Takeout...At Home.

One of my favorite things on the weekends or after a long, hard day at work is to order Chinese takeout and veg on the couch with a glass of wine and Netflix or On-Demand. But sometimes, your budget does not call the inviting act of laziness for that yummy Chinese takeout and you need to get creative and whip up a dish from what you already have in your kitchen. 

Does anyone have a favorite Chinese good dish, the one dish they always seem to get whenever they order from their favorite Chinese spot? I do! It is chicken and broccoli, but sometimes there is so much soy sauce (too much sodium) mixed in with it and I cannot always enjoy it. So I opted for steamed chicken with mixed vegetables with sauce on the side. When I found this recipe below, I became so excited to re-create one of my favorite dishes but with a healthier twist. I hope everyone enjoys this dish just as much as I did.

Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry

1 lb Boneless, skinless chicken breast (cut into ¾ pieces)

1 ¼ lb Broccoli (6 cups)

¾ lb White button mushrooms

2 Medium garlic cloves (grated)

½ tbsp Fresh ginger (peeled and grated)

1 Small onion

1 cup Chicken broth

¼ cup Honey

¼ cup Soy sauce (I like to use the lower sodium, but it’s up to you!)

¼ cup All-purpose flour

2 tbsp Cooking oil (I like to use Extra Virgin Olive Oil, but it’s up to you!)

2 tsp Sesame oil (Optional)

Preparation:

Trim the chicken breast of any excess fat, wash off and pat dry with paper towel. In a large bowl mix the cut up chicken breast (¾ pieces) with ¼ cup All-purpose flour. Place the floured chicken pieces on a plate, but leave the remaining flour in the bowl, you’ll need that for the sauce.

In the large bowl that contains the remaining flour, you will make your sauce! Add 1 cup chicken broth, ¼ cup honey, ¼ cup soy sauce, ½ tbsp grated ginger, 2 grated garlic cloves, 2 tsp sesame oil (optional), stir all ingredients together until the sauce has a smooth consistency. Place the large bowl to the side.

You can use a wok or very large skillet with a heavy bottom. Place the wok or skillet on top of the stove on medium high heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and once the oil is hot, add the floured pieces of chicken that you had put to the side prior. Make sure to evenly spread out the chicken pieces in the wok or skillet and let the chicken sit for a minute before stirring it, then stir fry for 5 minutes or until the chicken pieces are browned. Remove chicken from heat then set aside again.

Add the other 1 tbsp of olive oil into the wok or skillet, once the oil is hot add 1 ¼ lb Broccoli (6 cups), 1 small onion and ¾ lb White button mushrooms to the wok or skillet. Stir fir for 4 minutes or until the broccoli florets are crisp but tender or until the mushrooms have softened.

Stir the sauce that you had put aside earlier then add to the piping hot vegetables in the wok or skillet. Bring all to a boil over medium heat, constantly stirring the sauce and vegetables. Simmer for 2 minutes or until sauce has thickened then toss in the chicken you had set aside earlier and for another 30 seconds or until all is heated through.

Serve over rice (I love brown rice, but white is fine too) and you can add salt to taste, if you would like. (I am not a fan of adding extra salt to dishes, but it’s up to you!).

Enjoy your homemade Chinese takeout :).