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!
This dinner was awesome. I’m so glad I came across this recipe. Even my 2 kids ate it and that’s always a plus. Thanks for sharing.
I made this tonight and it was great. Next time I will add ginger to the sauce. Thanks for this!
Just a dude trying to feed the kids. This recipe was fast, used common ingredients and made an amazing meal! Daughter asked for Chinese food and this was the first recipe I searched that I had most everything in the kitchen. Couldn’t find rice vinegar so substitued Apple Cider and wow did we like the taste! Added to my arsenal of meals, thanks for posting!
Thanks for sharing your substitutions! I’m glad you liked the recipe 🙂
Absolutely delish! Printed and will make again. I added just a touch of fresh ginger just because I love the taste.
This sounds AMAZING!! Making this tonight…will probably add a handful of cashews to the dish, too! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Oh! Cashews sound great!
I made this for my wife and son and the favors were spot on. Thanks!
I just tried this recipe for the first time this weekend. Hands down the best chicken and broccoli I’ve had in a long time. It’s take-out quality, incredibly easy, and as mentioned earlier I don’t have to go buy broth of so-yu-hung from a shop 200 miles down the road because everything is in the kitchen. My mother, girlfriend, and even my brother (whom does not care for Chinese food) agreed when I made it that this was phenomenal. Every aspect from the texture of the chicken, to how green and tender the broccoli is, just to how it looks when it’s finished is amazing. I tripled the recipe for myself to last the week and all in all it cost me around $6 for the chicken breasts on sale, $4 for the broccoli, and $5 for the rice so we’re looking at $15 for a week of cuisine for me. Beats the $10 for 2 servings any day. I will be saving this recipe and sharing it with people in the future. Thank you so much for sharing!
i just had this for lunch ..it was delicious… just had to add more water cuz it got too thick
next time i will cook the chicken 1st then after completely cook i will add the sauce
..this time i also added half a teaspoon of ginger cuz i was kind of lacking that. i just added the broccoli without steaming cuz i didn’t wanted it to get mushy.
i will definetly make this again with my modifications
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