If you are missing Chinese take out on your low carb, or low calorie diet, then this is the recipe for you! It's absolutely delicious and so easy to make that you might never order take out again!
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Chinese food was my first love. Make no mistake - I have never been to China, or eaten authentic Chinese food. When I refer to Chinese food, I am talking about the cheap, MSG laden, Americanized Chinese food.
It's a running joke in our house, that any time my husband asks me what I want for supper - I always respond "Chinese food". Sure I am joking, but only in the fact that I know we aren't really going to get it, not in the fact that it's what I want for supper.
My go-to order is Chicken and Broccoli with white rice and an egg roll. Sure, you hear chicken and broccoli and think "health food" amiright?
While the chicken and the broccoli are A-OK, the sauces used to top them are full of sugar and cornstarch - along with pretty much every other offering at a Chinese restaurant.
When I could no longer bear being separated from my beloved - I decided that I HAD to recreate my favorite dish. I knew it would be a challenge, but desperate times can bring out the best in us, so I gave it a shot.
I can not even begin to tell you how delighted I was to create this AWESOME recreation! It's exactly what I was hoping for and then some.
Before you flood the comment section with "carrots aren't Keto"
Let me just say, in order to preserve the authenticity, I opted to keep the carrots in the recipe. I only used 1 cup of carrots for the entire meal, and the total carbs are still really low. With that said, you can leave them out and still have a delicious meal.
Other substitutions:
If you want to make this a little fattier, you can replace all or some of the chicken breast with boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Again, I wanted to make it as close to the original as possible so I stuck with the breast only.
Also, if you are paleo, or just trying to avoid soy, you can substitute the soy sauce with coconut aminos at equal parts.
If you are opposed to using the erythritol based brown sugar substitute, then you can substitute with any sweetener that you are comfortable with, or totally omit it. Obviously if you leave the sweetener out completely, you will not have the same flavor, but it should still be tasty 🙂
Lastly, I almost always use fresh broccoli for this recipe, but if you are short on time you can swap the fresh broccoli for frozen, steam in bag broccoli. Just be sure to cook it before adding to the chicken.
A word about xanthan gum ...
If you have never thickened sauces with xanthan gum, then let me give you a word of caution. Sauces can go from water thin, to full on sludge with just ¼ of a teaspoon too much. When adding the xanthan gum, add it in ¼ teaspoon increments, stirring well and waiting a minute or two before adding anymore.
Trust me (and all the sauces I've ruined) on this one.
Be sure to check out these other great recipes:
📖 Recipe
Chinese Chicken and Broccoli | Keto, Low Calorie
Ingredients
- 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 2 teaspoon fish sauce
- ¼ cup Soy Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
- 1 tablespoon Rice Vinegar
- 2 teaspoon minced ginger (or 1 teaspoon ground ginger)
- ¼ cup Brown Sugar Substitute or to taste
- 8 cups broccoli florets
- 1 cup carrots chopped into matchsticks
- ¼-1 teaspoon Xanthan Gum
- 3 green onions chopped, optional
Instructions
- Slice the chicken breast into thin, bite sizes strips against the grain.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, over medium high heat.
- Add the garlic and stir until it becomes aromatic (only a few seconds) then add the chicken.
- Cook stirring frequently until chicken is no longer pink.
- Add the chicken broth, fish sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, brown sugar substitute and ginger. Reduce the heat to medium and allow to simmer until the chicken has cooked through and the sauce has reduced by half.
- Meanwhile, place the broccoli and carrots in a steaming basket inside of a large pot with about 1 inch of water. Cover, and place over high heat. Steam until the broccoli and carrots are tender crisp - or done to your liking.
- Once the sauce has reduced and the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan, and stir in the xanthan gum ¼ of a teaspoon at a time. Stir well and let sit for about 1 minute after each addition until the sauce reaches your desired consistency. I used ½ tsp, but that amount will vary depending upon how much your sauce reduces.
- Combine the chicken, broccoli and carrots in a large serving dish. Top with the sauce and chopped green onions if desired. Enjoy!
Be sure to read the entire post for tips, tricks, and help troubleshooting.
The nutrition information listed here is only an estimate and is simply provided as a courtesy. It nor any other information within this post should constitute medical or nutritional advice. Be sure to read all packaging and ingredient labels for potential allergens. Optional ingredients are not included unless otherwise specified.
Nutrition
Emily says
I LOVE Chinese food and am on a 500 calorie diet. This recipe is SO GOOD. I made it and divided into 8 servings, stuck them in the fridge and I'm set for dinner and lunch for the next 4 days! THANK YOU!!!
Rosa says
Made this and it’s true that it tastes just like the one at the Chinese restaurant or better!!! Thank you so much for sharing!
Jessica Cole says
How is the sodium 0 but this recipe calls for soy sauce?
Sabra says
Hi Jessica, I am in the process of getting the nutrition labels up on all my recipes. So some are still missing data. Calories, protein, fat, and carbs are always listed in the notes section for the recipes I haven't converted yet. I went ahead and got this one switched over, so the nutrition label should be accurate. Hope that helps!
Sheila says
So easy to make and it's delicious!! You know it's good when I am the 1,000th person to like it! I served it with cauliflower rice and it's definitely going into our regular rotation. Thank you!!