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!
Hello,
The recipe is amazing! Can you confirm what the 1/4 Cup is for the sauce mixture please?
The information is not shown I just want clarification for when I make this again.
It just means that after you make the sauce, you’re going to use 1/4 of it when you first cook the chicken. I just pour some into a 1/4 cup measuring cup and than leave the rest for the remainder of the recipe. Does that make sense? If not let me know!
THIS IS SO GOOD!
I have made it too many times, my husband and I both love it. Recently I got brave & started adding mushrooms when I put the broccoli in, just to mix it up. So. Delicious.
I don’t do added raw sugars and was wondering if the marinade woutl be OK with a touch of honey or no sweetner at all?
Yes! You can totally use honey instead of the sugars. I wouldn’t go with no sweetener though because it balances out the salt/acidity of the sauce.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I cook this all the time and my family loves it. I add sautéed onions to the chicken and brocolli though.
Onions would be great in this!
How long can I marinade the chicken for? Could I prep it the night before?
You should be able to marinate it the night before, or you can prepare all of the liquids and store them separately from the chicken as well. It’s up to you!
Good, but a tad too sweet for me. Next time I’ll try adding sugar at the end, smelling and tasting the sauce before settling on it, and eliminating it from the marinade. One thing I did was use the water from steaming the broccoli to thin the sauce.
OMG!!! it is delicious!! better than the Chinese take out. Thanks for sharing.