Recipe: Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry with Fried Rice

Wow, it's been a long time since I did a recipe blog post! My long time friend asked me for this recipe when I made it for her after she had her sweet baby. Here's the thing, pretty much all of my best recipes, I never measure ingredients. So I had to make it again and take a couple pictures and measure what I put in. I still didn't do a great job at measuring. Haha! I tried! But at least now I have an idea.

This was actually the very first home cooked meal I made for Sam when we first got married. It was kind of a break through for me with Asian food. I wouldn't eat it at all before I made this dish, but Sam loved Asian food and I wanted to make it for him. Now It’s one of my very favorites! Sam’s too! I can make it just how I like it and bonus! Sam likes it that way too. And now I even like going to an Asian restaurant from time to time. I still like my own fried rice best though. ;)

All of the ingredients
My chicken has some freezer burn on it, but it was still good

This recipe has definitely evolved over the years! The first time I made it, I made it with just plain white rice. The rest of the dish was pretty complicated. I made my own sauce with fresh ginger, garlic, etc. Then I also had fresh broccoli with stems I had to peel and cook first before the broccoli florets. It was an ordeal. All the chopping and tons of ingredients to remember to have on hand. It definitely took me over an hour to make.

A generous portion of green onion is important!

Just slightly underdone eggs set aside

With young children and working from home, I don't really have the time to make that kind of time and energy invested recipe. So I simplified it after Jane was born and I don't think I've sacrificed too much on taste. It might even taste better now! At least that's what Sam said when I made it the other night. He said it seems like it tasted the best it ever has! Woohoo!

Marinating chicken pieces

Stir frying!

Let me share with you a few notes before I get to the recipe. First, making fried rice is absolutely best in a wok. You can make so much more than fried rice in a wok too. So do yourself a flavor ;) and get one. Sam made me register for one for our wedding and I'm so glad he did! Secondly, please use this recipe as a general guideline. Make it how you would like it best. If you like peas or carrots in your fried rice, add them! Don't like instant rice? Make some regular rice. I can never remember to give myself enough time to cook rice to be ready when I need it.(and I don't have a rice cooker) Want more broccoli and less chicken, make the adjustment. This recipe is very forgiving. Thirdy, I have changed the stir fry sauce I use through the years. My favorite was House of Tsang Classic Stir Fry Sauce. But I can't find it anymore, so I do a combination of sauces. My favorite combo is House of Tsang Szechuan Spicy Sauce and Soy Vay Hoisin Garlic Marinade and Sauce. If you like spicy use about half and half of each to make up the 1/4 cup. If you want it more mild then use mostly Garlic and soy sauce and add just a little bit of the Szechuan. Lastly, remember the not so secret rule to cooking. You can always add seasoning, but you can't take it out. So when adding the soy sauce and stir fry sauces do so gradually until you have reached the desired taste. Without further ado, here is the recipe!



Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry with Fried Rice

Serves 4-6
15 mintues prep, 20 minutes cook time.

Ingredients

Chicken Broccoli
Vegetable oil for frying
1 to 1 1/2 lbs - skinless boneless chicken breast
1 - 12 oz bag steam in the bag broccoli florets
1/4 cup (more or less) - soy sauce
1/4 cup (more or less) - stir fry sauce

Fried Rice
Vegetable oil for frying
3 cups - uncooked instant rice
4 large - eggs
1 large bunch/package (I used 5 oz) - green onion
1/4 cup (more or less) - soy sauce
1/4 cup (more or less) - stir fry sauce

Directions

Slice chicken into thin stir fry slices, add to a small mixing bowl. Add soy sauce and stir fry sauce mix until all the chicken is coated. Marinate 15 min or longer. (sometimes I forget to do it early and it's only 5 to 10 min of marinating, longer just means juicier chicken.) While the chicken is marinating, cook the rice according to the package directions. Then pour a generous amount of oil in a wok and frying pan, enough to coat the bottom of each pan and a little extra. Heat the oil on medium high until hot. Cook the broccoli in the microwave (or another method if you prefer). Thinly slice the green onions and set aside. Crack the eggs into a bowl and scramble them. Pour them into the wok. They will cook very quickly! Remove them from the wok and set aside when they are still a little runny. Clean the egg residue out the wok real quick (doesn't have to be perfect). Add in more vegetable oil to the wok and let it heat up again. While it's heating up, put the chicken into the already heated oil in the frying pan. Cook the chicken for about 5 minutes on medium high or until cooked through and add the broccoli and cook together on low heat for just a couple more minutes. Add in more soy sauce and stir fry sauce if needed. Pour all of the rice in the wok and stir fry for a couple minutes, add the soy sauce and stir fry sauce. Stir fry a couple more minutes and make sure all the rice is coated evenly. Add sauce until you are happy with the taste of the rice. Add in the eggs and onion and mix well while cooking just a couple more minutes. Add oil as you are cooking if the rice starts to seem dry. Finally serve yourself a heaping serving of fried rice and add some chicken and broccoli on top and enjoy!!

Finished product! I don't take the best meal pictures... But I promise it's super yummy! :)

I always make way more rice than I need, but what's wrong with extra fried rice? It's an excellent snack. I'm still a novice at this recipe writing stuff let me know if something in my directions didn't make sense.

Hope y'all enjoy!