Asian Chicken with Broccoli

The Mission:

Make something a little different using the chicken that I thawed.  We haven't had any Chinese in a while, so I figured that a chicken/broccoli stir-fry would be tasty and easy enough to make.  So I added broccoli to the grocery list and hit up Food.com for a simple recipe.  Hopefully I have sesame oil.... I can't remember if I ran out or am almost out.  Oh well.  I added in some cornstarch to thicken the sauce a bit as well. 

The Ingedients: 

• 4 cups cubed chicken 
• 1 bag ( 16 oz) frozen broccoli florets 
• 4 cloved minced garlic 
• 5 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1/3 cup sesame oil - I was out so used peanut oil
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp grated ginger root 
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp oil (I used peanut oil)
• rice to serve with 

The Instructions: 

1. Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a large skillet. 
2. Add the chicken and the garlic and stir-fry until chicken is no longer pink. 
3. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the sauce ingredients (brown sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, and cornstarch) until smooth. 
4. Pour over chicken and stir. 
5. Add broccoli and stir-fry until broccoli is tender (but not mushy) 
6. Serve over hot rice. 

The Results & Reviews:  
This recipe is a definite keeper.  Not only was it super easy to make, my husband just raved about it.  I'm glad I decided to make extra.  As mentioned above I was out of sesame oil, so I just used peanut oil.  Though the sesame oil would've given it a slight bitterness to offset the sweetness of the brown sugar, I think the full third cup would add too much bitter, so when I make it again I will start with adding just a tablespoon of the sesame oil to see how it turns out.   Adding the cornstarch to the thicken the sauce gave it a great texture - so that was a definite plus.  I have a feeling that my husband is going to be requesting this meal often.  Actually - he thinks the sauce would be good with beef, so I'm sure I'll be blogging about that in the next few weeks!