Back for another Teaching Teens To Cook post. Today we are going to make Stir Fry. This is a great meal for college kids. It’s healthy and pretty simple.
I hope your teen is loving this blog series. Having confidence in the kitchen is such an esteem builder. What a blessing to be able to cook, even if it’s a simple meal. And learning how to follow a recipe can give them confidence to try new things in the kitchen.
Skills our teens will learn from this dinner:
- How to make rice
- How to cook chicken
- More practice with cutting up vegetables
Making the Rice
Let’s start with the rice. I usually make 2-3 cups to feed my family. For this recipe let’s go with two cups. Using a large sauce pan add two cups of uncooked rice. Teach your child that we want to double that amount of water, so in our case add 4 cups of water. (also I love quizzing my kids on practical mental math)
Place your burner on high, making sure the handle to the pan is turned inward for safety reasons. Once the water starts bubbling turn down to low and put on a lid. Set timer for 20 minutes. When I say low, I mean lower than medium, but not all the way on low.
To prep the stir fry talk about the importance of using different cutting boards for your chicken and vegetables. Raw chicken can spread salmonella which can make you sick. You are going to want to wash your hands after handling chicken and wipe down your counters with Lysol wipes.
Cooking Chicken in A Skillet
I like to cut up my chicken in stripes and then cube it after. I also use a fork when handling chicken because I don’t like the way it feels. I have a friend who grew up on a farm and she just touches it with her hands. Have your teen handle it the way you do.
Heat about a Tablespoon of oil in a large pan or wok. I use sesame oil when making stir fry. Add your chicken to your pan and use a wooden spoon to stir around chicken. We want to cook it until it’s no longer pink. This is a good time to talk about cutting up our chicken in similar sized chunks so it can cook faster and evenly.
Remove your chicken to bowl and add more oil. Add your vegetables, starting with your thicker veggies first so your other vegetables won’t be soggy and overcooked. Have your teen decide what order to add your vegetables. It helps to have your veggies already prepped. Throw your chicken back in when the vegetables are done. You can add some soy sauce or teriyaki sauce and coat. Serve over warm rice.
Here are some possible vegetable options and how to cut them up. If you are in a hurry you can pick up frozen stir fry veggies. Remember to wash your vegetables first.
Prepping the Vegetables
Cutting up Broccoli
Cut off the large stocks. It’s okay to keep part of the stem. Working from the outside towards the middle cut off each branch. Remember we want our vegetables to be uniform in size so they cook faster and more evenly. You may need to cut a “branch” in half. I usually cook this vegetable first.
Cutting up Carrots
Peel your carrots with a peeler. Cut off both ends. Continue cutting into “coins”. Or you can get a julienne peeler and cut them into match sticks. Or Cut them into little sticks.
Cutting up Celery
Because celery is a root vegetable you are going to want to make sure to really wash this vegetable well. Cut off the ends and then continue slicing into little bites.
Cutting Bell Peppers
After washing your bell pepper make a horizontal cut below the top. Remove the inside and all the little seeds. Discard the stem. I cut around the stem to get more bell pepper. Cut your bell pepper into quarter vertically. Keep in strips or continue chopping or dicing into chunks.
Cutting Onions
Cut your onion in half. Cut off the ends. Place your onion half down creating a dome. Tell your teen to think of an arch stone. Cut downward so that your onion keeps it shape. Rotate your onion and cut the opposite way so as you slice you create little onion pieces.
Cutting up Water chestnuts
Open and drain a can. Slice your chestnuts if they didn’t already come that way.
Cutting up Mushrooms
Be sure to wash mushrooms very well, rubbing off dirt. Then thinly slice.
Stir fry is a great dinner option and your kids are more likely to eat vegetables if they help prepare them. Rice is another great staple that your teen should master. Maybe later when you are cooking dinner you can have your teen be responsible for the rice.
Remember to give honest praise for their hard work. Ask them what they learned and what they might do different next time. Keep your questions open ended so they can express their thoughts and ideas. Your job is to listen and encourage. Thanking them during dinner might help younger kids look forward to time in the kitchen with you some day.
If you haven’t already check out the first 3 days of Teaching Your Teens to Cook. Be sure to pin and share. We want to help your youth be prepared for the real world.
