Sesame Chicken and Broccoli Rice is a healthy recipe for classic dish made with crispy chicken breast, ginger, chili flakes, and sesame.
There’s no need to give up your favorite Dinner Recipes just because you’re trying to eat more healthy. This Sesame Chicken tastes just as great as from a Chinese Restaurant, but it’s not fried, and it’s made with low-calorie broccoli rice to replace the white rice. For more Chinese chicken recipes, try out Chinese Lemon Chicken and Chinese Black Bean Chicken.
This is the perfect Chinese-style chicken recipe to make the next time you’re craving takeout. You get the same crisp and tender chicken and flavorful sesame sauce while still enjoying a healthy meal. Plus, it’s a quick and easy weeknight dinner that your whole family will love.
Making the chicken with broccoli instead of rice is a great way to cut back on calories, and add extra nutrients to the meal. Broccoli is processed into small pieces, about the size of rice, and then cooked on the stovetop until tender. It’s a similar concept to using Cauliflower Rice, but the flavorful broccoli goes perfectly with this juicy chicken and sauce.
The sesame sauce really makes this recipe amazing. With sesame oil, ginger, orange juice, chili, and more it’s no wonder the chicken and broccoli turn out so rich and flavorful. One of the most important sauce ingredients is the coconut liquid amino. Coconut liquid amino acids are made from the sap of coconut trees. It adds a distinct savory taste to the dish, somewhat similar to soy sauce. On top of that, it’s packed with not only amino acids but also vitamins and minerals. You can easily find it in specialty markets or order it online.
MORE ASIAN CHICKEN RECIPES
Baked Bang Bang Chicken
Ginger Chicken Stir Fry
Skinny Kung Pao Chicken
Korean BBQ Chicken Drumsticks
TIPS FOR MAKING SESAME CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI RICE
- Broccoli rice: To prep the broccoli rice, put the broccoli stems in your food processor. Pulse to break them down until they’re the size of a piece of rice. Transfer the broccoli to a saucepan over medium heat. Add ½ cup water, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper according to taste. Stir as the mixture comes to a simmer, letting the ingredients cook for about 5 minutes. Then place the whole broccoli florets over the top. Reduce the heat, and cover the veggies to let them steam for 5 more minutes until they’re tender. Then remove from the heat, with the lid on to keep them warm.
- Sesame sauce: Add the coconut aminos, orange juice, arrowroot starch, sesame oil, chile flakes, garlic, and ginger into a medium bowl whisk until smooth.
- Chicken pieces: Slice the chicken breast into bite-sized pieces. Then add 1 tablespoon of oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces and cook until they’re browned on the bottom.
- Combine: Pour the sauce over the chicken pieces. Stir and cook until the chicken is cooked and the sauce is thickened. You can add a little water if the sauce is too thick.
- Serve: Scoop the broccoli rice and florets into serving bowls, then top them off with the chicken and sauce. Sprinkle with scallions and sesame seeds to serve.
Create a free account to Save Recipes
VARIATIONS ON SESAME CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI RICE
- Chicken thighs: If you don’t have chicken breasts, you can make this recipe with boneless skinless chicken thighs. Keep in mind that chicken thighs will take longer to cook, so the recipe will take a few minutes longer overall.
- Veggies: For some more flavors and textures, try mixing different vegetables into the pan like bell peppers, carrots, mushrooms, snow peas, water chestnuts, or baby corn.
- Seasonings: You could also try adding different seasonings like coriander, paprika, nutmeg, celery powder, or garlic powder.
- Honey Sesame Chicken: To make slightly sweeter sesame chicken with honey mix ⅓ cup honey into the sesame sauce before pouring it over the chicken.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH SESAME CHICKEN
Skinny Chinese Green Beans
Cauliflower Egg Fried Rice
Roasted Red Bell Peppers
Carrot Rice
HOW TO STORE SESAME CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI RICE
- Serve: After baking, don’t leave the Sesame Chicken and Broccoli Rice at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
- Store: Let the chicken cool down before you put it in an airtight container to store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freeze: You can also seal the Sesame Chicken and Broccoli Rice to freeze for up to 3 months.
Ingredients
- 4 heads broccoli , about 1 ½ pounds, stalks roughly chopped and separated from florets
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- kosher salt , to taste
- coarse ground black pepper , to taste
- 1/2 cup coconut liquid aminos
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot starch/flour
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- ¼ to 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes , crushed
- 2 cloves garlic , finely grated
- 1 piece fresh ginger , about 2-inches finely grated
- 2 large boneless , skinless chicken breasts (about 1 ¼ pounds), cut into 1-inch pieces
- 4 scallions , sliced
- Toasted sesame seeds , for serving
Instructions
- Pulse the broccoli stems in a food processor until they break down into pieces about the size of a grain of rice, and then transfer to a medium saucepan.
- Add ½ cup water, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper.
- Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is bright green, about5 minutes.
- Put the broccoli florets on top of the broccoli rice, reduce the heat to low, cover and let steam until the florets and the rice are tender but still bright green, about5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and keep warm.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the liquid aminos, orange juice, arrowroot starch/flour, sesame oil, chile flakes, garlic, and ginger in a medium bowl until smooth.
- Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the chicken and cook, undisturbed, until it's light golden brown on the bottom, about 2 minutes.
- Pour in the orange juice mixture, and cook, stirring, until thickened and bubbly, and the chicken is cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes. Add a splash of water to thin out the sauce if needed.
- Adjust seasoning with more salt and pepper.
- Divide the broccoli florets and rice among shallow bowls and top with the chicken and sauce.
- Sprinkle with the scallions and sesame seeds.
Nutrition
Want to save this recipe? Create a free account to easily save your favorite recipes
