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Growing up, every Friday night my family would take a break from a home cooked meal and decide between ordering in pizza or Chinese food. And every single time I ordered chicken and broccoli in brown sauce… and 31 years later I’m still ordering that! And now I’ve perfected how to make a copy cat version at home (and yes, you can sub in any vegetable here like broccoli, string beans, Chinese broccoli, snow peas, etc)…
So I live in NYC and oddly I’ve had the hardest time lately finding the takeout version of this dish that I enjoy the most with a nice thick and flavorful brown sauce. So after a few attempts in the kitchen trying other peoples recipes and taking from them my favorite parts and then further tweaking it to my liking I’m just SO excited to not just share this with you all but to have this recipe for myself that I can make forever!
IMPORTANT NOTE: When I list “dark soy sauce” in the ingredient list.. this is not the same as regular soy sauce. It is aged longer and is thicker and sweeter than regular soy sauce and is absolutely key to this recipe so please try to find it!! I used the brand Lee Kum Kee Soy’s “Premium Dark Soy Sauce” and found it in my local Asian market but you can also order it online.
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade
- 12 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil or avocado oil
Sauce
- 1/2 cup chicken stock or broth
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 pinch ground white pepper
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
For the rest of the dish
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil divided in half
- 1 pound string beans or other vegetable (e.g., broccoli)
- 3 cloves garlic sliced thin
Optional
- cooked white or brown rice
Instructions
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Add all the ingredients for the chicken marinade to a shallow bowl, whisk well and add in chicken and make sure it's well coated. Set aside.
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Whisk together in a bowl all the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.
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Prepare your string beans by trimming off the ends, and cutting into approximately one inch pieces.
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Heat a wok (or a large non stick pan) on high heat and add in two tablespoons of oil. Once hot, add the string beans and cook until they begin to blister. Then add 1/4 cup of water and cover them for 2-3 minutes to steam.
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Take the cover off and add in garlic and stir until fragrant. Remove the string beans from the wok and set aside.
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Keeping your wok on high heat, add in another two tablespoons of oil and add in the chicken and stir until just browned. Add back in the string beans and the sauce. Let the sauce simmer for about 1-2 minutes to allow the sauce will thicken as well as finish cooking the chicken.
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Serve over rice and enjoy!
PauR
April 4, 2023Really great recipe love this dish. You did an amazing job with the photo as well.