Chicken, Sweet Potato and Spinach Stir-Fry
Golden chicken pieces and tender sweet potato tossed with wilted spinach in a glossy pan sauce. A high-protein one-pan dinner that comes together fast.
- Total
- 26 min
- Prep 10 · Cook 16
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Searing · Sautéing
- Savory
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Peel the sweet potato and cut it into 1.5 cm cubes. Cut the chicken breast into 2 cm pieces. Pick over the spinach and discard any thick stems.
~8 min
Uniform 1.5 cm cubes cook at the same rate, so the sweet potato softens evenly without burning; dry chicken browns instead of steaming.
-
Pat the chicken breast pieces dry with paper towel, then toss them in a small bowl with 1/4 tsp of the salt and the black pepper.
~2 min
Salting and drying the chicken draws surface moisture away, so the pieces sear to a golden crust rather than steaming in the pan.
Dry the chicken well before it hits the pan: surface moisture steams the meat instead of browning it, and the golden crust is where most of the flavor comes from.
-
Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the chicken in a single layer and cook without moving it for 3 minutes, until the underside is golden. Turn the pieces and cook 2 minutes more, until just cooked through and no longer pink at the center. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
~5 min
A single layer and undisturbed searing lets the chicken develop Maillard browning, the source of deep savory flavor, before it finishes cooking.
Searing Pat the chicken dry and leave it undisturbed in a shimmering pan; a golden crust releases on its own, while moving it early tears the surface and steams the meat.
-
Add the sweet potato cubes to the same skillet and cook over medium-high heat for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes, until the edges are browned and a cube pierces easily with a knife.
~8 min
Stirring every couple of minutes exposes new surfaces to the hot pan, browning the sweet potato evenly while it steams through to tenderness.
If the sweet potato browns faster than it softens, add 2 tbsp water, cover the skillet for 2 minutes, then uncover to let the moisture cook off.
Sautéing Keep the heat medium-high and stir only every couple of minutes so the sweet potato browns at the edges; constant stirring drops the pan temperature and steams instead.
-
Add the spinach and the remaining 1/4 tsp salt to the skillet. Pour in the 60 ml water and stir for 1 to 2 minutes, until the spinach is fully wilted and the water has reduced to a glossy coating on the vegetables.
~2 min
The splash of water steams the spinach quickly and then reduces, leaving a glossy sauce that clings instead of a watery pool.
Sautéing Keep the heat medium-high and stir only every couple of minutes so the sweet potato browns at the edges; constant stirring drops the pan temperature and steams instead.
-
Return the chicken and any resting juices to the skillet. Toss everything together for 1 minute over medium heat, until the chicken is hot and coated in the pan sauce. Serve straight away.
~1 min
Returning the chicken at the end warms it through without overcooking, and the resting juices loosen the pan sauce so it coats everything.