018 / 75 · Skillet Chicken and Turkey

Ginger Chicken and Broccoli Pan

Name: Ginger Chicken and Broccoli Pan
Prep time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 2 bowls, each with half the chicken-broccoli mixture and half the rice
Ingredients: 10 1/2 oz skinless boneless chicken breast (300 g raw), cut into 2 cm/3/4-inch pieces; 1/2 cup dry long-grain white rice (100 g); 2 1/2 cups drinking water (600 ml), for boiling and draining rice; 1 small broccoli head, trimmed into small florets and thin stem slices (300 g prepared); 2 teaspoons olive oil (10 ml/about 9 g); 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger (10 g peeled); 2 garlic cloves, minced (6 g); 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce (15 ml/about 16 g); 1 tablespoon lemon juice (15 ml/about 15 g); 1 teaspoon sugar (4 g); 2 teaspoons cornstarch (5 g); 1/2 cup drinking water (120 ml), divided: 60 ml broccoli, 60 ml sauce; up to 30 ml extra if needed

2 bowls, each with half the chicken-broccoli mixture and half the rice · Active 25 min · Total 45 min

Print recipe · PDF

Ginger chicken becomes more approachable when the sauce is mixed before the pan is hot. The chicken cooks first, the broccoli steams briefly in the same skillet, and a measured cornstarch mixture thickens only at the end. This sequence keeps the vegetables from waiting through the entire poultry cooking time. Plain rice catches the sauce and is included in the portion.

Jump to ingredients

Original hand-drawn illustration of ginger chicken and broccoli pan.

Prepare the small bowl first

Cornstarch needs cool liquid before it meets heat. Stir it with the soy sauce, lemon, sugar and measured water, scraping the base of the bowl to release any settled starch just before pouring. A dry spoonful scattered into a hot skillet tends to form stubborn lumps. Mince ginger finely enough that it seasons a bite rather than leaving a hard slice. Cut the chicken into similarly sized pieces, then clean the knife, board and hands before preparing anything that will be eaten without further cooking.

Cook in a deliberate order

Use a wide pan so the chicken can sit in one layer. Stirring continuously prevents contact browning, so give the first side a little time before turning. Transfer cooked chicken only to a clean plate. The broccoli then gets a short covered steam with its own water allowance; thinly slice the peeled stem so it finishes with the florets. Return the chicken and stir the sauce again before adding it. A brief bubbling finish should leave a light coating, not a pool of glue. If the sauce tightens too much, use the small plain-water adjustment described in the method. Check the chicken itself for 165°F/74°C. Rice is cooked in a separate saucepan while the skillet work proceeds, and any leftovers follow the collection’s shorter rice storage rule.

Ingredients

10 1/2 oz skinless boneless chicken breast (300 g raw), cut into 2 cm/3/4-inch pieces
1/2 cup dry long-grain white rice (100 g)
2 1/2 cups drinking water (600 ml), for boiling and draining rice
1 small broccoli head, trimmed into small florets and thin stem slices (300 g prepared)
2 teaspoons olive oil (10 ml/about 9 g)
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger (10 g peeled)
2 garlic cloves, minced (6 g)
1 tablespoon regular soy sauce (15 ml/about 16 g)
1 tablespoon lemon juice (15 ml/about 15 g)
1 teaspoon sugar (4 g)
2 teaspoons cornstarch (5 g)
1/2 cup drinking water (120 ml), divided: 60 ml broccoli, 60 ml sauce; up to 30 ml extra if needed

Set out

28 cm/11-inch skillet with lid, 2-litre/2-quart saucepan, Sieve, Small sauce bowl and spoon, Separate raw-poultry board and clean cooked-food plate, Knife, Kitchen scale, Food thermometer

Allergens

Soy, Wheat in ordinary soy sauce; check sauce and cornstarch labels. Check labels and substitutions.

Make it

Bring the rice-cooking water to a boil in the saucepan. Add rinsed rice, simmer uncovered for its packet time, usually 10–15 minutes, until tender, then drain well and cover off the heat.
Mix soy sauce, lemon, sugar, cornstarch and 60 ml water in the small bowl. Prepare the ginger, garlic and broccoli. Cut chicken on a separate raw-food board, then clean equipment and wash hands.
Heat oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken in one layer and cook for 8–10 minutes, turning, until pieces reach 165°F/74°C in their centers. Transfer to a clean plate using clean utensils.
Reduce heat to medium. Add ginger and garlic, stir for 20–30 seconds, then add broccoli and its 60 ml water. Cover and cook for 4–6 minutes until the stem slices are just tender; add a little of the extra water if the pan dries early.
Return chicken to the pan. Stir the sauce from the base of its bowl and pour it in. Bubble gently for 1–2 minutes while turning the food until lightly coated, adding up to the remaining extra water only if too thick. Confirm chicken remains hot through and reaches 165°F/74°C. Divide between 2 bowls with the rice.

A useful kitchen skill

Whisk starch into cold liquid and stir it again immediately before adding to a hot pan. Settled starch left in the bowl cannot thicken the sauce evenly.

A useful detail

The 45-minute total allows rice and skillet cooking to overlap. Cornstarch is mixed into cold liquid first. The estimate uses 100 g dry rice divided between two servings, not 100 g cooked rice.

Another way

Use 300 g cauliflower florets and thin stems instead of broccoli, extending covered cooking until just tender and recalculating the estimate.
Replace chicken with 300 g raw peeled prawns, using their own safe opaque-flesh cooking endpoint and a separate calculation; the chicken cooking time does not apply.

Keep it well

Refrigerate leftovers promptly in shallow containers, ideally within 1 hour for rice and always within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F/32°C. Keep at 40°F/4°C or below, use within 24 hours of the rice’s original cooking and reheat only once to 165°F/74°C throughout. Do not reset the rice clock when mixing it with chicken.