Why you’ll love this chicken and broccoli recipe
Ever since I was little, my favorite thing to get when we ordered Chinese or went to a Chinese restaurant was chicken and broccoli. I love love love it. I love the sauce and the freshness of the broccoli. I even love the way the sticky white rice tastes all by itself. It’s something I really miss now that we live in France, and I must say – French Chinese food is just not the same as American Chinese food.
Over the past year or so, I’ve been testing out all sorts of Chinese recipes from Pinterest and other places on the internet, but I never found one that I thought stood its ground against the real deal. Finally, I think I’ve found the ONE. The sauce has the perfect texture and creaminess, and the broccoli – which needs to be cooked just right – is the perfect amount of crispness.
More takeout-inspired recipes: Chinese cashew chicken / quick peanut noodles / glazed snow peas / Thai chicken meatballs / slow cooker pepper steak
Ingredients:
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
- Chicken – I use boneless, skinless chicken breast for this, but you could use boneless chicken thighs, or a combination of the two instead.
- Baking soda – This gives the sauce it’s classic takeout texture. I don’t recommend skipping it unless you’re in a pinch.
- Soy sauce – I normally use reduced-sodium soy sauce, but you can use regular – just adjust your salt accordingly.
- Brown sugar – Don’t leave this out. It makes a major difference in the flavor. If you don’t have brown sugar, the best swap is going to be honey.
- Rice vinegar – The closest swap for this will be white wine vinegar, but you can use almost any kind of vinegar (with the exception of balsamic) if needed.
Tips for making Chinese chicken and broccoli at home:
- Slice the chicken against the grain. This gives chicken the perfect texture and makes it more like restaurant style chicken and broccoli.
- Steam the broccoli. It needs to be cooked just right. I used a vegetable steamer, but you can steam it in the microwave, too. Just make sure you don’t steam it too long because it’s going to be cooked a little more when it’s added to the sauce.
- Add water chestnuts. You don’t need to add them, but they’re almost always included in takeout. So if you have them, add them.
Frequently asked questions
More chicken recipes worth trying: coconut chicken tenders / sweet chili chicken skewers / hot honey chicken sandwiches / panko crusted chicken
Chinese Chicken and Broccoli
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast, (about 1 1/2 pounds)
- 4 cups broccoli florets
- 1 8-ounce can sliced water chestnuts, optional
Marinade:
- 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce, or tamari for gluten free
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Sauce:
- 1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce, or tamari for gluten free
- 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons flour, or 1 tablespoon cornstarch for gluten free
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Marinate your chicken. Whisk the marinade ingredients together in a small bowl. Pour over sliced chicken and let marinate while you prep the rest of the recipe.
- Steam the broccoli. Cut the broccoli into bite sized florets and place in a large, microwave safe bowl. Cook, uncovered, for 3 minutes in the microwave. Remove from the microwave and set aside.
- Make the sauce. Whisk the sauce ingredients together in a second medium bowl. Set aside.
- Cook the chicken. Heat a large, non-stick skillet to medium-high (add 1 tablespoon of oil if not using a nonstick pan). Add chicken with its marinade. Sauté until chicken is golden brown, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes.
- Add the rest. Add the sauce, steamed broccoli and water chestnuts to pan. Stir to evenly coat the ingredients with sauce and cook until sauce has thickened – about 2 minutes.For a thinner sauce, add about 1 tablespoon of water at a time until desired thickness has been reached.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
Awesome chicken & broccoli. But mine got thick lumps in it while browning the chicken. What did I do wrong
Hey guys. I tried making this recipe, and due to my thoughtlessness, i used normal soy sauce instead of reduced sodium without reducing the amounts. it’s now deathly salty 😐 don’t repeat my mistake. just a warning to all the other dumb-dumbs out there like me 🙂
Oh no! If you do that again (for any recipe), a little bit of acid – like vinegar or lemon juice – plus a little water should help tone it down a bit. I’m so sorry that it wasn’t good. I’ve made it with regular soy sauce before and didn’t find it that bad, but I do love salt a little too much.
Thanks for that tip! I’ll definitely try that next time! I added water and more veggies, but it was still waaay too much salt, even though I also love my salt. I think that my soy sauce was darker than most. But at least now I know for next time. Thank you. 🙂
Of all the chicken and broccoli recipes I have tried, this one is the bomb-diggity- bomb. Awesome. magnificence. it reminds me of the chicken and broccoli that i would order from the Asian restaurants in my hometown. I make this for my girlfriend time and time again and she loves it. Thank you so much for this recipe. Also you just made some Asian restaurants lose an avid chicken and broccoli lover and buyer since i found this recipe, but i am not complaining. Money saved. Cheers!
Thanks so much for the great review! I’m so happy to hear that you loved it. It really is such a money saver when you’re considering takeout!
This was so Delicious!! I made it with chicken thighs instead… Awesome recipe 5 stars!!
We love to cook and this recipe is AUTHentic. I’ve tried many recipes and this one is a keeper. Thank you!
Thank you!
This was delicious! I was searching for an authentic Chinese Chicken and Broccoli recipe. I had all ingredients on hand and only substituted avacado oil for the vegetable oil. Thank you. Will definitely make again.
This was very delicious! Thanks!
Would boneless skinless chicken thighs also work in this recipe?
Yes definitely! I would just make sure to try off any excess fat before cooking.
It was fairly easy to mmake and absolutely delicious loved it and would do it again.