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!
My FAVE Chinese food dish! This was easy to prepare and delish. I didn’t have rice, and the closest thing I had to broccoli was cauliflower, so I had Chicken and Cauliflower. This recipe thrilled the taste buds! Thanks for sharing!!! Def a repeat 🙂
Do I need to use rice vinegar?
No you don’t have to use rice vinegar, but it’s flavor is most compatible with the dish. As a substitute I would suggest using white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
Will sesame oil instead of Vegetable oil overwhelm the taste in your opinion?
Yes! Sesame oil has a really strong flavor and will totally change the taste of the dish. I never use more than a teaspoon or so in anything that I make. I would suggest avoiding it all together in this meal – unless you’re a sesame oil fanatic.
Please help me what should I do with garlic
The garlic goes in when you make the sauce, half of of which goes cooks with the chicken and it’s marinade and the other half gets added later with the broccoli.
Thank u very much
It is my husband lovely dish
I tried it and it was very yummy
This was fabulous! My family loved it! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
This is my go-to recipe for chicken with broccoli! Made according to recipe (except I always add some grated fresh ginger to mine) and it’s delicious.
It doesn’t taste exactly like our Chinese restaurant’s — it’s better!!
For the sauce, the recipe mentions 1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon of Soy sauce. Is the 1/4 cup to be soy sauce or water?
I love this recipe! It was so easy and fast. I skiped some of the inscrutions and it still came out great!!! my family love it. No more take-out. I feel better making my own food. Thanks!!
I have had this on my pinterest board for awhile and decided to make it tonight for myself and my 7 year old.
To be honest, neither of us really liked it. I didn’t like the sauce at all, my son just liked the chicken…he didn’t like the sauce with the broccoli or rice. Nothing wrong with the recipe, just didn’t suit our tastes I guess 🙂
I’m sorry you didn’t like the recipe, but I really appreciate your honest and thoughtful comment 🙂
Thank you…this was really fantastic!!
Wow! Best Chinese food I have every cooked, and I’ve tried alot. Kids wolfed it own. Should have doubled the recipe. Very nice!!
I searched and searched for the perfect recipe and yours seemed the best, however when I made it something went wrong. It tasted…off. I think it might have been the rice vinegar, can it go bad? or is rice vinegar not usually used to make chicken and broccoli?
I’m sorry to hear that it didn’t turn out! It may have been the vinegar. You may have accidentally used seasoned rice vinegar, which usually has flavors and or/sugars added to it. I doubt that the vinegar has gone bad since it has a fairly long shelf life. Hopefully that helps 🙂