ChinaThe sauce needs to hit a hot pan to thicken properly — cornstarch activates at high temperature. If you pour it into a cold pan, it stays thin and watery. Make sure the pan is properly hot before the sauce goes in.
Freeze the chicken breast for 20 minutes before slicing. Partially frozen meat is much easier to cut into uniformly thin strips. Thin strips cook in 3 minutes total — thick chunks need longer and turn rubbery.
Chicken and Broccoli Stir-Fry
By Sergei Martynov
Thin strips of chicken and broccoli florets cooked fast in a hot pan, then coated in a glossy brown sauce built on soy, oyster sauce, ginger, and garlic. Ready in 25 minutes, high in protein.
Key Ingredients
What you'll need
Ingredients
- 600 g
See recipes with chicken breastchicken breast
i - 500 g
See recipes with broccoli floretsbroccoli florets
i - 4
See recipes with garlic clovesgarlic cloves
i - 1 tbsp
See recipes with fresh gingerfresh ginger
i - 2 tbsp
See recipes with vegetable oilvegetable oil
i - 3 tbsp
See recipes with soy saucesoy sauce
i - 2 tbspSee recipes with oyster sauce
oyster sauce
i - 120 ml
See recipes with chicken brothchicken broth
i - 1 tbsp
See recipes with cornstarchcornstarch
i - 1 tsp
See recipes with sesame oilsesame oil
i - 1 tsp
See recipes with brown sugarbrown sugar
i - 1 tbsp
See recipes with sesame seedssesame seeds
i
How to make it
Instructions
- 1
Slice the chicken breast against the grain into strips about 5mm thick. Pat dry.
- 2
Whisk together soy sauce, oyster sauce, chicken broth, cornstarch, sesame oil, and brown sugar until cornstarch dissolves. Set aside.
- 3
Blanch broccoli in boiling salted water for 90 seconds, drain and run under cold water. Drain well.
- 4
Heat oil in a wok over high heat until slightly smoking. Sear chicken in a single layer, 2 minutes without moving, flip, 1 more minute. Remove to plate.
- 5
In the same pan on medium heat, fry minced garlic and ginger for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- 6
Stir the sauce once more, pour into the pan. Stir constantly as it thickens, 1-2 minutes. Add broccoli and toss. Return chicken, stir 30 seconds. Top with sesame seeds and serve over rice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my stir fry taste nothing like Chinese takeout?
Three things: restaurant wok heat (use max heat, heavy pan), oyster sauce (don't skip it), and thin chicken slices (freeze 20 min, slice 5mm).
Can you make it without oyster sauce?
Mix 1.5 tbsp hoisin + 1 tbsp soy sauce to replace 2 tbsp oyster sauce. Vegan option: mushroom-based oyster sauce.
Is chicken and broccoli stir fry healthy?
About 320 kcal, 35g protein, 5g fiber per serving. Main concern is sodium — use low-sodium soy sauce to cut it by a third.
How to keep broccoli from getting soggy?
Pre-cook separately (blanch 90 sec or microwave 2 min), drain very well, add to sauce only at the very end. Don't let it sit in sauce more than a minute.
Can you meal prep chicken and broccoli stir fry?
Keeps 4 days in fridge. Reheat in hot skillet with splash of broth, not microwave. Don't freeze — cornstarch sauce gets watery when thawed.
Keep browsing
Related Recipes
USA
France
Turkey
Join the conversation
Comments (1)
Pat the chicken completely dry with paper towels before cooking this chicken and broccoli stir-fry. Surface moisture creates steam instead of sear — it's the difference between golden skin and a pale, flabby exterior.