Honey Garlic Chicken with Broccoli and Noodles

Okay, I know it’s Chanukah and generally I share a dish that entails frying since that’s the style of cooking of the day, so to speak, but this year I decided to share a nice sorta one pot meal (not quite since you do cook the noodles separately). I figure we are usually doughnutted out (or sufganiyotted out) by the time the actual holiday rolls around since the doughnuts are showing up around 3 weeks beforehand so I’m taking a frying break this year. I will probably do latkes at some point but you’ve already got that recipe on the blog and doughnuts too – Sufganiyot – Jelly Doughnuts and Latkes or Potato Pancakes

I particularly like that you get your protein, veg and carb all in one delish sauce and what you’re doing is first cooking the chicken thighs (boneless & skinless) in the sauce you make, remove them and toss in the broccoli and noodles to get saucy as well. It’s a really scrumptious bite and a nice holiday meal. A note. To those who prefer chicken breast to thighs, it will work in this recipe as well, just cook them for less time so as not to dry them out. Let’s gather our ingredients for this wonderful dinner.

Those slices of yellow above are slices of fresh ginger which I ziploc and bag and freeze. That way I have it to hand when I need it. K.

Place the honey, soy sauce, water, garlic cloves, sweet chili sauce, balsamic vinegar, sesame oil and ginger in a pot large enough to hold not only the chicken but also the broccoli and noodles, around 6 liters/quarts approximately. Below you’ll see a large knob of garlic, it’s just the garlic pearls I buy whenever I can find them. They are large cloves which are easy to peel. Bring sauce to a boil and lower to simmer.

While the sauce cooks on a low simmer, cook your noodles and drain them. You will heat them up in the sauce again so don’t worry if they cool a bit.

They come in blocks, so help them unfurl and cook no more than about 3 minutes. Drain.

Yes, I add a bit of oil as well as salt to the noodles, Italian cooks forgive me, it does help them from sticking together quite so much even if the sauce adheres a little less well.

Onward. Your sauce is now come together after about 8-10 minutes of cooking on low heat, raise to medium and add the chicken. Let come just to the boil and again lower heat and cook covered in the sauce.

Cook chicken thighs till cooked through about 15-20 minutes and remove from sauce and place on cutting board. Let rest and continue by adding the broccoli to sauce. Toss a bit in sauce.

Now I used defrosted frozen broccoli so it cooks very quickly about 3 minutes is plenty. If using fresh broccoli you will want to cook longer. Add the cooked noodles on top of the broccoli and toss in the sauce.

Mix together the cornstarch and water till smooth and pour on top of broccoli and noodles in sauce.

Toss well with noodles, broccoli and sauce just till thickened.

Slice chicken

Now you can either serve in individual bowls or plates with a heap of noodles and broccoli and sliced chicken on top or on a platter with noodles and broccoli as a bed and the sliced chicken thighs on top and let people help themselves.

Honey Garlic Chicken with Broccoli and Noodles

1/3 cup/113 grams honey
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
4 medium garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons grated or sliced fresh ginger or frozen ginger cubes
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 1/2 pounds/680 grams boneless, skinless chicken thighs (Pargiyot)
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
21 ounces or 600 grams defrosted frozen broccoli
175 grams/6 ounces curly (stir fry style) noodles cooked according to package directions

Directions:

Stir together honey, soy sauce, garlic, sweet chili sauce , balsamic vinegar , ginger, and sesame oil in a 6-quart/liter pot.

Cover and bring to the boil and lower to simmer and cook about 8-10 minutes. While sauce is cooking, prepare the noodles in a separate pot, cooking according to package directions and drain. I add salt and a bit of oil to cooking water. Place chicken thighs into the sauce and cook covered until chicken is cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.

Remove chicken from the pot and let rest on cutting board. Place the broccoli in sauce and toss and cook for about 3-4 minutes. Add cooked noodles right on top of broccoli and toss in sauce well, just heating enough that noodles are barely hot. Stir together water and cornstarch in a small bowl until smooth and add to sauce in pot, cooking until thickened. Slice chicken in thick strips.

Now you can either serve in individual bowls or plates with a heap of noodles and broccoli and sliced chicken on top or on a platter with noodles and broccoli as a bed and the sliced chicken thighs on top and let people help themselves.