1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces
3 cups broccoli florets
8 oz button mushrooms, thinly sliced
canola oil
1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1 teaspoon water
cooked rice to serve (I made ours in my rice cooker and added a drop of sesame oil, some sesame seeds and chives prior to cooking)
for the marinade:
1 tablespoon shaoxing
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
for the sauce:
1/4 cup chicken stock
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon shaoxing
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon hoisin
Directions:
Place the chicken and marinade ingredients in a resealable bag. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together the sauce ingredients. Set aside. Steam the broccoli until just crisp. Heat some oil in a wok. Add the chicken and cook until nearly cooked through. Add the sauce, mushrooms and broccoli. Bring to a boil. Stir in the cornstarch and cook until it thickens, just a minute or two. Serve over rice.
My thoughts:
While chicken & broccoli is a pretty popular Chinese takeout choice, I really wasn’t too interested in (it seemed too plain) but once a friend ordered it and had them add mushrooms that I tried it and got slightly hooked. I haven’t had it in years but when I found myself in possession of chicken, broccoli and a bunch of button mushrooms on the verge of spoiling I thought I’d try my hand at making it myself. It was super easy and so much lighter and fresher tasting than I remember. I personally like it a lot more with the mushrooms than without but the mycophobic could leave them out and it would be just fine. You could also sub in an equal amount of firm or fried tofu, beef or pork for the chicken.
Try adding water chestnuts. It adds a great crunch. I always request that it be added to my beef & broccoli too.
Tonia
I loathe the texture of water chestnuts! I always ask for them to be left out of my food. Carrots might be good though.
Ah, chicken and broccoli is such a staple Chinese menu item, yet certainly not the most exciting. I find that in a lot of restaurants, the chicken isn't of the best quality either so I would only imagine how much better it is when you make it yourself.
Thank you for such a wonderful food blog! I am trying to get mine started – I found a bunch of recipes that my family had compiled and want to put them online to share. I especially like reading your thoughts at the end of the recipes themselves. Thank you for the inspiration!
Tried this recipe tonight. Very good…thank you!
I'm glad you enjoyed it, Nancy.