sauce.

Flanagan’s tips: Prep all the veggies before frying, and chop veggies to similar sizes so that they cook evenly. Cook hard vegetables first, and moisture-rick ingredients last, and make sure your pan is really hot (and keep it hot). Don’t walk away: stir-frying means quick cooking over high heat with frequent stirring.

posted Friday January 13th
by Running Magazine