Chicken and Broccoli Quinoa Stir Fry

This dish is exactly what I was looking for the other night - it was simple, I had all the ingredients already and allowed me to use that bunch of broccoli purchased earlier in the week. But more importantly, it gave me an excuse to cook with Hoisin sauce! I don't really know what the sauce is made of, but I don't care because its tasty and makes Chinese meals delicious!


Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
Yields 4 servings. Adapted from Food Network

Ingredients
1 pound chicken breast (about 2 breasts), cubed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dry ginger or 1 small piece of fresh ginger, minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
About 1/3 cup water
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 bunch of fresh broccoli, trimmed sliced stalks and medium florets
1 red onion, quartered in slices
3/4 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
Serving suggestion: Rice and sesame seeds
Directions
In a medium bowl, toss the chicken with about half the garlic and ginger, the soy sauce, sugar, 1 teaspoon of the cornstarch, 1 teaspoon of the salt and the sesame oil. Marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes. Mix the remaining cornstarch with 1/3 cup water.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add the broccoli and onions and stir-fry for a 2 minutes. Add the remaining garlic, ginger, 2 tablespoons of water, and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Stir-fry until the broccoli is bright green but still crisp, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Heat 2 more tablespoons oil. Add the chicken and red pepper flakes. Stir-fry until the chicken is cooked through. Add the hoisin sauce, return the broccoli to the pan and toss to heat through. Stir in the reserved cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil to thicken. Depending on how much sauce you like, add a few more tablespoons of hoisin, and then add more water if needed to thin the sauce. Serve with rice and garnish with sesame seeds.

hoisin sauce, you make me happy, so very happy