Broccoli and Hoisin-Lime Marinated Grilled Chicken Stir Fry

This was a good, solid recipe, that Kevin and I liked very much. We didn't fall in love with it, but it was definitely a keeper. The chicken, which was marinated for 2 hours in a lovely Hoisin sauce (my first time with hoisin!) with a lot of chopped garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and lime, tasted juicy and flavorful, though a little salty. I loved it. I threw a ton of extra veggies into the rice, and even doubled the amount of rice I was supposed to use, so it made quite a lot. I didn't double the stir fry sauce though, for fear that it would become way too salty. I think this was the right move, because the flavor was mellow, but definitely had a nice light glaze to it. Unfortunately, this dish was quite a kitchen disaster. The following events put a major damper on dindin last night:

1. I opened my bag of 2 broccoli bunches, to find the heads like mush. I bought them only 2 days ago. They were bad. Ugh. See my substitutions below!

2.My grill pan refuses to get clean. It's like a major act of defiance. Kevin has been begging me to stick the thing straight into the garbage.

3. Due to our rebellious grill pan, every time I use it, my house fills with smoke. Ugh.

4. This dinner took me 40 minutes to clean up. Not a fan.

I adapted this dish from a Cooking Light recipe, but I'll post it below, because I made a lot of substitutions, due to personal tastes, lack of ingredients, and just because I felt like it.






Broccoli and Chicken Stir Fried Rice


Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 cups)
Ingredients

* 1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
* 8 cups broccoli florets (I used a bag of frozen, because of my spoiled broc)
* 2 cups vertically sliced onion (about 1)
* 1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth, divided (I used veggie)
* 2 cups cooked long-grain rice (I used 4 cups of brown rice - I refuse to use white rice, have I mentioned that?)
* 1 tablespoon minced garlic
* 2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger (I used 1/2 tsp of ground ginger)
* 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
* 2 Hoisin and Lime-Marinated Grilled Chicken breast halves, thinly sliced
* 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
* 2 tablespoons oyster sauce (didn't use at all!)
* 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
* 1 teaspoon cornstarch
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* I also threw in 2 yellow bell peppers and some matchstick sliced carrots,just to supplement the veggies!

Hoisin and Lime Marinated Grilled Chicken Breasts

Ingredients

* 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
* 1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger (I used a tsp of ground)
* 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
* 1 teaspoon grated lime rind (I used a tbl of bottled lime juice instead)
* 2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
* 8 garlic cloves, minced
* 6 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (I only used 4, and I butterflied them, so they'd be thinner and easier to cook on the grill)
* Cooking spray

Preparation

Combine hoisin sauce, ginger, and next 5 ingredients (through garlic) in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add chicken to bag; seal. Marinate in refrigerator for 2 hours, turning bag occasionally.

Prepare grill.

Remove chicken from bag; discard marinade. Place chicken on grill rack coated with cooking spray, and grill for 5 minutes on each side or until chicken is done.

Preparation

Heat canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add broccoli and onion; sauté for 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup broth; cover and cook for 3 minutes. Remove broccoli mixture from pan.

Place pan over medium-high heat. Add rice; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add broccoli mixture, garlic, ginger, pepper, and chicken; toss well.

Combine remaining 1/4 cup broth, soy sauce, oyster sauce, vinegar, and cornstarch; add to pan. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute. Stir in salt.


**Both of these recipes made 4-6 servings, but I didn't post the nutritional information, since I felt it would be very skewed from all my substitutions. If you click on the links to the real recipes, you'll find an idea of the nutritional info!