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!
Made this last night and finished it off tonight 4 very generous serves, Great recipe so simple it almost cooks itself and jam packed with flavour and that sauce is going to get a lot of use. This is going on high rotation. Another great recipe.
Made this with noodles using the method from your “Chinese beef and broccoli noodles” recipe, it was soooooo good!!! Super delicious and easy dinner. Thanks for another superstar recipe that will be repeated many times 🙂
Forgot to rate 🙂
Made this yesterday evening Nagi and it was a hit with the entire family. It was the first time I’d used your velveting method on the chook – in the past I haven’t bothered because I’ve thought what a faff – but what a revelation! Really did make all the difference. The better half even anounced “just like a Chinese takeaway”. Only one thing, next time I’ll chuck a handful of cashews in.
Thanks once again Nagi!
I love looking at Dozer; he is such a sweetheart. I’m just so sorry to see all that white around his muzzle. Take care of him & I know you do.
He’s gone prematurely grey – but he is still FULL of crazy energy!
Made this tonight, so yummy and easy to make, your recipes are the best!
Real easy and better than my local smorgasbord
Sorry, I have to disagree about Dozer. He is ALWAYS perfect and that is just facts.
Always wondered why chicken breast tasted the way it tastes in a Chinese restaurant. And today I realized how easy it is to ‘velvet’ chicken breast. Great recipe, didn’t have broccoli and so replaced it with caixin and it worked out well. my family loved it!
Have you changed the ‘love heart’ system of saving recipes to my favourites. I notice this this stir fry chicken recipe and the strawberry cake don’t have a love heart to save. Please help!
Hi Wendy! They are there, I just checked 🙂 What are you looking at my website on? Mobile / iPad / computer / Chrome / Safari?? (This is the techy stuff the IT people need to help!) N xx
Wasn’t planning on making this for dinner tonight because I made a ton of egg rolls, but had company and I had all the ingredients and it went together so quickly. Everyone was saying how good it was and the sauce was delicious. This is the first time I have not overcooked the broccoli because I missed the part where you steamed it or microwaved it, so it went in raw but came out just right. It was a very delicious dinner, oh and the egg rolls were a hit too they told me after they ate all the chicken and broccoli. Thanks again. Bed head and all, Dozer is so beautiful and peaceful looking in those pictures.
That’s so good to hear, I’m so glad it worked out!!
Nagi-
Just received my Shaoxing wine from Amazon tonight! I am so excited to have the secret ingredient and get cooking!
Wahoo, it will change your life! N x
Yummo! Just divine, and super easy to make.
Thank you, my family loved it 😘
Wahoo, that’s awesome Leah! N x
Made this last night for dinner. My family raved about it. My daughter asked if we could have it every week. Very easy and velveting the chicken made a huge difference. So juicy and tender. Thank you!
Nagi – you can do no wrong!!! Another winner in our house tonight, I think my husband is in love with you 😂😂 he said we’ve had some absolutely awesome dinners lately and it’s all thanks to that Tin Lady!!!
Such an easy sauce and velveted chicken for the first time too. Had to check it was actually cooked through it was so soft and smooth. 👌🏻🥰
Made this for dinner last night. Had all ingredients mixed and ready to go. Really quick to cook and sooo delicious. Have some fussy eaters in family but everyone loved it. Have a list of “make again recipes” and this one is going on that list
Wahoo, that’s great to hear Julie! N x
This was delicious! I added some ginger and chilli to mine. Was so so good.
Perfect Amanda! N x
Nagi, your recipes are some of my faves across the entire internet. I just signed up for your newsletter and got your free cookbooks and I’m so excited to try more recipes! Do you have a Patreon account or something similar? I’d love to give you financial support in a bigger way than just by clicking on your website! Thanks!
This recipe is sooo good.. I can have this for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And the best part is, it hardly takes 20 minutes to make it. Thank you for sharing this recipe! Its a family favorite!
Wahoo!!! That’s awesome Susan!! N x
Made this dish for dinner tonight. LOVED the sauce and the ideas for tenderizing chicken breast. In the future, I will cut back on either the amount of water or increase the amount of corn starch. I would also add the broccoli at the very, very end of the process. It can over-cook while the sauce boils down.
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.