Vegan Chicken & Broccoli

 

 Happy New Year!

 

 

Hubby & I last night in a beautiful condo my mom
surprised us with for the night.  Fun!

 

I hope everyone had a great New Year's and is as excited as I am about this coming new year.  2013 was a very bittersweet year for me - one of the most difficult I have been through in recent years, but I know it has and will continue to make me grow into a better person.  I came to some interesting realizations about myself and have just really been forced to become stronger.  I have so many goals for this coming year, but unlike many New Year's past, I have not written them down or described them as "New Year's Resolutions".  So perhaps here is a good opportunity to write them down so I can remember them later, although I will not be going as crazy about them this year as I usually do.

 

• Focus on bettering my Spanish - hopefully I will be able to have more of a complete conversation with my mother-in-law by the end of the year

• Eat more cleanly - less snacking - that's my problem.  And use up a lot of the pantry items I brought back from Brooklyn with us- make more food items out of what we have - not going out and buying new things every time I decide to cook something

• Be more open to trying new things that usually make me uncomfortable: singing in front of others, dancing, saying "ok, sure, let's do it", rather than "uh ..."

• Focus on being healthy - yes exercise more, but not letting "weight loss" be the main focus

• Work on our business

What are some things you guys are wanting to do differently this year?  They don't have to be resolutions per se, just some things you want to focus more on. 


Going along with my concept of eating well and using the ingredients I have on hand (not too many fresh ingredients left - definitely have to go shopping!) I decided on this vegan chicken and broccoli that I served with brown rice.  So delicious and simple enough to make on this day of feeling tired after not getting much sleep last night.

 

 

 

 

 

Serves 4
 

Steamed Brown Rice, to serve

 

Vegan Chicken and Broccoli:

1 8 oz. pkg. vegan chicken, thawed

1 1/2 tablespoons untoasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons minced garlic, about 2 large cloves

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

4 cups broccoli florets (I used the stems too, just peeled them first)

6 tablespoons unchicken broth, separated

1 tablespoon sesame oil

sea salt and black pepper to taste

5 scallions, sliced on the diagonal

1/4 cup organic hoisin sauce

3 tablespoons mushroom oyster sauce

Sesame seeds, for garnish

 

 

1.  Place a wok over medium-high heat and add the 1 ½ tablespoons of sesame oil.  Once the oil is hot, add the garlic and dried red pepper flakes.  Stir fry for 30 seconds, or until fragrant.  Add the broccoli florets (and stems if you would like) and 4 tablespoons of the unchicken broth. Stir fry broccoli for 2 minutes, or until desired doneness is achieved.  Remove from the pan and set aside.

2.  Add a little more sesame oil to the wok (about 1 tablespoon).  Add the thawed out chicken to the wok and cook just until heated through, and slightly browned if desired (keep in mind that this chicken is fully cooked and could even be eaten as is, although I wouldn't recommend that!).
3.  Add in remaining 2 tablespoons of unchicken broth, oyster mushrooms sauce, and hoisin sauce.  Add the cooked broccoli back into the pan and move around just until the mixture is heated through.
4.  Serve over top of the steamed brown rice.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.


Enojy!

Koko