This is a quick and easy recipe for a Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry that has just about the least number of ingredients you can get away with but still deliver a dish that stacks up to the best Chinese takeout! Plenty of savoury homemade stir fry sauce – because broccoli florets are a sponge for sauce plus I need extra for rice soaking. It’s essential!
Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry
If you descended upon your local Asian Market armed with my Asian Market Shopping List and stocked up on the Level 1 essential sauces, you have the 3 sauces you need to make this.
How good is that!!?
And if your weekly grocery shopping is as predictable as mine, then chicken and broccoli made it into your trolley on the weekend.
Which means you’re armed and dangerous, ready to cook up this big batch Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry. Complete with extra sauce!
Big batch??
I call this a “big batch” Chicken Broccoli stir fry because most of my stir fry recipes tend to be made on a smaller scale serving 2 to 4 people max, being that crowding the pan = stewed veggies which is one of the greatest sins of stir frying.
We don’t have that problem with this one because we steam the broccoli first before making the stir fry as it won’t cook in the short time it’s on the stove. So we can crowd the pan and make a big batch that easily serves 5, possibly even 6!
Also, broccoli holds up better than most vegetables with leftovers, so this is a terrific meal prep option (which I normally don’t recommend for stir fries) which is why I don’t mind having leftovers.
What you need for Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry
Here’s what you need for this minimalist stir fry!
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Cooked broccoli – as noted above. Steamed or boiled, whichever you prefer.
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Chicken – breast or thigh. If you’re using breast and want to add a wow factor, tenderise the chicken using this secret Chinese restaurant method for “velveting chicken”;
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Soy sauce – use either light soy sauce or all purpose soy sauce. Do not use dark, flavour will be much too intense;
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Chinese cooking wine OR Mirin – used by the gallon in Chinese restaurants, it’s the secret ingredient that makes stir fry sauces so good. Mirin or dry sherry are perfect substitutes, see recipe notes for non alcoholic option;
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Oyster sauce – adds a stack of flavour and a touch of sweet. Vegetarian option: Use Vegetarian Oyster Sauce, it’s pretty good! Ayam is a good brand, sold at large everyday grocery stores. Also, here’s a homemade Vegetarian Oyster Sauce recipe by Omnivore’s Cookbook, a Chinese recipe website. I was extremely impressed with it;
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Sesame oil (toasted) – for a lovely hint of sesame flavour;
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Cornflour/cornstarch – to thicken the sauce and make it shiny and glossy; and
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Garlic and onion – stir fries rarely happen without these two essential flavour bases.
How to make Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry
It comes together in about 5 minutes on the stove, so make sure you have everything chopped, next to the stove, ready to toss in. This can be made in a (large!) wok though I find it easier just to use a skillet for this particular stir fry because it makes a big batch.
This recipe calls for 1 1/4 cups of water which sounds like a LOT! But extra sauce is essential here because the broccoli florets are a sponge for sauce.
Serve it over rice though if you’re pushing through a low carb phase, then try cauliflower rice instead. It really is not as bad as you think, it’s got a very neutral flavour and the tasty stir fry sauce does wonders to disguise any remnant of cauliflower flavour.
Also another good low carb option is Egg Foo Young (Chinese Omelette) which you could make then smother with this Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry instead of making the Egg Foo Young brown sauce.
And for fellow chicken and broccoli tragics, see below the recipe card for a somewhat lengthy list of various other chicken and broccoli this-and-that recipes I’ve shared. – Nagi x
PS I say “tragics”, but being that broccoli is a powerhouse veggie, we should give ourselves a pat on the back for packing so much broccoli into our diets! 💪🏼
Watch how to make it
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Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry (extra sauce!)
Ingredients
Sauce (Note 5 for Charlie):
- 2 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch
- 3 tbsp soy sauce , all purpose or light (Note 1)
- 1 1/2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine or Mirin (Note 2)
- 3 tbsp oyster sauce (Note 3)
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- Dash of white pepper (sub black)
Stir Fry:
- 2 tbsp oil , peanut, vegetable or canola
- 1/2 onion , sliced
- 2 garlic cloves , finely minced
- 500g/1 lb chicken thighs or breast, thinly sliced (optional tenderise, Note 4)
- 400g/ 14 oz broccoli florets , broken/cut into small bite size pieces (2 medium heads, ~5 cups)
- 1 1/4 cups water
Instructions
- Broccoli: steam or boil using preferred method until cooked to your taste (it won't cook any further in the stir fry). I usually microwave steam 3 minutes on high. Drain well.
- Sauce: Mix cornflour and soy sauce, then mix in remaining ingredients.
- Tenderising option: Consider tenderising chicken breast using this method. (Not needed for thigh)
- Cook: Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add garlic and onion, stir for 10 seconds until garlic starts to go golden.
- Then add chicken and cook for 2 minutes or until the chicken is just cooked through.
- Add broccoli, Sauce and water. Stir well and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the Sauce thickens and becomes glossy, and coats the ingredients.
- Serve over rice!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
More Chicken and Broccoli recipes
For fellow chicken and broccoli tragics
And my favourite stir fries
Life of Dozer
Bed hair. Nobody wakes up looking perfect – not even Dozer!
Loved this recipe! Thankyou. My house smell like a Chinese restaurant…..in a wonderful way! Loved the extra sauce. I will now be using Charlie in my stir fry recipes. I combined this with Brussel sprout fried rice, a really great combo. Thankyou thankyou xxxx
Wahoo, that’s great to hear Lynda!! N x
Hi Nagi! Are those sliced scallions/green onions in the pics? Are those in addition to the white onion in the recipe?
Thanks!
Hi Deb, yes they were just used to garnish but aren’t essential to the recipe. N x
OK…thank you! I’ll be making this on the weekend. It looks easy enough for me to make; I’m thankful for your videos.
can you tell me what the difference is between unsweetened and sweetend mirin? And, which do you use when a recipe simply states mirin? Thank you.
Hi Elsie, if you taste mirin on it’s own it has a slightly sweet taste from the rice its made from – that’s just the nature of it. I haven’t heard of “unsweetened” as real mirin is (and should be) slightly sweet. N x
What a joy you and Dozer are to my day. I look forward to you have to say and do My Jesse looks at Dozer & wags his tail! He is a doberman
Oh that’s so sweet, give him a big belly rub from me!! ❤️ N x
Thank you for recipes with extra sauce. I enjoy tasting the food that the sauce covers, but my husband loves extra sauce on everything, I know that we will enjoy this one a lot and will be making it this week. Love to you and Dozer.
This will be perfect Lisa!! Enjoy! N x
Hi! I’m quite new at cooking, so sorry if this question seems stupid. Are we supposed to use regular sesame oil or toasted sesame oil? Thank you!!
There’s no such thing as a stupid question! I personally always use toasted sesame oil, because it has a deeper flavor and it adds a lot to a dish. Also, I think Nagi mentioned “toasted” somewhere in the recipe.
Good luck, and always keep cooking!
Ooohh!! I’ll note that down, thank you so much!
Hi Anastasia, I welcome all questions – as I’m sure other readers wonder the same thing! I talk about this in the post, I use toasted as it has a richer flavour (but untested is also fine to use) – N x
Thanks Nagi! I’m going to try out the recipe soon, wish me luck! I’ve tried a few of your recipes before, and all of them were amazing. Really glad I found your blog!!
Dozer looks so peacefu. Delicious Food. The other Day on F/ B IT was broccoli and green Apple juice too boots Iron level That’s me. So my menu is ALL about broccoli. Thank YOU. Keep warm.
Woah that’s commitment Vera, I’m sure it tastes ok though! 😂 N x
love your recipes and love hearing about
Dozers adventures
Thanks so much Pat!! N x
Looks divine, can’t wait to try it and am already throwing a handful of nuts in in my imagination. Thanks Nagi, love your work.
Yes! Perfect Deborah – cashews, almonds or peanuts would be great in this one! N x
Holy shit, Nagi! I made this tonight because it popped up in my emails and I literally only had chicken and broccoli (plus all the Level 1 things from the Asian store… thank you so much).
I did the velveting thing… un-real!
I did the sauce just like you said… un-real!
I’m stoked because there are no other veges for my son to pick around so he has to eat broccoli… mwaaahahahaha… 😈🥰👍
Thank you so much, you literally (almost) made dinner for me. 😂
💖 from Melbourne 🤩👍
I absolutely look forward to your recipes in my inbox everyday and can’t wait to make this one. My family loves many of them. Just one of our all time favorites is your Char Sui Pork, soooooo yummy. 😊
I hope you love it Theresa! N x
Cooked it already!! Went down a blast with the family! So quick and easy! Definitely going to make again!!
Not to be creepy, but I noticed you lived in my area. Would you ever take requests for recreations from local restaurants?
Hi Georgie, I do take requests – pop them on my recipe request page as I have a list I’m working through 🙂 N x
Nagi
I love the website and I love the detail. That beautiful dog looks old to me like my old staffie. Many thanks for your fabulous help with my passion…….Cooking
Thanks so much Ian ❤️
Hi Nagi I have cooked a lot of recipes you send me .we love every recipe tasty and very yum .just want to say thank you for sharing your secrets about Charlie sauce.Seeing Dozer makes my day 😂🥰🌷
You’re so welcome Carol!! N x
Love seeing Dozer. Gorgeous boy. Cool idea for a raincoat, too. 🙂 Recipe AWESOME.
Yum 😋 looks delicious. I made the kebab last night, a huge hit! I really look forward to all your recipes but I must admit I think I love the photos of Dozer even more! 😄 I might just steal your raincoat idea!
Any reason not to use the mushroom soaking water? And the broccoli water too come to think of it?
Just love that boy – and your hilarious comments.
Who needs to cook?
Nagi. Another YUM from you. Love the SIMPLE and QUICK yet Tasty and healthy! Thx!!! 😊😊💜
( wish Dozer would doggie talk to my Rottie who goes out gets soaking and wonders why she can’t come bounding inside again! Hmm 🤔
Extra sauce hummo, learnt that trick awhile back with broccoli (and cauli as well) except I put it in the microwave in clingwrap for about 30 seconds to a minute max then add it at the end of the stir fry process. Works a treat for nice cooked but crunchy veggies.. Looks like chicken for dinner tonight
Yes perfect Tony, I love a cheats way to make veggies fast! N x