Chinese Chicken and Broccoli Nirvana

Last night I was craving Chinese food, but times are tight and we can't afford a trip to the local Chinese restaurant (where the food is mediocre at best). So I thought about it and realized that I had all of the ingredients for Chicken and Broccoli. It's not difficult to make but it does take some preparation. And it tastes like you got it from a Fabulous Chinese restaurant but it's not oily!

I'm going to break the recipe down into steps to make it a little more user friendly.

You need:

2 pounds chicken, get strips if you can
1 egg white
Corn starch
Water
2 TBSP Hoisin or oyster sauce
2 TBSP soy sauce
1 head of broccoli, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar

Step One: Velvet Chicken

2 pounds chicken cut into small pieces (fresh chicken strips make this easy)
1 egg white
1 TBSP corn starch
1 TBSP water

Add egg white, corn starch, and water to a medium size bowl and mix well. Add chicken and make sure it gets evenly coated with mixture. Let it rest for about a half hour.

Step 2 Make the sauce

2 TBSP Hoisin or Oyster sauce
2 TBSP soy sauce
1 tsp water

Mix all this together in a small bowl
In another bowl, mix together

1 tsp corn starch
1 TBSP water

Step 3 Fry the Chicken

Into a hot wok or skillet on high place 2 tsp vegetable oil. Fry chicken in small batches until the outside is slightly brown. Place chicken on a towel to drain

Step 4 Prepare the Broccoli

1 head of broccoli, chopped
2 cloves of/garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup water

Add 2 tsp oil two wok over med high heat. Add broccoli, garlic, salt, and sugar and stir around for around 2 minutes, or until it starts to look shiny and bright green. Add water, cover pot, and let steam until tender crisp, about 3 min. Remove broccoli and dump out water

Step 5 Now the Magic Happens

Put wok back up on high, add 2 tsp oil, add chicken and broccoli together and toss until chicken is no longer pink in the middle. Add sauce mix and cornstarch/water mix to middle of wok and stir for a few seconds until sauce thickens. Stir the whole mixture together. Serve hot with rice.

Enjoy!

It looks like a lot, but it actually all cooks up pretty quickly. And it's super tasty and as far as chinese food goes pretty good for you. Try it tonight and let me know what you think!

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New Recipe! Lightened Up Cream of Broccoli and Mushroom Chowder a la Lazarus

Today I had a hankering for Cream of Broccoli Soup, which, as we all know, is where calories go to spend the winter. All of the calories in all of the world. I was also daydreaming about the Amazing Cream of Broccoli and Mushroom Chowder that was made by a now gone piece of Columbus history, Lazarus Department Store. This store had the most incredible food. (Lucy, this one is for you!) However, like most cream soups, a serving of this has about 1000 calories, meaning that I'd get half of a cup on my current diet plan.

Sooo, I used a few lower fat cooking tricks I've picked up along the way to produce a soup that has 490 calories a serving and is rich, creamy, and really, really yummy. So you can have a grilled cheese with your soup and not fate yourself to a heart attack!

source

Lightened Up Cream of Broccoli and Mushroom Chowder, a la Lazarus

1 pound fresh chopped broccoli

8 oz mushrooms

4 oz butter

1/2 cup flour

1 quart chicken stock

1 cup 2% milk

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon tarragon

1. Steam broccoli in 1 cup water until tender, about 7 minutes. Put to the side without draining.

2. Melt butter, then slowly add flour to make a roux. Cook the roux 2 - 4 minutes.

3. Add chicken stock slowly with a whisk. Bring to a boil for a few minutes to start to thicken chowder.

4. Lower heat and add the rest of the ingredients, including the undrained broccoli. You may bring the chowder to a slow simmer to further thicken the chowder if desired.

5. Get out a spoon and enjoy!

8 servings, approx. 490 calories each.

***

The trick is to cut the roux in half (the original recipe called for 8 oz of butter and 1 cup flour) and to use less half and half by replacing it with milk and sour cream. Because you are using sour cream, it will thicken the chowder, thus decreasing the amount of roux you need. If you want to further decrease calories, you can use skim milk and fat free sour cream, but this will take away some of the richness of the dish.