Saturday

February 22nd, 2025

The Kosher Gourmet

This incredibly flavorful stir-fry -- bold, sweet, with heat, and a bit of sourness -- comes together with just 3 ingredients (and hardly any prep)

Ali Domrongchai

By Ali Domrongchai

Published Feb. 21, 2025

This incredibly flavorful stir-fry -- bold, sweet, with heat, and a bit of sourness --  comes together with just 3 ingredients (and hardly any prep)
As much as I love a double-digit-step recipe with more ingredients than I can count on my two hands, that's not realistic for every night (let alone weekly!). Sometimes you just need a simple recipe that calls for only a few ingredients and hardly any prep. And for those nights, I turn to my three-ingredient stir-fry (which comes together even faster than deciding on your DoorDash order!)

Seriously, this stir-fry involves no prep (not even chopping onions!), takes just over 10 minutes to come together, and tastes totally delicious. It's made with your ground meat of choice, a 14-ounce bag of coleslaw mix, and some store-bought sweet Thai chili sauce (it's also great with chicken). The sauce is bold, and adds some sweetness, heat, salt, and a bit of sourness (it really has everything!) while the bagged coleslaw mix adds all the veggies you need (I promised no chopping!). It's one of those dinners that tastes like it took way longer to make than it did. Once you try it, I guarantee you'll want it on your weekly meal roster.

Why you'll love it

A weeknight hero. This stir-fry has three ingredients (we consider salt, pepper, and oil to be freebies) and just two steps, coming together in less than 15 minutes. It's sweet, salty, sour, and a little spicy. The sweet Thai chili sauce adds a powerful punch of flavor to this simple stir-fry that's anything but bland.

Key ingredients

Ground meat is ideal for quick stir-fries because it cooks quickly and absorbs flavor well.

Bagged coleslaw mix: Few things are as convenient as a bag of coleslaw mix. It comes with pre-chopped cabbage and carrots and gets incredibly tender in this recipe.

Sweet Thai chili sauce: As much as I love homemade sweet Thai chili sauce, store-bought works just as great (particularly Mae Ploy brand) and adds a flavorful punch to this recipe.

Helpful swaps

I've made this recipe with ground turkey and ground chicken, and have even done it with Impossible Meat (it turned out great!). Either way, be sure to cook meat until it gets some browning on it; it'll help make it not soggy in the end once the cabbage and sauce are added in.

When shopping for coleslaw mix, try to find one that has both green and purple cabbage and carrots so that the skillet is colorful, but feel free to experiment with just shredded cabbage or even broccoli slaw.

Using a wok will yield a crispier, well-browned final dish, but a frying pan or saucepan also works great.

Recipe notes: Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to four days.

Sweet Thai Chili Ground Meat Stir-Fry

SERVINGS: 4


1 tablespoon olive or neutral oil

1 pound ground chicken or turkey

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly black ground pepper

1 (14-ounce) bag coleslaw mix

1/2 cup sweet Thai chili sauce

3 medium scallions, thinly sliced (optional)

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Steamed jasmine rice, for serving (optional)

1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add 1 pound ground meat and season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Cook, breaking the meat up into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until cooked through and browned, 7 to 8 minutes.

2. Stir in 1 (14-ounce bag) coleslaw mix and 1/2 cup sweet Thai chili sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are crisp tender, about 3 minutes. Garnish with 3 thinly sliced medium scallions and 1 tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds if desired. Serve with steamed rice if desired.

JewishWorldReview.com publishes delicious -- mostly nutritious -- recipes. Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

(COMMENT, BELOW)

Columnists

Toons