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Every now and then, I have a little bit of an identity crisis about this blog.
As in, I sometimes struggle how to explain Gimme Some Oven’s identity when people ask, “So what’s your blog about?”
Business pros are always advising bloggers that they need to niche way (way) down in order to be successful. Which always makes me wonder whether I should have chosen to focus exclusively on a popular topic like slow cooking, or simple vegetarian dinners, or gluten-free desserts, or 5-ingredient meals. I mean, I get it — choosing to stick to one specific topic might make for a clear, well-focused blog. But the reality is that I cook all of these kinds of meals in any given month! And I really love that! Sure, I tend to go more for the quick and easy recipes in any category (and try to eat as healthy and seasonally and plant-based as possible), but the honest truth is that I love just cooking up a little bit of everything.
So when people ask what kind of recipes are shared on here, I generally just tend to shrug and say, “I just blog what I normally eat!” Sure, it might not be the most business-savvy answer, and may never be refined to the perfectly marketable elevator pitch. But I’ve never been the most well-spoken girl anyway, so a rambling answer about all of the random recipes I’ve been enjoying lately will probably always be my style. ;)
This month, for example, I’ve pulled my slow cooker back out, and I’m loving experimenting with ways to have it save us time and make the house smell freaking amazing when you come home from a long day at work. This month, I have fallen in love with healthier caramel sauces (recipes coming soon!) that I want to drizzle on every single dessert this fall. This month, I’m wrapping up the end of my CSA, and am making salads galore with all of those delicious end-of-summer veggies and greens. This month, I’m determined to master some of the traditional dishes I loved in France (and loved reading about in Julia’s delightful memoir), like classic coq au vin and boeuf bourguignion. This month, my calendar is super full, so I’m whipping up dinners in the amount of time it takes to watch The Daily Show on Hulu (28 minutes!).
And this month, this simple Sesame Chicken Noodle Stir-Fry absolutely made my night.
It’s quick and easy to make, as you might have guessed from the title. It’s made with a zillion veggies from my CSA, like broccoli, carrots, and bright bell peppers. It’s made extra-flavorful with a simple sesame-soy-ginger sauce. And to be honest, it is just the kind of simple dinner I normally eat. ;)
Sesame Chicken Noodle Stir Fry Recipe | 1-Minute Video
So of course, I wanted to share it with you. :)
It’s nothing super profound. Simply cook a pot of rice noodles, according to the package instructions. And while the water is heating, chop up whatever stir-fry-friendly veggies and greens you have on hand, and saute them up in some peanut oil (<– my favorite, or you can also use whatever cooking oil you have on hand.)
Then whip up a simple stir-fry sauce with soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, garlic powder, and some chili garlic sauce (<– if you’d like to spice things up). And if you’d like to make this gluten-free, just swap some tamari in place of the soy sauce.
Toss it all together…
…sprinkle with some toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onions…
…and then dive the heck in.
I mean, let’s be real, I’ll always be excited about any dish that involves noodles. :) But this particular stir-fry definitely hit the spot last week. It’s full of great flavor, easy to make with whatever veggies you have on hand, it’s ready to go in about half an hour, and it’s my total kind of comfort food.
So thanks for rollin’ with whatever sounds good to me, and I sincerely hope this one will hit the spot for you too!!
This 30-Minute Sesame Chicken Noodle Stir-Fry recipe is quick and easy to make, easy to customize with whatever fresh veggies or greens you have on hand, and it’s tossed with the most delicious sesame-soy vinaigrette!
Cook noodles according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
In a large saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and season evenly with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Cook the chicken, stirring and flipping occasionally, for until it is just cooked through and no longer pink on the inside (about 3-5 minutes). Transfer chicken with a slotted spoon to a separate plate, and set aside.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the saute pan, and increase heat to high. Add broccoli, carrots, bell pepper and mushrooms, and saute for 5 minutes, or until they reach your desired level of softness.
Add in the collard greens, sauce, cooked chicken, noodles, and immediately toss to combine. Continue cooking for 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until the greens have wilted a bit.
Remove from heat and serve immediately, garnished with your desired toppings.
To Make The Stir-Fry Sauce:
Whisk all ingredients together until combined. Then whisk in as much chili garlic sauce as you’d like.
Notes
*You could really use just about any mushrooms here — baby bella, white button, shiitakes, or a combination!
**Feel free to sub in whatever greens you have on hand here — fresh spinach, kale, chard, or mustard greens.
Your blog style rocks! Your blog is one of my favorites to read and get inspiration from because of your “blog what I eat” style. I hope you keep ignoring those business pros!
For what it’s worth, I think your current “niche” is fine. As a reader, I know what I’m going to get from this blog – realistic meals that won’t break the bank, but don’t skimp on flavor and fun.
I’m going grocery shopping today, so I’ll be adding this recipe to my meal plan!
I genuinely love the recipes you post and I find myself cooking something from your blog at least a couple times a month. Just last week I whipped together a batch of your slow cooker carmalized onions and they turned out great! I’m always thankful that you do feature a variety of recipes because there is a simple balance that emerges in the diversity. I appreciate you!
I really like how varied your blog is–I come here whenever I need inspiration, no matter what kind of cooking/eating mood I’m in! I feel like I would like it to be easier to search for like, chicken-based recipes or quick-dinner recipes! Sometimes I come in a certain mood and I wish I could narrow things down a little bit, but overall–I always find something I like!
My advice – as a non-blogger and non-business person – is to keep doing what you do, because you do it well. I’m sure there are some people who might want a gluten-free site, or something else very specific, but most of us eat the way you do. I like variety. I like tasty. I like simple. And for my money, you could say your blog is about quick and easy. A stir fry like this one is a wonderful way to eat. If you want a good source for French recipes, Marie of Not Enough Cinnamon did an e-cookbook on French food (she is native French, who has been living in Australia, Canada, and I think she’s now back in Australia). I like so many of her recipes so well that I would trust her for authentic French recipes. I’m not sure her book is still available, because she has not posted anything on her blog since mid-July. But it’s worth checking out her recipes. I hope you enjoy French cooking.
I love seeing recipes for what you’re eating, no matter how random! I wouldn’t read a blog that was too specific. And for any haters put there….just look at the Pioneer Woman and where she is now….and she is random :) love all your recioes, they are always good. One of yours we always have on hand are the bars with no flour, nuts/dates/honey/coconut oil/cocoa powder, we LOVE them and have made several of our friends eat poorly try them and converted them!
Hi Ali, I get it, I hear it too, branding and all that junk. I like that you are staying true to yourself and sharing what you normally eat and love to eat. That’s where the passion comes from. I like the variety and look forward to hearing what you’re up to and what’s cookin’ in your kitchen. Keep doing what you’re doing! Love it :)
My kids would love this – like you said…anything with noodles! And for some reason, they both love the Asian flavors of soy, ginger and teriyaki – this would be perfect. Thanks for sharing and about your blogging philosophy! Very cute.
Made this tonight and it was perfect, delicious and healthy. Ran through Byerlys salad bar at lunch for the greens and veggies and used fresh rice noodles. Will make for a friend next time! Thank you Ali!!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks, Sheryl — we’re glad to hear you enjoyed it! :)
I just started following and love the diversity of recipes! I made this recipe tonight and my husband said it is a keeper. Please keep making recipes of food you eat. We try to mix up our meals and keep it interesting.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks for sharing, Janessa – we’re so glad you and your husband enjoyed this!
I LOVE your blog because it matches my cooking/eating style– which is just like yours: veggie filled and not too fussy!
I find that whenever I make stir frys and slice the chicken thinly before I cook it, the chicken becomes tough and dry. Have you ever had this issue and if so do you have any advice?
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks for your sweet words, Sarah — we’re glad to hear that! As for the chicken — we haven’t had any issues with it being dry that way, but if you’ve had better luck with cooking it whole and then cutting it, we say go for it! :)
Hi Erica! We’re sorry but we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
Can you make this dish without using the oyster sauce? Is there any substitution for it? I am allergic to shellfish and seafood. Would like to try this but cannot with the oyster sauce.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Christina! Yes, definitely. You can use hoisin instead, if you like. We hope you enjoy!
Hi there!
I made your dish…it was amazing. In my rendition I doubled the recipe and made these tweeks:
1. I tripled the sauce.
2. Used a bit less soy sauce (2/3 c).
3. 4 tablespoons chili garlic sauce.
4. Used 3.5 tablespoons fresh minced ginger instead of ground.
5. Added a can of water chestnuts (should have used 2).
6. Halved the oyster sauce and substituted the other half with hoisin.
7. After the noodles soaked in hot water, I stir fried them (per packaging) separately, adding about 2/3 the sauce toward the end.
Because I doubled the recipe and the packages were 16oz each, I guesstimated 20oz…I think I overshot. I wished I’d had more veggies for the amount of noodles, but the amount of sauce for the dish was perfect.
8. Stir fried the veggies in 2 batches since it was so much to cook, adding several tablespoons of sauce toward the end.
9. Topped with your suggestions.
Amazing!!!!
*In your recipe I couldn’t find when to add the sauce to the dish. Do you add it in the end?
I love the versatility of this dish and the sauce is excellent! Thank you so much.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Jamie! Thanks for sharing with us — we’re so glad you enjoyed this! :)
It’s boeuf bourguignon not bouef bourguignion just so you know. I’m french canadian so it catch my eye. But i love the fact that your blog is so diversified, i always go back to it. Keep up the good work!!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Oops! Thanks for catching that, we just fixed it! :)
I love your blog style! You’re the number one blog I come to get dinner ideas. For someone that doesn’t look at a lot of blogs it’s earlier for me to have one source. If you had a niche I probably wouldn’t be interested- maybe that’s just me. But I love what you’re doing- it feels authentic! Keep it up!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks for your sweet words about the blog, Sarah — we’re so glad you’re here! :)
I love this recipe, except I had a little honey and cornstarch because I like make sauce a little thicker. I also add shrimp in their sometimes. I just made it tonight again and it was so good!!!!!! ????
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
We’re glad to hear that, Jillian, thanks for giving it a try! :)
This is exactly what i was in the mood for … its sooo good. I added a bit of brown sugar, used whole wheat linguine and different veggies and mmm mmm good!
first time on your blog, I’ll be back!
I made this tonight and it was a hit with the kids and husband! Another Gimme Some Oven recipe saves the day! I love this blog and whenever I need a recipe or inspiration on what to do for a dinner or a dessert this is the place I go -and every time it just works out perfect!
The recipe was delicious although I didn’t get enough. The recipe states 4-6 servings and there was barely enough for 2 people. I would recommend doubling or even tripling the recipe , especially if you have big eaters.
K this is delicious, I make it all the time, but my rice noodles are always sticky and pale-looking, how do you get yours to look so nice? Is it actually linguine in the photos?
Hey, I’m Ali!
My favorite thing in life is time spent around the table. And all the better with some seriously tasty food to bring us all together. more about me »
Your blog style rocks! Your blog is one of my favorites to read and get inspiration from because of your “blog what I eat” style. I hope you keep ignoring those business pros!
For what it’s worth, I think your current “niche” is fine. As a reader, I know what I’m going to get from this blog – realistic meals that won’t break the bank, but don’t skimp on flavor and fun.
I’m going grocery shopping today, so I’ll be adding this recipe to my meal plan!
I love your little bit of everything blog! Keep it up!
I love that you time dinner prep to the Daily Show
This blog is perfect just as it is: a little bit of everything is great because it matches readers’ lives too. Don’t worry about changing a thing!
I genuinely love the recipes you post and I find myself cooking something from your blog at least a couple times a month. Just last week I whipped together a batch of your slow cooker carmalized onions and they turned out great! I’m always thankful that you do feature a variety of recipes because there is a simple balance that emerges in the diversity. I appreciate you!
I really like how varied your blog is–I come here whenever I need inspiration, no matter what kind of cooking/eating mood I’m in! I feel like I would like it to be easier to search for like, chicken-based recipes or quick-dinner recipes! Sometimes I come in a certain mood and I wish I could narrow things down a little bit, but overall–I always find something I like!
My advice – as a non-blogger and non-business person – is to keep doing what you do, because you do it well. I’m sure there are some people who might want a gluten-free site, or something else very specific, but most of us eat the way you do. I like variety. I like tasty. I like simple. And for my money, you could say your blog is about quick and easy. A stir fry like this one is a wonderful way to eat. If you want a good source for French recipes, Marie of Not Enough Cinnamon did an e-cookbook on French food (she is native French, who has been living in Australia, Canada, and I think she’s now back in Australia). I like so many of her recipes so well that I would trust her for authentic French recipes. I’m not sure her book is still available, because she has not posted anything on her blog since mid-July. But it’s worth checking out her recipes. I hope you enjoy French cooking.
I love seeing recipes for what you’re eating, no matter how random! I wouldn’t read a blog that was too specific. And for any haters put there….just look at the Pioneer Woman and where she is now….and she is random :) love all your recioes, they are always good. One of yours we always have on hand are the bars with no flour, nuts/dates/honey/coconut oil/cocoa powder, we LOVE them and have made several of our friends eat poorly try them and converted them!
Holy typos on my previous comment! Just trying to say everything is awesome, don’t change anything!
Hi Ali, I get it, I hear it too, branding and all that junk. I like that you are staying true to yourself and sharing what you normally eat and love to eat. That’s where the passion comes from. I like the variety and look forward to hearing what you’re up to and what’s cookin’ in your kitchen. Keep doing what you’re doing! Love it :)
Dying over all the color! I’m always looking for a great stir-fry recipe…you know, to make more room for ice cream :)
Thanks, Heather — we hope you enjoy this (and yes, we are always trying to make more room for ice cream)! ;)
Yummmmmmm! I can hardly contain my desire to dig into a HUGE bowl of this deliciousness!!!
Thanks, Tori — we hope you can give this a try soon! :)
Can I omit the oyster sauce? Or substitute something else for it? Thanks! Love your site!!
Hi Michele! Yes, you can use hoisin sauce instead. We hope you enjoy!
This recipe is me in a nutshell. Simple, low-maintenance but totally sassy! Love all the flavor and the ease of this for a quick weeknight fix!
Thanks, Karly — we hope you can give it a try sometime soon!
I love the variety in your blog! The same type of food over and over again would be boring.
Looks delicious! :)
My kids would love this – like you said…anything with noodles! And for some reason, they both love the Asian flavors of soy, ginger and teriyaki – this would be perfect. Thanks for sharing and about your blogging philosophy! Very cute.
Awesome, Terry — we hope they enjoy it! :)
Made this tonight and it was perfect, delicious and healthy. Ran through Byerlys salad bar at lunch for the greens and veggies and used fresh rice noodles. Will make for a friend next time! Thank you Ali!!
Thanks, Sheryl — we’re glad to hear you enjoyed it! :)
This sounds really good. W
The colours and freshness of this look amazing – will definitely be giving this one a try!
Thank you, Natasha — we hope you love it!
I just started following and love the diversity of recipes! I made this recipe tonight and my husband said it is a keeper. Please keep making recipes of food you eat. We try to mix up our meals and keep it interesting.
Thanks for sharing, Janessa – we’re so glad you and your husband enjoyed this!
I LOVE your blog because it matches my cooking/eating style– which is just like yours: veggie filled and not too fussy!
I find that whenever I make stir frys and slice the chicken thinly before I cook it, the chicken becomes tough and dry. Have you ever had this issue and if so do you have any advice?
Thanks for your sweet words, Sarah — we’re glad to hear that! As for the chicken — we haven’t had any issues with it being dry that way, but if you’ve had better luck with cooking it whole and then cutting it, we say go for it! :)
How many calories in this dish?
Hi Erica! We’re sorry but we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
I just made this dish and it is amazing!! I’ve never made stir fry before. I will definitely make this again.
Awesome, so glad you enjoyed it!
Can you make this dish without using the oyster sauce? Is there any substitution for it? I am allergic to shellfish and seafood. Would like to try this but cannot with the oyster sauce.
Hi Christina! Yes, definitely. You can use hoisin instead, if you like. We hope you enjoy!
Hi there!
I made your dish…it was amazing. In my rendition I doubled the recipe and made these tweeks:
1. I tripled the sauce.
2. Used a bit less soy sauce (2/3 c).
3. 4 tablespoons chili garlic sauce.
4. Used 3.5 tablespoons fresh minced ginger instead of ground.
5. Added a can of water chestnuts (should have used 2).
6. Halved the oyster sauce and substituted the other half with hoisin.
7. After the noodles soaked in hot water, I stir fried them (per packaging) separately, adding about 2/3 the sauce toward the end.
Because I doubled the recipe and the packages were 16oz each, I guesstimated 20oz…I think I overshot. I wished I’d had more veggies for the amount of noodles, but the amount of sauce for the dish was perfect.
8. Stir fried the veggies in 2 batches since it was so much to cook, adding several tablespoons of sauce toward the end.
9. Topped with your suggestions.
Amazing!!!!
*In your recipe I couldn’t find when to add the sauce to the dish. Do you add it in the end?
I love the versatility of this dish and the sauce is excellent! Thank you so much.
Hi Jamie! Thanks for sharing with us — we’re so glad you enjoyed this! :)
It’s boeuf bourguignon not bouef bourguignion just so you know. I’m french canadian so it catch my eye. But i love the fact that your blog is so diversified, i always go back to it. Keep up the good work!!
Oops! Thanks for catching that, we just fixed it! :)
I love your blog style! You’re the number one blog I come to get dinner ideas. For someone that doesn’t look at a lot of blogs it’s earlier for me to have one source. If you had a niche I probably wouldn’t be interested- maybe that’s just me. But I love what you’re doing- it feels authentic! Keep it up!
Thanks for your sweet words about the blog, Sarah — we’re so glad you’re here! :)
This was amazing!!! I did use spinach instead of collard greens.
Thanks, Nikky, we’re so happy you loved it!
I love this recipe, except I had a little honey and cornstarch because I like make sauce a little thicker. I also add shrimp in their sometimes. I just made it tonight again and it was so good!!!!!! ????
We’re glad to hear that, Jillian, thanks for giving it a try! :)
could I substitute fish sauce for oyster sauce in this recipe?
Yes, definitely! We hope you enjoy!
This is exactly what i was in the mood for … its sooo good. I added a bit of brown sugar, used whole wheat linguine and different veggies and mmm mmm good!
first time on your blog, I’ll be back!
I made this tonight and it was a hit with the kids and husband! Another Gimme Some Oven recipe saves the day! I love this blog and whenever I need a recipe or inspiration on what to do for a dinner or a dessert this is the place I go -and every time it just works out perfect!
Tasty recipe, but I found that the sauce was a little too strong. It could maybe do with less sesame oil.
This is one of my favorite recipes. It literally was exactly what I was looking for in a noodle stir fry when I first found it.
If I were to make the stir fry sauce to keep some on hand, how long do you think I could store it?
Just made this, it was delicious! Thank you!
Family favourite!
The recipe was delicious although I didn’t get enough. The recipe states 4-6 servings and there was barely enough for 2 people. I would recommend doubling or even tripling the recipe , especially if you have big eaters.
This was delicious!
I would have liked this more with something like a lo mein instead of noodles but overall it was alright
These are so cute! You did an awesome job!
Really tasty and healthy dish! We love all of the veggies this has. Thanks for the recipe!
K this is delicious, I make it all the time, but my rice noodles are always sticky and pale-looking, how do you get yours to look so nice? Is it actually linguine in the photos?