Chicken, mushroom and broccoli in light gravy on rice
Sliced chicken breast with mushrooms and broccoli in a thin gravy — light, not greasy, and with brown rice it fills you up without the post-lunch slump.
- 25 min
- Serves 2
- Simmer
- Easy
Why it suits you: Phlegm-damp types feel heavy, gain weight easily and get sleepy after meals, and Grain Rain piles damp on damp, so keep lunch light. Chicken breast is lean, mushrooms and broccoli support digestion, a little tangerine peel moves qi and clears phlegm, and brown rice helps drain damp.
Method
Prep 10 min · Cook 15 min- 1Mix the chicken with 1 tsp each of the soy sauce and cornflour and marinate for 10 minutes. Blanch the broccoli for 1 minute and drain.
- 2Heat the oil in a wok, fry the ginger and tangerine peel until fragrant, then stir-fry the chicken until mostly cooked.
- 3Add the mushrooms and cook until soft and juicy, then add the broccoli and 150 ml water and bring to the boil.
- 4Mix the remaining soy sauce and cornflour with a little water, stir in until lightly thickened, season with salt and spoon over the rice.
Chef's tips
- Slice the breast thinly across the grain and work 1 tsp water into the marinade until absorbed — it stays tender.
The TCM view
Chicken is sweet and warm and builds qi. Mushrooms are sweet and neutral, strengthening the spleen, whetting the appetite and clearing phlegm. Broccoli is sweet and neutral and settles the stomach. Tangerine peel is pungent, bitter and warm, drying damp and resolving phlegm; brown rice strengthens the spleen and drains damp. Light and low in oil — nourishing without clogging.
