This recipe for chicken and broccoli stir fry is a classic dish of chicken sauteed with fresh broccoli florets and coated in a savory sauce. You can have a healthy and easy dinner on the table in 30 minutes!
There’s nothing better than a good stir fry, I always make honey garlic chicken stir fry, teriyaki shrimp and this easy chicken and broccoli dish.
There’s nothing better than a quick and easy dinner recipe for when you don’t have a lot of time to cook, and this chicken and broccoli stir fry definitely fits the bill. This dish tastes like something you’d order at a Chinese restaurant, except it’s better for you (and cheaper!).
How do you make chicken and broccoli stir fry?
This recipe starts with broccoli and mushrooms, which are sauteed to tender perfection along with some garlic and ginger. After the veggies are cooked through, the chicken goes into the pan to brown. The final step is an easy sauce which gets poured over the chicken and vegetables to simmer. Add some steamed rice on the side and dinner is served!
HOW DO YOU COOK CHICKEN FOR STIR FRY?
The best way to cook chicken for stir fry is to season it with salt and pepper, then sear it in oil in a hot pan until browned and cooked through. Be careful not to overcrowd your pan; if you add too much meat at once, the chicken will steam instead of brown.
WHAT KIND OF SAUCE DO YOU PUT IN A STIR FRY?
Most stir fry sauces are made with soy sauce, garlic, and other seasonings such as sesame oil, ginger, rice vinegar, chicken broth or chili sauce. One important component of stir fry sauce is a thickening agent, such as cornstarch. A thicker sauce will cling better to your chicken and vegetables. This recipe calls for oyster sauce, which is a salty Asian sauce that can be found in the ethnic aisle of most grocery stores. If you can’t find oyster sauce or prefer not to use it, you can substitute hoisin sauce.
Tips for chicken and broccoli stir fry
- I like to start a pot of rice at the same time as I start my chicken stir fry – the rice will be done at the same time as your meat and veggies and you’ll have a complete meal in 30 minutes.
- Not a fan of mushrooms? You can add more broccoli instead, or try some sliced carrots.
- This recipe can easily be doubled and is a great meal prep option.
- For a different flavor, you can use shrimp or even thinly sliced flank steak instead of the chicken.
My family has already requested that I make this chicken and broccoli stir fry again soon, I think next time I may switch out the mushrooms for bell peppers to add a little variety – that’s the beauty of this type of dish, it’s so easy to customize to your personal taste!
More great Asian food recipes
Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry Video
Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 2 cups small broccoli florets
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms if you don't like mushrooms you can add more broccoli instead
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/4 cup oyster sauce
- 1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth or water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the broccoli and mushrooms and cook for approximately 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
- Add the ginger and garlic to the pan and cook for 30 seconds more.
- Remove the vegetables from the pan; place them on a plate and cover.
- Wipe the pan clean with a paper towel and turn the heat to high. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil.
- Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and add them to the pan in a single layer - you may need to do this step in batches. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked through.
- Add the vegetables back to the pan and cook for 2 more minutes or until the vegetables are warmed through.
- In a bowl whisk together the oyster sauce, chicken broth, sugar, sesame oil and soy sauce. In a small bowl mix the cornstarch with a tablespoon of cold water.
- Pour the oyster sauce mixture over the chicken and vegetables; cook for 30 seconds. Add the cornstarch and bring to a boil; cook for 1 more minute or until sauce has just started to thicken.
- Serve immediately, with rice if desired.
Nutrition
This post is sponsored by Kitchen Fair. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Dinner at the Zoo possible! This post was originally published on April 20, 2016 and was updated on March 26, 2019 with new content.
Kristine says
This recipe is spot on! Most saucy recipes that I’ve tried on Pinterest have been way too sweet or salty or everything is just saturated in sauce. This was just perfect… flavor and consistency. Delicious!
marcela says
delicious!, perfect broccoli en sauce
Tony Harvey says
Thanks for the recipe. While this wasn’t quite what I’d hoped, I think I made some basic errors. The brocolli florets we see in the UK are too big for this really, and though I halved them, they really need cutting in even smaller pieces to cook through in the time the mushrooms do. Oyster sauce is a bit fishy for chicken, I think, but I could’t use Hoisin (which I love) as my wife can’t do ‘aniseedy’, the weird girl. My chicken pieces were 1″ x 1″ but maybe 3/4″ square would be better — they were quite a mouthful! So I’ll try again, but sort out these details.
Karen says
We had this last night! It was delicious. We had friends over. I would make it again and add some red peppers. But it was great! And healthy.😊