Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry (extra sauce!)
Recipe video above. Big batch stir fry made with chicken and broccoli, and lots and lots of sauce - because broccoli florets hold lots of sauce but I still want some to soak my rice!This sauce uses the minimum ingredients you can get away with but still make something that stacks up to real Chinese take out. Chinese cooking wine (shoaxing wine) is the restaurant secret - just a small splash adds depth of flavour into the sauce.Shortcut using Charlie - see Note 5 (the sauce in this recipe is basically Charlie!).
Servings: 5 - 6 people
Calories: 239cal
Ingredients
Tenderised chicken (Note 1)
- 500g/1 lb chicken breast, thinly sliced (or boneless thighs, do not tenderise)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda / bi-carb soda (Note 1)
Sauce (Note 6 for using Charlie all-purpose stir fry):
- 2 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce , or all purpose soy (Note 2)
- 1 1/2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (shaoxing wine) or Mirin (Note 3)
- 3 tbsp oyster sauce (Note 4)
- 2 tsp sesame oil , toasted (Note 5)
- Dash of white pepper (sub black)
Stir Fry:
- 2 tbsp oil , peanut, vegetable or canola
- 1/2 onion , sliced
- 2 garlic cloves , finely minced with knife
- 400g/ 14 oz broccoli florets , broken/cut into small bite size pieces (2 medium heads, ~5 cups)
- 1 1/4 cups water
For serving:
Instructions
- Tenderise chicken: Consider tenderising chicken breast using this method. (Not needed for thigh)
- Broccoli: steam or boil using preferred method until cooked to your taste (it won't cook any further in the stir fry). I usually microwave steam 3 minutes on high. Drain well (waterlogged florets = diluted sauce).
- Sauce: Mix cornflour and soy sauce until lump free, then mix in remaining ingredients.
- Cook aromatics: Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add garlic and onion, stir for 10 seconds until garlic starts to go golden.
- Cook chicken: Add chicken and cook for 2 minutes or until the chicken is just cooked through.
- Thicken sauce: Add broccoli, Sauce and water. Stir well and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the Sauce thickens and becomes glossy, and coats the ingredients.
- Serve over rice!
Notes
1. Tenderised chicken - If using breast, option to tenderise using the Chinese method so it's super soft, slippery and juicy like you get at Chinese restaurants using baking soda. Not essential, but definitely elevates it to "real takeout" level!
No need to do this if using chicken thigh because it's a juicier cut. See How to tenderise chicken the Chinese way (Velveting) for more information!
2. Soy Sauce - ordinary all purpose or light soy sauce. Do not use dark soy sauce - flavour is too strong and sauce will be very dark. See here for more information about different soy sauces.
3. Chinese Cooking Wine (Shaoxing Wine) - Essential for a truly restaurant-tasting Chinese stir fry sauce. Sub with dry sherry (near perfect sub). If you can't consume alcohol, use low sodium chicken broth/stock in place of the cooking wine in the Sauce AND in place of the water, AND reduce oyster sauce by 1 tablespoon.
4. Vegetarian Oyster Sauce - Nowadays you can find vegetarian oyster sauce (suitable for vegans) even at supermarket. For example, Ayam Vegetarian Oyster Sauce. It's actually pretty good!
And here's homemade Vegetarian Oyster Sauce recipe by Omnivore's Cookbook, a Chinese recipe blog. I was extremely impressed with it.
5. Toasted sesame oil is brown and has more flavour than untoasted (which is yellow). Default sesame oil sold in Australia is toasted, untoasted is harder to find.
6. Charlie - to make this using Charlie (the affectionate name for my All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce!), use 7 tablespoons of Charlie instead of the Sauce in this recipe. The stir fry sauce in this recipe is basically Charlie.
7. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. I don't recommend freezing - sauces thickened with cornflour/cornstarch tend to become watery if frozen. But other than sauce thickness, flavour holds up just fine!
Nutrition per serving assuming 5 servings, excluding rice.
Nutrition
Calories: 239cal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 1045mg | Potassium: 660mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 525IU | Vitamin C: 73mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 1mg