Chicken and Broccoli

Chicken and Broccoli is a super fast meal to put together…. Plan ahead and marinate your meat in the morning and have dinner on the table in under 20 minutes…. Delicious and better for you than take-out… you control the salt and no msg.

TIPS

As I pointed out in the beginning… the marinade ahead of time and this recipe cooks fast.  Even though the recipe says to marinate the meat for 15 minutes… I did mine in the morning… I have done it the night before also… so all I had to do was cook it when I got home.

I used a bag of ready to cook broccoli florets I found in the produce section of the grocery store… another time saver.. you cut and clean your own before hand as well to save time.  The actual recipe uses the stalks and florets (cut the stalks off and cut them at an angle.. they go in too… no waste here).

I make my rice .. I used Minute Rice… in the microwave while I cooked the meal.

The recipe calls for fresh ginger… if you are new to purchasing fresh ginger… it usually is not expensive.. and can be found in the produce section of the grocery store.  Measuring a piece and cutting it off… then chopping it in a mini chopper is probably the easiest way to mince it. 

You can mince the ginger and garlic together in the mini chopper… just use half the minced mixture in the marinade and half in cooking.

If you need to substitute garlic powder for the cloves… the conversion is 1 clove equals 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder.  Remember different brands and age of the powder will have different potency.. use the amount in the conversion and adjust to taste at the end of cooking.

If you don’t have fresh ginger .. you can use ground ginger but the taste is slightly different… the potency is also different… so start with less and add more in the cooking stage to your taste.. for the marinade use the teaspoon of ground ginger…. then sprinkle additional ginger in the final stages of cooking if needed.

Speaking of potency of the ginger… the larger the root, the more mature it is and more pungent… wrinkled skin indicates it is aged and less potent. 

Store fresh ginger wrapped in a paper towel for 2-3 weeks in the fridge.

The salt is listed in a range.. I prefer things less salty.. I use the ½ teaspoon.. if you’re used to saltier food.. then use the larger amount.. remember.. you can always add more in the final cooking so I always recommend the lower amount.. but that is entirely up to you.

If you love Asian food and want to cook it at home.. a wok is the best pan to cook in… a good quality wok is worth its weight in gold…  I splurged on a Le Creuset wok at the outlet…. It’s a heavy cast iron wok.. heats up fast and gets really really hot.. perfect for cooking Asian recipes…. Hot and fast is the best cooking method for these recipes.

You can cook this in a regular skillet.. use one that will get nice and hot.

The cooking step that cooks the broccoli will surprise you.. I know it did me… the fresh broccoli gets a beautiful bright green.. my picture does not do it justice because of the sauce on it.

This will make 3-4 servings depending on size.  We had 3 servings from it.

I hope you try it!

Recipe:  Chicken and Broccoli

All you need:

About 1 pound boneless chicken breasts, cut into small chunks

For the Marinade:

3-4 green onions, white only, thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, minced *See TIPS

½ inch minced fresh ginger or about ½ teaspoon ground ginger *See TIPS

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon cornstarch

½-1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sesame oil

Additional ingredients for Cooking:

1 tablespoon cornstarch

¾  cup chicken broth

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

4 cups broccoli florets and cut-up stems *See TIPS

1 garlic clove, minced *See TIPS

½  inch minced fresh ginger or about ½ teaspoon ground ginger *See TIPS

3 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

Cooked Rice

Chinese noodles (optional)

Thinly sliced green onion (green parts) for garnish (optional)

All you have to do:

Mix the marinade ingredients together in a glass bowl and place the chicken in it… marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes or you can do this step ahead *See TIPS

In a small bowl or measuring cup, mix the cornstarch and chicken broth.  Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a wok or skillet over high heat.  Add the broccoli stems and cook for about a minute.  Add the florets, minced ginger, minced garlic and 3 tablespoons water.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and stir fry cook for about 3 minutes until broccoli is bright green and cooked but still crisp (you will be adding it back into the pan at the end for more cooking).  Remove the broccoli to a plate.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and heat it over high heat.  Add the chicken and stir fry cook until the chicken is cooked and a little brown about 5 minutes.

Add the hoisin sauce and the broccoli and stir fry cook to heat the broccoli.  Add the reserved cornstarch and chicken broth.  Bring to a bubbly boil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Adjust seasonings to taste if necessary.

Serve over cooked rice.