This Chicken and Broccoli recipe is made with strips of chicken and broccoli in a ginger-garlic stir-fry sauce that’s easy and delicious!
Chicken and Broccoli
Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry is an easy recipe you can whip up any night of the week. It’s one of my favorite Asian take-out dishes to order, but it’s also quick and easy to make at home. Make it for dinner or for meal prep easy lunches all week long. Serve it with rice, noodles, fried brown rice or cauliflower fried rice on the side to make it a meal!
Why You’ll Love This Chicken and Broccoli Recipe
Growing up, I always ordered chicken and broccoli when we ordered Chinese food. It was my favorite, especially with fried rice. This easy yet flavorful combination is classic take-out dish you have to learn to make at home because it’s too easy not to and it tastes so good!
- Quick and Easy!
- Healthier Than Chinese Take-Out: This lighter version will cure all those takeout cravings without all the heavy fried flavors and making it from scratch gives you control of the ingredients. The sodium content in this recipe is drastically reduced. The sugar and oil have as well but the flavors are still delicious and bright (and easy!)
- Authentic Take-Out Flavor: This stir fry is full of garlic and ginger in a soy and sesame sauce that you’ll want to spoon over all your favorite grilled meats too.
Ingredients:
Here’s what you’ll need to make this chicken broccoli stir fry recipe, see recipe card below for the full measurements.
- Stir Fry Sauce: This garlic and ginger sauce is made with soy sauce or tamari, chicken broth, cornstarch, mirin, sugar, sesame oil and white pepper.
- Aromatics: A few cloves garlic and minced ginger
- Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken breast, sliced very thin are used. If you like dark meat, chicken thighs would also work.
- Vegetables: Broccoli florets are used here. You can swap with other veggies like asparagus or green beans cut into bite-sized pieces.
- Stir-Fry Sauce: This garlic and ginger sauce is made with mirin, soy sauce and sesame oil. It makes a classic brown sauce many Chinese restaurants use in their cooking.
How To Make Chicken and Broccoli
- In a large measuring cup or bowl add the soy sauce, chicken broth, cornstarch, mirin, sugar, sesame oil and white pepper and whisk until everything is completely dissolved.
- In a large skillet add one teaspoon canola oil on medium-high heat and cook half the chicken until just cooked through, about 2-3 minutes on each side.
- Repeat with the second half of the chicken and an additional teaspoon of oil.
- Remove the chicken to a plate.
- Add in the remaining oil, garlic and ginger and cook for 30-45 seconds until very fragrant but not browned.
- Stir the garlic and ginger well and add in the sauce, whisking well.
- Add in the broccoli and let the sauce cook for 2-3 minutes until thickened.
- Add in the chicken and stir well to coat.
- Garnish with sesame seeds if desired.
Helpful Tip
When it comes to making Chinese stir-fry recipes, one of the most important things in making it authentic is the way you slice your chicken. The thinner the chicken the more tender and the better for reheating too. It won’t have a chance to get to “tough” to chew. See tip below on how to cut it thin. Also, make sure to have all your ingredients prepped before you start and get your wok or pan hot before adding your chicken and vegetables.
How to cut chicken thinly for a stir-fry:
The trick to making your stir-fries look restaurant worthy is to cut them into a thin matchbox shape. This way they have very little toughness to the pieces.
- To slice the chicken thin, freeze the chicken for about 1 hour before slicing.
- When it is partially frozen you can easily slice the chicken very thinly against the grain. Don’t worry about the chicken being frozen. Since the slices are so thin they will thaw back out in just a couple of minutes. By cutting against the grain we are making the bites very tender and easy to chew through, especially upon reheating!
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To reheat use a microwave at half power for 1-2 minutes to prevent overcooking the chicken or the broccoli. You may also want to add a couple more tablespoons of water to the dish or not cooking it until the sauce is super thick. By letting the sauce stay a bit looser it’ll result in a better meal when re-heated.
Variations and Serving Suggestions
- If you want to switch up the vegetables in this easy chicken stir-fry, you can swap them out for mushrooms, bell peppers, carrots, or snap peas.
- Serve this over white rice, brown rice, noodles, fried brown rice, cauliflower rice, cauliflower fried rice or quinoa.
More Stir Fry Recipes You Will Love
- Beef and Broccoli
- Pepper Steak
- Garlic Ginger Chicken Stir Fry
- Chicken and Zucchini Stir Fry
- Thai Chicken and Pineapple Stir Fry
Chicken and Broccoli Recipe
Equipment
- large deep skillet or wok
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce, or use gf soy sauce*
- 1/2 cup chicken broth*
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 tablespoon canola oil, divided
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 1 pound chicken breast, sliced very thinly
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- sesame seeds as garnish, if desired
Instructions
- In a large measuring cup or bowl add the soy sauce, chicken broth, cornstarch, mirin, sugar, sesame oil and white pepper and whisk until everything is completely dissolved.
- In a large skillet add one teaspoon canola oil on medium high heat and cook half the chicken until just cooked through, about 2-3 minutes on each side.
- Repeat with the second half of the chicken and an additional teaspoon of oil.
- Remove the chicken to a plate.
- Add in the remaining oil, garlic and ginger and cook for 30-45 seconds until very fragrant but not browned.
- Stir the garlic and ginger well and add in the sauce, whisking well.
- Add in the broccoli and let the sauce cook for 2-3 minutes until thickened.
- Add in the chicken and stir well to coat.
- Garnish with sesame seeds if desired.
