Healthy Chinese Chicken and Broccoli

My absolute favorite take out food is Chinese shrimp or beef and broccoli. I would love it with chicken too but I just can’t do it. The quality of the chicken at all our local Chinese takeout restaurants is all rubbery and gross. But I love the quality chicken I make at home, so I thought I would try my hand at making a healthier Chinese chicken and broccoli. You could also sub this out with shrimp or beef and it would be just as delish! I plan on making it with stew meat from the 1/2 cow we just bought from a local farmer soon. I’ll let you know how it turns out!

And if you live in the Rochester area and would like to know more about where we buy our grass-fed beef shoot me an e-mail at Livingcleanandfit@yahoo.com.

I cook at least one entire chicken every week… either roasted in the oven, on our pellet grill or in the instant pot. I do this so that I have the bones to make bone broth (a staple in our home).

Now that our kiddos are getting older and eating ALL the food, I cook up 2 whole chickens at a time so that I have plenty of leftover chicken for recipes like this and my other faorite Chicken Curry recipe. In the summer, if I don’t have plans to smoke chicken on the pellet grill that night, I may just cook up one whole chicken quickly in the instant pot so that I have plenty to use for future recipes throughout the week or in fresh salads. I just LOVE salads in the summer. That way I don’t heat up the house by using the oven. I like to shred the dark meat and use it in salad bowls after seasoning the chicken with a little bit of my DIY steak rub for light lunches. Then I’m left with all the white meat. This Chicken and Broccoli recipe is my new favorite way to use up the pre cooked white meat.

Not only do I know the ingredients in this are quality but it’s also easier on the pocket book and a great way to use up my leftover chicken.

Of course you could make this with raw chicken if you don’t have pre cooked chicken. Just saute it up first and set aside. I just like the ease of having pre cooked chicken on hand.

My hubby and kiddos like this meal over organic white rice. I eat it alone but I do like to sprinkle some cayene pepper and everything but the bagle seasoning on top. So good!

The key to this recipe is making the sauce seperate so that it’s nice and thick.

Here is the recipe so you can make this yummy dish at home.

Ingredients:

About 1.5 lbs chicken breast cooked (or pre cooked shrimp)

1-2 heads of fresh broccoli chopped into small florets

2 garlic cloves (minced)

1/4 tsp 5 spice

1/8 tsp ginger

1 tsp fish sauce (no sugar added)

2 cups chicken or beef bone broth

1/2 cup coconut aminos. We buy ours at Thrive Market.

3 TBS arrowroot powder

1 TBS coconut oil

1/2 tsp sea salt plus more to taste We buy our Redmonds Real Sea Salt at Thrive Market.

Optional: to add a bit more flavor you can also add no soy terryaki sauce to the mix. I found a great brand on Thrive Market with quality ingredients.

Directions:

1. Cut up your broccoli and “steam it” in a large pan or wok if you have one. I just add a little water to the bottom of it and steam on med/high heat until the broccoli is cooked a bit but still has some crunch. You don’t want it all mushy.. otherwise you might as well use frozen broccoli (which you can do but it wont have that same Chinese Take out feel).
2. Once your broccoli is cooked add the pre cooked chicken (shredded into smaller pieces) in the wok and set aside with the heat off. You could add pre cooked shrimp here instead if you prefer.
3. Prep your sauce in a medium size bowl. Wisk together bone broth, coconut aminos, fish sauce, sea salt, and arrowroot powder.
4. In a separate medium sauce pan put your minced garlic cloves in with a TBS of coconut oil. Sauté on med/high heat cooking the garlic. Be careful not to burn it.
5. Add the sauce from your bowl into the sauce pan and continue to cook on medium/high heat.
6. Add ginger to the sauce pan and cook on medium/high heat. Wisk until the sauce thickens (about 1 minute).
7. Once the sauce is thick add it to your broccoli and chicken in the pan or wok.
8. Stir and cook everything together on medium heat until the chicken is hot.
9. Serve with whatever garnish you like (cashew pieces, pink Himalayan salt, cayenne powder, everything but the bagel seasoning, or red pepper flakes are some of my favorites) and/or over some yummy organic white rice.
10. Enjoy!

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