Chicken and Broccoli Stir-Fry
Chicken and Broccoli Stir-Fry made with lean white meat and lots of broccoli in a ginger and garlic stir-fry sauce that’s an easy and quick weeknight meal or the perfect meal prep recipe for easy lunches all week long.
Chicken and Broccoli Stir-Fry
Asian takeout doesn’t have to be loaded with fat and calories, a few great examples of that are these Skinnytaste favorites: General Tso’s Chicken, Orange Chicken Makeover, Asian Lettuce Wrap Chicken Chopped Salad, Teriyaki Chicken and Asparagus Stir-Fry and Asian Peanut Noodles with Chicken – Lightened Up to name a few.
Hey everyone it’s Sabrina again from Cooking with Points, a healthy recipe blog dedicated to easy weeknight meals with a focus on Weight Watchers smart points.
This month I’m sharing a quick and easy stir fry recipe that will cure all those takeout cravings without all the heavy point-y fried flavors. This stir fry is full of garlic and ginger in a soy and sesame sauce that you’ll want to spoon over all your favorite grilled meats too.
Over on my blog we’ve been working our way through a lot of Chinese takeout favorites including Moo Shu Pork, Black Bean Chicken, Teriyaki Chicken, and my favorite Orange Shrimp (which you could also use to make a skinny orange chicken!).
When it comes to making Chinese stir-fry recipes one of the most important things in making it authentic is the way you slice your chicken. I review this on my site for each stir-fry dish too, the thinner the chicken the more tender and the better for reheating too as it won’t have a chance to get to “tough” to chew.
How to cut chicken thinly for a stir-fry:
The trick to making your stir-fries look like they came from the restaurant is to cut them into a thin matchbox shape so they have very little toughness to the pieces. To do this we freeze the chicken for about one hour before slicing.
When it is partially frozen you can easily slice the chicken very thinly against the grain. Don’t worry about the chicken being frozen, since the slices are so thin they will thaw back out in just a couple of minutes.
By cutting against the grain we are making the bites very tender and easy to chew through, especially upon reheating!
Stir-Fry Sauce:
This garlic and ginger sauce is made with mirin, soy sauce and sesame oil which makes a classic brown sauce many Chinese restaurants use in their cooking. We’ve drastically reduced the sodium content and the sugar and oil content but the flavors are still delicious and bright (and easy!)
Can you meal prep this Chicken and Broccoli Stir-Fry?
You can certainly cook the meal ahead of time and re-heat throughout the week. I suggest cooking the broccoli one minute shy of the instructions so it can maintain some crunch in reheating. To reheat use a microwave at half power for 1-2 minutes to prevent overcooking the chicken or the broccoli.
You may also want to add a couple more tablespoons of water to the dish or not cooking it until the sauce is super thick. By letting the sauce stay a bit looser it’ll result in a better meal when re-heated.
Chicken and Broccoli Stir-Fry Recipe
Chicken and Broccoli Stir-Fry made with lean white meat and lots of broccoli in a ginger and garlic stir-fry sauce that’s an easy and quick weeknight meal or the perfect meal prep recipe for easy lunches all week long.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 tablespoon canola oil, divided
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 1 pound chicken breast, sliced very thinly
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- sesame seeds as garnish (if desired)
Directions:
- In a large measuring cup or bowl add the soy sauce, chicken broth, cornstarch, mirin, sugar, sesame oil and white pepper and whisk until everything is completely dissolved.
- In a large skillet add one teaspoon canola oil on medium high heat and cook half the chicken until just cooked through, about 2-3 minutes on each side.
- Repeat with the second half of the chicken and an additional teaspoon of oil.
- Remove the chicken to a plate.
- Add in the remaining oil, garlic and ginger and cook for 30-45 seconds until very fragrant but not browned.
- Stir the garlic and ginger well and add in the sauce, whisking well.
- Add in the broccoli and let the sauce cook for 2-3 minutes until thickened.
- Add in the chicken and stir well to coat.
- Garnish with sesame seeds if desired.
Nutrition Information
Yield: 4 servings, Serving Size: 1 cup
- Amount Per Serving:
- Freestyle Points: 4
- Points +: 6
- Calories: 249 calories
- Total Fat: 9g
- Saturated Fat: 0.7g
- Cholesterol: 73mg
- Sodium: 766mg
- Carbohydrates: 14.6g
- Fiber: 1.6g
- Sugar: 6.2g
- Protein: 27g
All images and text ©
RSS Feed
