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Chinese Chicken and Broccoli

Stir‑fry of chicken, broccoli, ginger, garlic, scallions, soy sauce, and shiitake mushrooms.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Sesame and shiitake match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 142 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓

Chinese Chicken and Broccoli

Time20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Soak the shiitake mushrooms in a bowl of warm water until pliable and soft, 20 minutes.

  2. Remove them, straining the soaking water through a sieve or cheese cloth and reserving.

  3. Slice up the mushrooms and reserve.

  4. Slice up the chicken into thin pieces and coat with 1 tbsp soy sauce, the sesame oil, and 2 tbsp cornstarch.

  5. Allow the chicken to marinate for 20 minutes.

Cook and serve

  1. In a heated wok or large sauté pan, add the safflower oil and briefly fry the chicken strips.

  2. Add the ginger and garlic and toss together, coating evenly.

  3. Add the broccoli and ½ of the shiitake water to the pan, cover, and steam for 5 minutes until the broccoli is cooked.

  4. Add the scallions and remaining soy sauce to the pan and cook 1 minute longer.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1022Calories
54 gProtein
33 gFat
128 gCarbs

Counts 11 of 13 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Chicken100g cooked165
Sesame1 tbsp (14g)120
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Broccoli1 cup chopped (156g)55
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Shiitake1/2 cup (73g)34
Mushroom1/2 cup sliced (35g)15
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Safflowernot in our table0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Sesame + shiitaketop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together142 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

  2. Garlic + shiitaketop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together292 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  3. Broccoli + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,072 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  4. Broccoli + sesametop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together372 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).

  5. Broccoli + shiitaketop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together30 recipes

    Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Chicken breasts
Provide the main protein, which turns firm and opaque when cooked through.
Cornstarch
Coats the chicken and thickens the sauce as it heats, giving a glossy texture.
Shiitake mushrooms
Add savory depth and chewy texture, with soaking water adding umami to the sauce.
Soy sauce
Adds salty, savory flavor and color to the chicken and sauce.
Broccoli
Adds crisp-tender texture and fresh, slightly bitter flavor when steamed briefly.
Garlic
Adds aroma and pungent flavor when gently fried in the oil.

The step that matters

Thickening the chicken with cornstarch. Cornstarch thickens only when heated with liquid, and it can clump if added unevenly. Coating the chicken evenly before frying helps it brown and keeps the sauce smooth and glossy.

Swap the safflower

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, broccoli, ginger, garlic, sesame, sauce, shiitake):

  1. Cuminfits better
  2. Corianderfits better
  3. Turmericfits better
  4. Safflowerthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, broccoli, ginger, garlic, sesame, sauce, shiitake. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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