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!
Karen K says
Sorry, I have to disagree about Dozer. He is ALWAYS perfect and that is just facts.
Finn says
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!
Wendy says
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!
Nagi says
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
Mary says
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.
Nagi says
That’s so good to hear, I’m so glad it worked out!!
Kristin says
Nagi-
Just received my Shaoxing wine from Amazon tonight! I am so excited to have the secret ingredient and get cooking!
Nagi says
Wahoo, it will change your life! N x
Leah says
Yummo! Just divine, and super easy to make.
Thank you, my family loved it 😘
Nagi says
Wahoo, that’s awesome Leah! N x
veronica micco says
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!
Mel says
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. 👌🏻🥰
Julie says
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
Nagi says
Wahoo, that’s great to hear Julie! N x
Amanda says
This was delicious! I added some ginger and chilli to mine. Was so so good.
Nagi says
Perfect Amanda! N x
JOANNA M says
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!
Susan says
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!
Nagi says
Wahoo!!! That’s awesome Susan!! N x
Mary Strojny says
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.
Lynda Turner says
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
Nagi says
Wahoo, that’s great to hear Lynda!! N x
Deb says
Hi Nagi! Are those sliced scallions/green onions in the pics? Are those in addition to the white onion in the recipe?
Thanks!
Nagi says
Hi Deb, yes they were just used to garnish but aren’t essential to the recipe. N x
Deb says
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.
ELSIE MALLON says
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.
Nagi says
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
Georgette Sterbenz says
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
Nagi says
Oh that’s so sweet, give him a big belly rub from me!! ❤️ N x
Lisa Cupp says
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.
Nagi says
This will be perfect Lisa!! Enjoy! N x
Anastasia says
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!!
Nagi says
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
Anastasia says
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!!
Em says
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!
Anastasia says
Ooohh!! I’ll note that down, thank you so much!
Vera G says
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.
Nagi says
Woah that’s commitment Vera, I’m sure it tastes ok though! 😂 N x
Pat Hayden says
love your recipes and love hearing about
Dozers adventures
Nagi says
Thanks so much Pat!! N x