Sheet Pan Suppers: Quick Chicken and Baby Broccoli with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Peanut sauce is like the chocolate sauce of dinnertime. I’m pretty sure I’d eat my shoe if it were covered in enough of it. This satay-inspired dish pairs my beloved peanut sauce with thinly sliced chicken and baby broccoli charred under the broiler. The whole dish cooks in about 10 minutes but results in juicy chicken, tender Broccolini, and a thick and bubbly sauce. It’s addicting. Keep it away from your shoes. I’ve seen packaged thin-cut chicken breasts or cutlets at some grocery stores, but you can easily make your own by slicing a regular chicken breast in half horizontally to create two thin-cut pieces.
Olive oil cooking spray (optional)
1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter (commercial or natural)
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
2 bunches Broccolini (1 pound total)
4 to 6 thin-cut boneless, skinless chicken breasts or cutlets (1 to 1 1/2 pounds total)
Preheat the oven to broil, and place a rack 4 inches from the heat. Line a sheet pan with foil or mist it with cooking spray. Whisk together the brown sugar, peanut butter, sesame oil, soy sauce, Sriracha, vinegar, water and lime juice in a medium-size bowl until smooth. Set aside 1/4 cup of the peanut sauce for serving. Rub the Broccolini and chicken with the remaining peanut sauce to thickly coat, and arrange them in a tight single layer on the prepared pan. Broil, keeping a close eye on the pan to prevent burning, and flipping the chicken halfway through, until the chicken is just cooked through, the Broccolini is well-charred, and the sauce is bubbly and deeply browned, 10 to 12 minutes.