CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI

Ingredients

For The Chicken

  • 571 g boneless skinless chicken thighs

  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce

  • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce

  • 2 tsp corn starch

  • 3 tsp vegetable oil

For The Sauce

  • 2/3 cup chicken stock

  • 3 tsp sugar

  • 3 tbsp soy sauce

  • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce

  • 2 tbsp oyster sauce

  • 1 tbsp hot sesame oil

  • 1 tsp white pepper

For The Rest

  • 386 g broccoli

  • 4 cloves garlic

  • 1/2 tsp grated ginger

  • 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine

  • 2 tbsp corn starch

  • 2 tbsp water

  • As needed oil for cooking

Additional Notes

I had made this once before and it was good, but I felt like the sauce needed to be more flavorful. The measurements for this recipe are kind of large, but the sauce was absolutely delicious. Perhaps I could use 1 tbsp less of oyster and soy sauce though, because it was quite saucy. I'm not saying I would, but it's definitely an option. Or, I could just add more chicken and broccoli to soak up all that extra sauce. In retrospect, all that sauce was good for the white rice it ended up going on, so maybe it was just perfect. I'm just yapping, I suppose.

I used boneless skinless chicken thighs; you can use chicken breast if you like.

You definitely want to blanch the broccoli to preserve texture and color. The crunch from the broccoli is a big part of this dish and it would be significantly worse with soggy broccoli—unless, of course, you like soggy broccoli, in which case don't let me tell you what to do.

No offense to all the spots in the hood in New York, but there is absolutely no reason to even go there if you can make this. It's so much better.

Method

1. Marinate: Slice the chicken into thin, bite-sized pieces. In a bowl, combine the chicken with the oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, corn starch, and vegetable oil. Mix until the chicken is evenly coated and let it sit for at least 15–20 minutes.

2. Prep Sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together the chicken stock, sugar, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, hot sesame oil, and white pepper. Set aside.

3. Blanch: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the broccoli florets and blanch for about 1–2 minutes until they turn bright green and are tender-crisp. Drain immediately and shock in ice water (or rinse with cold water) to stop the cooking. Drain well.

4. Sear Chicken: Heat a wok over high heat with a tablespoon of oil. Add the chicken in a single layer and sear until browned and cooked through. Remove the chicken from the wok and set aside.

5. Aromatics: Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok. Add the minced garlic and grated ginger, stir-frying for about 10–15 seconds until fragrant. Pour the Shaoxing wine around the edge of the wok to deglaze.

6. Simmer Sauce: Pour the prepared sauce mixture into the wok and bring it to a simmer.

7. Thicken: Mix the 2 tbsp corn starch with 2 tbsp water to create a slurry. Slowly stir the slurry into the simmering sauce until it reaches your desired thickness.

8. Combine: Add the cooked chicken and blanched broccoli back into the wok. Toss everything together quickly until every piece is thoroughly coated in the sauce.

9. Serve: Serve over white rice.