Chicken and Bok Choy Stir Fry - AIP elimination compliant

This one moves at wok speed: ginger, lime, garlic, a splash of fish sauce, bok choy wilted just to the point of tender. Cold pan to plates in under 30 minutes, and no part of it demands your full attention for very long.

Vitamin K and folate are both here in a real amount from the bok choy, and the calcium is worth noticing too since it comes from a vegetable, on a protocol where dairy is out of the picture right now. Chicken thighs hold more zinc and iron than chicken breast does, both minerals your immune system leans on for its everyday repair work. Ginger has genuine support behind it for easing digestion, useful when a strained gut is part of the reason you are eating this way.

Eat this one without ceremony. It is dinner, and it happens to be doing quiet clinical work at the same time.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons honey

Note: honey is permitted on some AIP elimination frameworks but considered a reintroduction by others. Check with your practitioner if you are in strict Phase 1 elimination.

• 2 teaspoons fish sauce (use Red Boat or another clean-label fish sauce with no added sugars or fillers)
• 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
• 3-4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized chunks
• 1 pound baby bok choy, cut into 1-2 inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder (optional, for a thicker sauce)
• Fresh cilantro, for garnish

Method

In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the lemon juice, honey, fish sauce, coconut aminos, ginger, garlic, and salt. If you are using arrowroot to thicken, whisk it into the sauce mixture now until no lumps remain. Set aside.

Heat a large skillet or wok over high heat. Add the coconut oil and let it get very hot - it should shimmer and just begin to smoke. Add the chicken pieces in a single layer, working in batches if needed to avoid crowding. Cook without stirring for 2-3 minutes, until the chicken is browned on the bottom, then stir and cook for another 2-3 minutes until mostly cooked through. Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate.

Add the bok choy to the hot pan and cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes until the leaves have wilted and the stems are just tender with a little bite remaining.

Return the chicken to the pan. Pour the sauce over everything and stir to coat. The sauce will thicken and begin to cling to the chicken and bok choy within about 1-2 minutes. Taste and adjust salt.

Serve immediately, garnished with fresh cilantro.

Cooking Method Variations

Air fryer variation

This stir-fry does not translate directly to an air fryer because of the sauce, but the chicken pieces can be air fried at 400 F for 10-12 minutes (shaking halfway) as an alternative to pan-searing. Make the sauce reduction separately in a skillet, then toss the cooked chicken and bok choy (steamed or sauteed briefly on the stovetop) in the sauce to coat and serve.

*Adapted from gutsybynature.com*