Chicken & broccoli is not only a staple in millions of households across the country, it’s also a staple in my heart. As in, if one day I woke up and found out that chicken & broccoli was no longer “a thing”, well, I’d go right back the hell to sleep.
I don’t want to be awake in a world where chicken and broccoli doesn’t exist.
Except, when I think chicken and broccoli, I immediately think take-out, which then makes me immediately think unhealthy. However, the real truth is that creating similar dishes at home is so simple, that I almost never order take-out anymore. That way, I actually know what’s going into my food, instead of sitting around and wondering but what do they use to make their sauce so damn good?
HOWEVER — make no mistake — I definitely still order takeout every now and then, and I definitely still love it, (balance, you know?) but recreating it home most definitely makes it lighter and most definitely makes it healthier than the restaurant version.
Let’s make some extremely unauthentic Chinese food today, shall we?
QUICK Chicken & Broccoli Teriyaki
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 lbs organic chicken breast, diced
- 14 oz fresh broccoli (or feel free to use frozen!)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- red pepper flakes
- 1 tbs olive oil
for the sauce:
- 1/2 cup soy sauce (go for reduced sodium!)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 tbs sesame oil
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 2 tbs fresh ginger, minced
- 1 tbs garlic, minced
- 1 tbs cornstarch
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix all of the ingredients for the teriyaki sauce until well incorporated then set aside.
- Add olive oil to a skillet that's been heating over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and toss to cook every so often, about 7-9 minutes total. Add in your 2 minced garlic cloves and cook for an additional 1 minute, or until fragrant.
- While the chicken is browning, place broccoli in the microwave and cook for 5-6 minutes. Set aside.
- Add the teriyaki sauce to the chicken skillet and stir until it thickens. The cornstarch will sauce this to happen almost immediately, so keep your eye on it to prevent sauce from burning off. Remove skillet from heat and then immediately add in your broccoli. Toss everything to combined, then sprinkle on your red pepper flakes. I also added about 1 tbsp of fresh coriander seeds, but you can totally omit them altogether! (I just had them on hand and got crafty)
- Serve the chicken & broccoli over any grain of your choosing. This time around I used leftover Spanish rice, but topping this over cauliflower rice make the recipe even lighter!Enjoy 🙂
