Chicken and Broccoli and Rice Cakes

I’ve been in a dinner rut lately. It’s a big misconception that when you’re a food blogger, you’re eating really well all the time. We definitely eat well, but sometimes I’m spending all day testing croissants or cookies and decorating cakes and I’m left with zero energy to make dinner and a major craving for something salty. Reuben’s been on a Detroit-style pizza kick lately, so thankfully he takes over dinner duty and the leftovers keep us going for a while. To reignite my weeknight dinner spark, I started revisiting the dinners my Mom made us growing up.

When I think back, I’m so amazed that she made us such amazing dinners every single night. Takeout and delivery were not a thing back then. However, we might order a pizza for dinner and we definitely indulged in Wendy’s every once in a while. But more nights than not, my Mom was cooking dinner. Her dinners are fast and very flavorful. 95% of the time she’s adding oyster sauce to it for that extra salty, sweet, briny flavor. One of her staple dishes is Chicken and Broccoli. Thinly sliced pieces of chicken are tenderized in cornstarch, a trick from the restaurant days, and stir-fried with Chinese sausage and broccoli. The whole thing is suspended in a shiny and glossy sauce indicative of Cantonese cooking. It comes together very fast and served over fluffy steamed rice.

If I’m going to be honest though, this was not my favorite meal as a kid. On the flip side, this was probably my brother’s favorite dinner. So we had to compromise. Texture has always been a big deal for me, and when I was younger I found the dish a little too soft. I always tasted amazing, but I wanted something crunchy or chewy to balance the silky sauce, tender chicken, and soft broccoli florets. I’ve matured enough to appreciate the delicateness of this dish in its original form over rice, but I recently made it with sliced rice cakes and it was a game changer! The rice cakes provide the bouncy and chewy texture I’ve been missing. They also do something magical in the sauce. The starchiness of the rice cakes make the sauce almost creamy when mixed in and it’s so good. This is a perfect and extra comforting weeknight meal and you should make it now!

Don’t forget the lap cheong!

I the realize that the name of this dish is “Chicken and Broccoli” so why am I focusing on the lap cheong aka Chinese sausage? Because it makes the dish so delicious and my mom always added it. It adds a sharp salty and sweet bite (chicken and broccoli are pretty mild ingredients). Treat Chinese sausage sort of like bacon. There’s a lot of flavorful fat in the sausage and it needs to be rendered in the pan so that all that amazing porky flavor can coat the broccoli.

If you can’t get your hands on Chinese sausage you can still make the dish and it will still be great. I would just add a little more salt and sugar to the dish, per your taste, to help balance it out.

this is a 30ish minute dinner situation

The reason my Mom made this for dinner so much because it’s quick to make and the ingredients are pretty standard but result in an incredibly flavorful bowl of food. When you’re trying to get dinner on the table in a timely manner, it’s always important to focus on organizing and prepping your ingredients so they are all ready to go in the frying pan when their turn is up!

• First marinate the chicken, this takes a minimum of 20 minutes or you can make it a few hours in advance. The cornstarch will make the chicken extra tender - it’s a Chinese restaurant trick!

• Chop up the broccoli, sausage, and green onions if you want to garnish with that.

• Then whisk up the cornstarch slurry and remember to give it one last mix before adding to the pan because the starch has a tendency to settle at the bottom.

• Get your sauces and seasonings lined up.

Bam! You have all the components ready and you’re ready to get cooking. The recipe cooks hot and fast, so you’ll have dinner ready in no time.

Chicken and broccoli with rice cakes

serves 4 to 6

16oz chicken tenders, sliced thin
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
5 tbsp olive oil, divided (for marinade and cooking)
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 cup water
3 Chinese sausage, sliced at an angle - optional
10oz broccoli or broccolini, cut into 1” pieces
3 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp chili flake
12oz sliced rice cakes (or rice) for serving
Green onions for garnish

1. In a medium bowl, mix to combine chicken, cornstarch, salt, and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cover and allow the chicken to marinate at room temperature for 20 minutes or in the fridge for up to 8 hours.

2. Whisk to combine water and cornstarch, for your cornstarch slurry and set aside.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Once hot, add the chicken and spread into an even layer. Cook, while tossing occasionally, until mostly cooked through and slightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.

4. Add 2 more tablespoons of oil to the pan and add the chinese sausage and broccolini. Cook, while tossing occasionally, until the fat renders out of the sausage and the broccolini has softened slightly, 3 to 4 minutes.

5. Reduce heat down to a medium and add the chicken back into the pan and toss to combine. Add oyster sauce, sugar, white pepper, chili flake and toss again. Give the cornstarch slurry a quick mix and pour into the pan. Gently stir to mix into the sauce and allow the sauce to thicken, 1 to 2 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.

6. Add the rice cakes and toss to coat. Allow the rice to soften, 2 to 3 minutes.

7. Top with some chopped green onions and serve!