Kung Pow Chicken & Broccoli

Gluten free, Dairy free, Soy free asian-inspired chicken and broccoli dinner recipe

Lately I’ve been on a mission to find and make more recipes that both Karl (who can eat anything he pleases) and myself (Celiacs, dairy, etc) can eat together and want seconds of.  The reason I’ve been especially on a mission to compile more recipes is actually threefold:

1) Until this year, having only a half-dozen recipes that both of us find tasty and safe for me doesn’t leave you with many options (aka – boredom sets in quickly).  We need more recipes.
2) Planning meals for the week at the start of each week saves us $$, which is tight right now – I’ve already reduced our grocery bill each week by 25% just by planning meals and buying nothing outside of them
3) I’ve been inspired by recipes on pinterest and want to try making each of the meal ideas I’ve pinned

I got the following recipe from pinterest here (btw, follow me on pinterest here if you’d like).  I made a few tweaks to the recipe, and it got rave reviews from the Kar-man, so here it is!

Note: When I cook, I rarely measure because I like to go on instinctual creativity and just have fun with the process.  I cook by ‘feeling’ out what goes with what, eyeing things up, or personal taste, so feel free to tweak this recipe to make it your own as well.  Have fun experimenting!  :)
p.s. – If having no definite measurements scares you, here’s the original recipe to help.

You’ll Need:

• broccoli (I just go by sight with how much to cut up for the two of us)
• chicken tenderloins  (thinner sliced, the better is my preference.  I’ll trust you to know how much chicken you’ll need to feed your family.  Plus, if there’s leftovers, that’s an easy lunch for the next day!)
• white rice, medium-grain (long-grain is fine too).  I use a rice cooker and measure about 1/4 cup of rice per person, give or take.
• 1 egg (add another egg if you run out – just have enough for dipping all of your chicken into)
• salt & pepper
• ginger
• garlic
• olive oil

For the Sauce:

• 2-3 tbsp of brown sugar
• cup of water (may need to refill depending on size of meal, no worries)
• brown rice or sorghum or chickpea/garbanzo flour (just have a pack on hand – I’ll explain how much to use below)
• ginger (I used about 1/2 tbsp)
• salt & pepper

To Start:

• Get rice started according to directions, or with a rice cooker (I highly recommend a rice cooker!  You just let it do it’s own thing while you do your own.)
• Beat the egg/s in a bowl, then add the salt & pepper, garlic, and ginger (according to taste for the spices).
• Using a skillet, heat up the pan on med-high and drizzle olive oil (about 3 tbsp).
• Begin dipping each slice of chicken into the egg mixture and then into the pan.  Continue process until all chicken is dipped and in the pan.
• Sear the outsides of the chicken a nice golden color on each side, then lower the heat to lo-med to cook the insides.
• While the chicken is finishing (keep checking on your chicken), cut up the broccoli and add it to a skillet that is filled with a water level that comes half-way up the broccoli florets.  Turn stove to med-high and steam them, turning them over as needed so that both sides are a bright green (should only take 3-4 mins for them to steam – don’t want to overcook them and make them become mushy).

• Strain excess water from broccoli pan.  Chicken should be done or nearly done by now.  Turn off burner with the chicken when it’s done to let the chicken cool.
• Set broccoli to side.  Take the slightly cooled chicken and slice it up into bite-sized pieces.
• Add cut chicken back to skillet, along with broccoli.
• Pour water into skillet so that the water level is half-way up the chicken and broccoli.  Add ginger, salt, and pepper to taste.  Add the rest of the egg mix from the chicken to the pan.  Turn heat to med-high.
• As water begins to simmer/bubble, keep stirring the mix while adding the brown sugar.
• Keeping up the steady stirring, add a tbsp of the flour mix at a time, allowing a space of about 30-60 secs between additions of another tbsp.  Add until you see the mix begin to thicken like a gravy.  Keep adding and stirring until you reach the desired thickness.  If it thickens too much, just add a bit of water.  Immediately turn off heat when you reach the desired thickness.
• Plate the rice, then add the chicken & broccoli mix to the top of rice.

You know what to do from here.  Chopsticks add flavor.

Questions/Comments?  Please let me know below in the comments!