Madhouse recipe : Honey & Soy Chicken & Broccoli Stir Fry

That's it, I'm finally back in my own kitchen after almost a month of gallivanting around visiting both sets of grandparents and taking a trip to Lanzarote. After stuffing our faces for most of that time, we're all craving some lighter dishes at the the moment, especially as we're in the middle of a heatwave - we saw 38°C (that's 100°F) flash up on the dashboard thermometer when we were driving back home from Brittany on Thursday ! This is a quick and simple dish that is perfect when you're back at work and in a rush.

  Honey & Soy Chicken & Broccoli Stir Fry

ingredients :

drizzle of olive oil

6 chicken breasts, chopped into chunks

1/2 a head of broccoli, cut into florets

2 onions, sliced

1 clove garlic, crushed

a good handful of nuts (almonds, peants, hazelnuts, cashews, ... whatever you have to hand)

8tbsp runny honey

3tbsp black rice vinegar (or white wine vinegar)

3tbsp soy sauce

1tbsp sugar

1tsp cornflour

sesame seeds, black onion seeds to garnish (optional)

Heat the oil in a large pan or wok and stir fry the chicken and garlic for 5 minutes until it's browned on all sides but not cooked through.

Add the broccoli and onions and continue to stir fry until the chicken is cooked all the way through and the broccoli is tooth-tender. Add an extra drizzle of olive oil if necessary.

Meanwhile, mix the honey, vinegar and soy sauce together and taste to adjust the balance of flavours, if necessary. Whisk in the cornflour - get rid of as many lumps as possible.

You can use any nuts you like to add a bit of crunch - I usually use cashews in Oriental dishes but I decided to use some Roast & Salt Assorted Nuts that I had this time, which worked well too.

Pour the sauce into the dish and toss all the ingredients around until well covered. Add the nuts and sprinkle over the sugar. 

Turn up the heat and stir fry, tossing everything around for a couple of minutes, until the sauce thickens.

Serve with steamed or boiled rice. I sprinkled over some sesame seeds, black onion seeds and Japanese umi plum sesame seeds just before serving, to give it some extra crunch and a lovely nutty flavour.