This Easy Chinese Chicken and Broccoli dish takes less than 30 minutes to prepare! The tender pieces of chicken are stir-fried with broccoli florets in a savory sauce made of soy, garlic, and ginger. This recipe is from my dad’s Chinese restaurant and tastes just like Chinese takeout!
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Why You’ll Love This Stir-Fry Recipe
- Super flavorful – the chicken marinade and the stir fry sauce is simple, yet packs in so much fragrance. If you’re a garlic fan, make sure to make extra rice to go with your chicken and broccoli.
- Simple ingredients – most of the ingredients should already be in your pantry. All you have to do is buy some chicken and broccoli and you’re in for a great meal!
- Healthy and nutritious – The broccoli provides lots of fiber and the chicken is a great source of protein. Serve with some white rice or Sesame Seaweed Salad for a complete meal.
Ingredients:
Here’s a look at what you need to make this easy chicken and broccoli stir-fryat home. The highlights are here but the full ingredient list and quantities of each are in the recipe card.
Chicken Marinade Ingredients
Stir-Fry Ingredients
For marinating the chicken:
- Chicken breast – I like to use chicken breast for this dish as it is extra tender in this marinade. I slice them thinly so it cooks quickly and the texture works well with the broccoli.
- Ginger – A must add aromatic to the marinade to cut out the gaminess flavor of the chicken. It’s also so fragrant in the stir fry.
- Chicken bouillon – The seasoning makes the chicken more savory and sweet. You can substitute this with salt if you don’t have this ingredient.
- Corn starch – This helps with making the chicken extra tender and it also helps thicken the stir-fry sauce.
- Water – The water helps make the chicken extra moist. It also helps dilute the saltiness of the sauce.
- Olive oil – This helps make the chicken more moist. If you don’t want to use olive oil, you can use your oil of choice for marinating the chicken.
- Soy sauce – I recommend to use low sodium soy sauce for this dish to ensure it’s not too salty. This is the base of the stir fry sauce.
- Oyster sauce – Gives an extra touch of savoriness in the sauce.
- Broccoli – Cooked broccoli soaks up the garlic soy sauce so well! You can also add other vegetables like mushrooms or carrots.
- Garlic – Minced garlic provides lots of fragrance and aromatic flavor to the stir-fry!
Instructions:
Marinate chicken
Step 1. Slice chicken in thin slices.
Step 2. Marinate chicken with 1 tablespoon ginger, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon sugar, ½ teaspoon chicken bouillon, 1 tablespoon corn starch, ¼ cup water and 1 tablespoon light olive oil. Mix well and let it marinate while you prepare the stir-fry (10 minutes).
Prepare for stir fry:
Step 3. Make sauce by mixing soy sauce, oyster sauce, corn starch and water. Set aside.
Step 4. (Skip this step if you like crunchy broccoli!) I like my broccoli on the softer side so I cook them in boiling water for 2-3 minutes before stir-frying. Set aside.
Stir fry chicken and broccoli
Step 5. On medium heat, add 1 tablespoon oil. Fry marinated chicken for 4-5 minutes until cooked. Take chicken out of the pan.
Step 6. In the same pan, add minced garlic, broccoli and chicken. Mix together.
PRO TIP: the chicken doesn’t need to be golden brown, only cooked. Take out of pan when cooked and set aside.
Step 7. Then, add your sauce. Saute and cook for one more minute until sauce has thickened.
Step 8. Serve with hot rice. Hope you enjoy while hot!
Recipe FAQs
I would serve this dish with white rice or bbq pork fried rice for a delicious Chinese style take out meal! You can serve with more vegetables like this Chinese cabbage stir fry.
You can store them in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Any longer than that, the broccoli gets too soggy.
Yes, you can definitely use beef or shrimp. If you other types of protein, the cooking times may vary. Also, make sure you use 1 pound of protein to ensure the measurements are correct.
Yes, you may! I recommend to add carrots or mushrooms to the dish. If you want to make this vegetarian, you will need to omit the chicken and the marinade steps. Add 1 pound of of your veggie of choice. Also use vegan oyster sauce.
Expert Tips
- Plan Ahead: Prepare the chicken marinade and the broccoli before stir-frying. The stir-fry process is less than 8 minutes and you will need to have all your sauces prepped to ensure that your food doesn’t burn.
- Cook some rice at the same time: The chicken and broccoli tastes savory and is best served with the rice to soak up the delicious sauce. Rice and this stir fry are the perfect pair!
- Marinating the chicken: If you have extra time, marinating the chicken makes this dish extra delicious. You can marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hour prior to stir frying to elevate the flavors of the dish.
More Stir-Fry Recipes:
- Mongolian Beef – Tender beef is stir fried whil green onions and chilis for the perfect savory and spicy flavor!
- Shrimp and Egg Stir Fry – Soft eggs scrambled with tender shrimp for a delicious and easy meal.
- Stir Fried Chinese Green Beans – fried green beans sauteed with spicy and savory minced pork.
Did you try this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ rating below and share it on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest!
Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
Ingredients
chicken marinade
- 1 pound chicken breast thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon ginger minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon chicken bouillon
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
stir fry sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon oyster sauce
- ½ tablespoon corn starch
- ¼ cup water
stir fry
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil for frying
- marinated chicken
- 2 crowns broccoli (1 pound) cut broccoli florets only
- 3 cloves garlic minced
Instructions
Marinate chicken:
- Slice chicken breast in thin slices. Marinate chicken with ginger, salt, sugar, chicken bouillon, corn starch, water and olive oil. Mix well.
Prepare for stir fry
- Make sauce by mixing soy sauce, oyster sauce, corn starch and water. Set aside.
- Wash broccoli florets. Cut and use the florets only. Set dry.
- (Skip this step if you like crunchy broccoli!) I like my broccoli on the softer side so I cook them in boiling water for 2-3 minutes before stir-frying. Set aside.
Stir fry
- On medium heat, add 1 tablespoon oil. Fry marinated chicken for 4-5 minutes until cooked. Tip: the chicken doesn't need to be golden brown, only cooked. Take out of pan when cooked and set aside.
- In the same pan, add some oil and minced garlic. Then, add broccoli, chicken and sauce. Mix together and cook for one more minute until sauce has thickened.
- Serve with hot rice. Hope you enjoy!
Video
@cookwithdana better than takeout – chinese style chicken & broccoli 🥦 #chineserecipes #foodtiktok #learnontiktok #dinnerwithme
♬ 그럼에도 불구하고 (Inst.)(Nevertheless (Inst.)) – Instrumental – DONO
Notes
- Plan Ahead: Prepare the chicken marinade and the broccoli before stir-frying. The stir-fry process is less than 8 minutes and you will need to have all your sauces prepped to ensure that your food doesn’t burn.
- Cook some rice at the same time: The chicken and broccoli tastes savory and is best served with the rice to soak up the delicious sauce. Rice and this stir fry are the perfect pair!
- Marinating the chicken: If you have extra time, marinating the chicken makes this dish extra delicious. You can marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hour prior to stir frying to elevate the flavors of the dish.
Jessica says
Hi Dana, in your recipe instructions you say to add ingredients such as sugar and chicken bouillon for the sauce (not the marinade) but under your ingredients list, you don’t have those components listed for the stir fry sauce. Could you please update your recipe with the right amounts? Thank you!! Appreciate your work.
Dana says
Hi Jessica,
So sorry about the inconsistencies of the recipe. The recipe has been updated to avoid confusion. Hope you’re able to make the recipe!
Best,
Dana