ISO Chinese Broccoli Chicken

[lln7262]

Does any one have a good recipe for Broccoli Chicken that tastes just like the dish that you get in a Chinese restaurant? I would love to be able to make this! Thanks!!

 

[SierraCook]

I don't have a recipe that I personally have tried, but here is a recipe the might be what you are looking for. If not hang in there, I am sure someone here at DC will have a recipe for you. I got the recipe from Chinesefood.about.com. If you click on the recipe name it will take you to the website.

Broccoli Chicken

Ingredients:

3/4 - 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts

To Velvet Chicken:
1 large egg white
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

Sauce:
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon water

To Cook Broccoli:
1 pound broccoli
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar, or to taste

Other:
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water
2 cups plus 4 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil, for frying
Preparation:

1. Cut the chicken into 3/4 to 1-inch cubes. In a bowl, mix together the egg white, cornstarch and salt. Add the egg white mixture to the chicken cubes, tossing or using your fingers to coat the chicken in the mixture. Marinate the velveted chicken in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

2. While the chicken is marinating, prepare the sauce and vegetables: for the sauce, mix together the oyster sauce, light soy, dark soy, and water in a small bowl and set aside. In another small bowl, mix the cornstarch and water thickener and set aside. Wash and drain the broccoli. Cut the stalk diagonally into thin slices. Cut the flowerets into 3 or 4 pieces. Crush the garlic.

3. Preheat a wok. Heat 2 cups oil in the wok until it reaches 275 degrees Fahrenheit. (Test the heat by placing a piece of chicken in the wok - it should float). Add the chicken cubes, and let cook until they just turn white (about 30 seconds), using a wooden spoon or chopsticks to gently separate them. Quickly remove the chicken cubes from the wok as soon as they turn white, and drain in a colander or on paper towels.

4. Drain the oil out of the wok or preheat a second wok on medium high to high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil. When the oil is hot, add the crushed garlic and stir fry for 10 seconds.

5. Add the broccoli, sprinkle the salt and sugar over, and stir fry briefly, turning down the heat if necessary to make sure it doesn't burn. Add the 1/2 cup water, and cook the broccoli, covered, for 4 - 5 minutes, until it turns a bright green and is tender but still crisp. Remove from the wok and drain.

6. Clean out the wok and heat 2 more tablespoons oil. Add the broccoli and the velveted chicken, stirring and tossing to cook the chicken through. Add the sauce and cornstarch mixture in the middle of the wok and stir quickly to thicken. Mix everything together and serve hot over steamed rice.

 

[BreezyCooking]

I can tell you from first-hand experience that the "velveting" technique DOES make a big difference in the end product of many stir-fry chicken & fish dishes. There's also another method of velveting that involves marinating the chicken the same way, but blanching it in boiling water rather than oil. This method is used more for dishes that end up "white", rather than sauced brown.

 

[Asmodean]

I have to say that I prefer the "white" to the brown sauce.

 

[FincaPerlitas]

In the Asian foods section of most supermarkets you will find a variety of packaged seasoning mixes with recipes on the back of the pouch. I buy a lot of the Sun Bird brand seasonings. Their Beef with Broccoli mix is one of my favorites and tastes better than most Chinese restaurants. Obviously, you can substitute chicken, pork, etc.

 

[pinkaholic]

From the recipe, to velvet the chicken: Usually, I add white pepper.

To cook the broccoli, I put them in a very HOT boiling water for about 10 seconds and drain them.

 

[Asmodean]

You could also microwave the broccoli in a bowl with water and garlic cloves, seasoned with hot pepper flakes, pepper, and salt if you so choose. That's how I like my broccoli steamed. The garlicky flavor is really nice.

 

[thymeless]

Velvet the chicken, use oyster sauce in the sauce. Don't expect to stir fry the brocolli to done-ness. Stir fry with some garlic and ginger, give a splash or two of rice wine. Cover and steam for a couple of minutes. Finish with the oyster sauce and chicken. thymeless

 

[Asmodean]

There's something unpleasant about overcooked broccoli.... I steamed some veggies as part of my lunch today and forgot broccoli was in there, so I let them cook for a while. Remembered too late all of the other vegetables were good though.

 

[thymeless]

Very true about overcooked broccoli. Nasty stuff.

Most of the vegetables you get in a restaurant stir-fry will have been par-cooked some time earlier in the day and held for service. If you prefer to blanch the broccoli before using in the stir fry, that's fine too. The short steam with the aromatics and wine punches up the flavor though and doesn't require another pan in the process.

The new format has tweaked my editor and deletes returns. Have to go dig through the settings and see what's up.

EDIT: The formatting is script driven, or at least works once I enable scripts to run at the site. That's different.

thymeless

 

[BreezyCooking]

I agree about the blanching. If I'm using very teeny tiny broccoli florets, or florets cut in half, then I stirfry without blanching first. But if the florets are large, &/or I'm also using peeled sliced broccoli stems, then I normally do blanch them for 30-60 seconds before using. Otherwise I find they remain just a little too crunchy for my taste, or the florets burn a bit before cooking to the al dente stage.