Chicken and Broccoli

I think I have mentioned more than a few times that Chinese – or any Asian – cooking really isn’t my forte. Growing up in San Francisco – where even bad Chinese restaurants are good – I never really learned how. It’s just not intuitive to me, like Italian or Mexican. I absolutely love it, but lack the knowledge to cook it right.

That, of course, hasn’t stopped me from buying Asian noodles, rice wines, hoisin sauce, water chestnuts… any number of ingredients not normal to the occidental household. I’ve always figured that whatever I make is not going to be the least bit authentic, anyway, so it really doesn’t matter what I do or how I mix things up.

Tonight is a classic example…

I’ve had a package of Asian Noodles – made in Thailand – for about a year – since the last time I was at Assi Market. They’re thin – almost like vermicelli – but long – really, really long. They cook up in just a few minutes and have a really nice, chewy consistency.

I decided I needed to use some of them up – they’ve been in the cupboard way too long. I went to Chef Google to see what fun things were being talked about and didn’t find anything that matched what we had in the house – but it did give me some ideas. Throwing caution to the wind, I decided to go for it.

The end result worked really well!

Chicken and Broccoli

  • 1 chicken breast, small cubed
  • 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp gochujang – Korean Chili Paste
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 4 oz Asian noodles, cooked
  • 1 bunch broccoli, cut into uniform pieces
  • 1/2 red pepper, sliced
  • 1/2 red onion, sliced
  • 1 can water chestnuts, drained

Make a sauce with the hoisin sauce, honey, soy sauce, gochujang, and sesame oil. Place cubed chicken in sauce and marinate at least an hour.

Drain chicken, reserving sauce. In a hot skillet, heat a bit of oil and lightly sauté the chicken. When about a third done, add the vegetables and the remaining sauce and continue cooking until everything is done. Add the cooked noodles and heat through.

Not quite as authentic as I had in Hong Kong, but it satisfied my desire for something oriental. It also gave me the courage to try a few new things and expand the horizions a bit. I think I may be making more dishes like this in the future!