Easy Honey Garlic Chicken and Broccoli is a delicious Chinese-American dish with pieces of tender chicken and broccoli florets in a savory and sweet glaze.

This simple, budget-friendly meal is made of bite-size pieces of chicken breast, coated and fried until golden, then smothered in a flavorful glaze of honey, soy sauce, garlic, with optional Sriracha for heat.

It’s quick to make and brings homemade takeout from your stove to your table in less time than it normally takes for delivery!

It’s naturally pork-free and dairy-free. So, it’s also kosher!

A terrific chicken dinner option for busy weeknights!

Quick, budget-friendly, Easy Honey Garlic chicken with broccoli with sesame seed garnish in a clear serving bowl on a dark wood table.

Chinese-American homemade takeout is terrific!

This Chinese-American style chicken and broccoli dish is delicious and simple to make.

The mixture of savory from the soy sauce and sweet from the honey creates a delicious blend of flavors for the pieces of tender chicken breast and crunchy broccoli.

And you can get it from the stove to your table in less time that it would take for normal delivery! Plus you save on the tip!

Made with no pork and no dairy, this budget-friendly, homemade takeout is also kosher!

Also, chicken has health benefits!

And so does the broccoli!

A Little About Broccoli

Broccoli is part of a group called “cole” crops, which also includes Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, and collard greens.

It began growing in the Mediterranean over 1500 years ago and was grown in the Roman Empire. By the 18th century, it had spread throughout Europe and was brought to North America by Italian immigrants sometime in the 19th century.

Broccoli is considered to be a healthy vegetable. It contains vitamins, nutrients, and fiber, and it is low in calories!

What does “savory” mean?

Savory refers to foods that are not sweet, such as foods that taste salty, spicy, or herbal.

What is a glaze?

A food glaze is a thick, shiny, sweet and/or savory coating brushed or poured on to meat, chicken, vegetables, or desserts to add flavor, moisture, a glossy finish, and a sticky texture.

What do you need to make this honey garlic chicken with broccoli recipe?

I hardly ever meal plan, so I like to keep a cupboard full of seasonings, spices, veggies, and canned goods in my kitchen to use whenever the mood strikes.

This is certainly true for Chinese-American homemade takeout recipes where a lot of the ingredients overlap.

These are all you need to have on hand to make this recipe even last minute!

boneless chicken breast
broccoli
cornstarch
soy sauce
honey
sriracha sauce for spiciness (optional)
granulated garlic
oil for frying
sesame seeds for garnish, if desired

A little about Chinese-American Food

Chinese-American cuisine is a style of Chinese cuisine that was developed by Chinese immigrants. These dishes significantly differ from traditional Chinese dishes because Chinese-American dishes were adapted to suit American tastes.

Chinese immigrants arrived in the United States in large numbers in the mid-19th century in order to escape the economic difficulties in China, hoping to find work during the California Gold Rush and on the Central Pacific Railroad.

They mostly settled together in ghettos, individually known as Chinatown, and—since there were laws preventing them from owning their own land—they opened their own businesses, such as laundry services and restaurants.

Initially, the family-owned businesses catered to miners and railroad workers, and restaurants were set up in places where Chinese food was unknown. Food was based on the requests of the customers, and recipes were created to suit American tastes using whatever ingredients were available.

One major difference between traditional Chinese cuisine and Chinese-American cuisine is in the use of vegetables. Chinese-American recipes will use raw or uncooked ingredients and those not native to China. Traditional Chinese cuisine, on the other hand, rarely contains raw or uncooked ingredients and often uses Asian leaf vegetables.

While the new dishes were not traditional Chinese, these restaurants were responsible for the development of the ever-popular Chinese-American cuisine.

The little history of kosher Chinese-American Food

It is well known that Jews (especially those with ties to New York) love Chinese food.

Jews as a group were probably first introduced to Chinese food in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, where immigrants of various cultures settled in their own neighborhoods in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

By the early 1900s, approximately one million Jews from Eastern Europe lived in the Lower East Side of Manhattan as did approximately 7,000 Cantonese Chinese.

Most of the Chinese in the Lower East side had moved from California after the gold rush where they had opened restaurants to serve the miners, since anti-Chinese laws and acts in the U.S. prevented them from competing with whites.

The majority of Jewish immigrants at that time were observant in their religion and ate only kosher food when they arrived in New York.

But, over time, many assimilated and since Sunday was a favorite time for eating out, and Chinese food was not only reasonably priced, but their restaurants were open on Sundays, the Jews would often eat there.

Jews who did keep kosher were only able to enjoy the Chinese dishes once Sol Bernstein, a kosher deli owner found a solution to this problem. Using Cantonese Chinese recipes and substituting kosher veal, beef, and chicken livers for pork, he began selling the first kosher Chinese food.

Sol continued to sell deli while he incorporated Chinese foods into the menu and did very well. The deli continued to prosper until he died in 1992, when it was sold.

More homemade Chinese-American takeout recipes!

If you love Chinese-American food and don’t eat pork or keep kosher, but don’t have such a restaurant to takeout near you, or if you just don’t want to pay the high prices they charge, then you should totally try these other homemade kosher Chinese-American recipes!

Yield: 2-4 servings

Easy Honey Garlic Chicken and Broccoli (Quick and Budget-Friendly)

A delicious kosher Chinese-American chicken and broccoli dish with sweet honey, garlic, and savory soy sauce.

Ingredients

2 to 2½ lbs boneless chicken breast, cut into approximately 1-inch (bite-size) pieces.
1 pound (or more, if desired) broccoli florets
¾ cup cornstarch + 2 tablespoons
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup honey or to taste
1 tablespoon sriracha sauce or to desired spiciness (optional)
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
oil for frying
sesame seed to garnish if desired.

Instructions

Mix soy sauce, honey, sriracha, garlic, and 1 cup of water together in a medium-sized sauce pan and bring to a boil on a medium-high heat. Then lower the heat to low.
Place the cornstarch, less 2 tablespoons, in a bowl and add to it 2-3 tablespoons of the mixture into it and mix well until you've created a smooth slurry (you can use water instead of the mixture if you like).
Add the slurry back into the mixture in the sauce pan and mix well. Then, turn off the heat.
Take the chicken pieces and coat them with the remaining 2 tablespoons of cornstarch (you can use a large bowl or a bag).
Pour enough oil into a large frying pan to cover the bottom (around ⅑" high) and place on medium heat.
When the oil is ready (sprinkle a little corn starch into the oil, and when it sizzles, it's ready), place the coated chicken cubes in the hot oil (don't crowd—cook in batches if your frying pan isn't big enough), and fry for a little while on all sides until cooked through.
Pour the sauce over the cooked chicken pieces, add the broccoli, and gently mix to coat.
Garish with sesame seeds if desired.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 440Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 50mgSodium: 1864mgCarbohydrates: 80gFiber: 5gSugar: 28gProtein: 24g