Takeout-style broccoli with garlic sauce is a great dish to have with any meal. Served with some white or brown rice, it’s tasty and guilt-free, and it’s easier than you’d think to emulate that restaurant flavor!
Chinese takeout definitely has its place as a treat, and no one knows more than me that there’s nothing wrong with indulging in an egg roll, a plate of pork fried rice, or fried chicken wings every once in awhile. That said, broccoli with garlic sauce is my go-to Chinese takeout dish when I feel like I haven’t been getting enough veggies.
An American Chinese Takeout Dish
I want to share a little history about this dish and, for that matter, any garlic sauce or Yu Xiang (“fish fragrance” style dish of meat and/or vegetables with sauce) dish from a take-out restaurant. It’s pretty obvious, but all of these dishes are clearly Americanized versions in every sense.
First, broccoli is a western vegetable, and second, the garlic sauce has been altered slightly to suit American tastes, and perhaps formulated to be easier to make by Chinese takeout cooks. If you want an authentic version of garlic sauce, check out Judy’s authentically-flavored chicken with garlic sauce recipe.
All that said, this broccoli with garlic sauce is GOOD! It’s slightly tart from the rice vinegar, balanced with the addition of a little sugar and the (optional) kick from some homemade chili oil. It’s a great alternative and change of pace from our popular garlicky broccoli, which serves as more of a traditional side dish.
Buying Fresh Broccoli
If you eat broccoli often, the last thing I’ll leave you with are some great tips I learned from Judy on how to select a good broccoli crown:
- Check the bottom of your broccoli stems. They should be full and white. Avoid broccoli with hollow stalks or brown streaks, which means the broccoli is not fresh.
- If your broccoli tastes bitter after it’s cooked, it was probably not fresh. I know it’s after the fact and not a ton of help, but better to know for next time!
- Look for dark green buds. Avoid any broccoli that has been heavily trimmed or has yellowing buds, which is an indication that the spoiled parts may have been trimmed off to fool unsuspecting customers into thinking it’s fresh!
Here are some pictures of the bottoms of broccoli crowns and the cross section of the stem. You can see that the bottom of the broccoli crown on the left has some yellowing at the core. Be sure to avoid any broccoli crowns with discolored stems and look for a bright white solid stem like you see on the right!
If you want an alternative to the usual western vegetables, learn more about Chinese vegetables and what to do with them on our Chinese Leafy Green Vegetables glossary page.
Now that you have your super fresh broccoli, let’s cook!
Broccoli with Garlic Sauce: Recipe Instructions
Wash the broccoli thoroughly and set aside.
Mix the dark soy sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sugar, hot chicken stock (or vegetable stock), sesame oil, and ground white pepper, and set aside.
Heat the wok over high heat. Add the vegetable oil, garlic, and broccoli and quickly stir-fry so the garlic doesn’t burn.
Stir fry for 15 seconds, and add the Shaoxing wine around the perimeter of the wok. Give everything a quick stir and add in the sauce mixture.
Let the sauce come to a boil, and mix the cornstarch and water together to make a slurry. You can turn the heat down slightly and cook the broccoli a bit longer before adding the corn starch slurry if you like your broccoli softer.
Once the broccoli is cooked to your liking, add the cornstarch slurry slowly while stirring the broccoli and sauce constantly. Let the sauce cook and thicken until it coats the back of a spoon.
If you like a thick sauce, add more cornstarch and water. If you like your sauce thinner, add less cornstarch and water. If you’d like, stir in the chili oil at this point.
Serve your fresh homemade broccoli with garlic sauce!
You’ll never go back to a Chinese takeout restaurant for broccoli with garlic sauce after you try this dish at home!
Takeout Style Broccoli with Garlic Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pound broccoli (cut into florets)
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1½ teaspoons rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 3/4 cup hot chicken or vegetable stock (to keep the dish vegetarian)
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 4 cloves minced garlic (about a tablespoon)
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch (mixed with 1½ tablespoons water)
- 1 teaspoon homemade chili oil (optional)
Instructions
- Wash the broccoli thoroughly and set aside. Mix the soy sauces, rice wine vinegar, sugar, stock, sesame oil, and ground white pepper, and set aside.
- Heat the wok over high heat. Add the vegetable oil, garlic, and broccoli and quickly stir-fry so the garlic doesn’t burn.
- Stir fry for 15 seconds, and add the Shaoxing rice wine around the perimeter of the wok. Give everything a quick stir and add in the sauce mixture. Let the sauce come to a boil, and mix the cornstarch and water together to make a slurry. You can turn the heat down slightly and cook the broccoli a bit longer before adding the corn starch slurry if you like your broccoli softer.
- You can turn the heat down slightly and cook the broccoli a bit longer before adding the corn starch slurry if you like your broccoli softer, add the cornstarch slurry slowly while stirring the broccoli and sauce constantly. Let the sauce cook and thicken until it coats the back of a spoon. If you like a thick sauce, add more cornstarch and water. If you like your sauce thinner, add less cornstarch and water. If you’d like, stir in the chili oil at this point. Serve!
nutrition facts
Love it
Thanks Wade!
This was DELICIOUS! Better than my local restaurant. Thank you so much! LOVE this site.
You’re welcome Mary, enjoy!
So good! Would this work with gai lan?
Absolutely!
Do we have to use HOT chicken /vegetable stock only?
Hi Tubaplayer, excellent to hear you liked this broccoli with garlic sauce. Hot chicken stock or water is not essential, but it helps to shorten the cooking time.
Made it and I love it❤️
I make this last night, it tasted so good! However, I couldn’t get my sauce to thicken even after I tossed in an extra tsp of cornstarch. I used a skillet and electric stove top, and the slurry and raised to a boil for 50-60 seconds. I followed the recipe directions, except I did blanche the broccoli before sautéing. Any idea what I did wrong?
Hk RS, not sure what could have happened except that with additional cooking, your broccoli may have been shedding more liquid. You may want to try draining your blanched broccoli for a longer time. Also, another method is to cook the sauce separately and add the broccoli in the end as we do in our beef and broccoli recipe. Happy cooking!
Thanks for the insight. Next time, I will cook the broccoli and sauce separately.
Healthy and delicious. I served it with the crispy tofu to make a great meal.
Hi Molly, that sounds like a delicious vegan meal :)
My wife said that this hit the spot. I didn’t make it exactly like the recipe and used what I had in the pantry. I used liquid aminos instead of dark soy sauce, low sodium soy sauce instead of regular soy sauce, chicken broth instead of chicken stock, red cooking wine instead of Shaoxing, and siracha instead of chili in oil. I had not heard of Shaoxing Sauce before so it gave me a reason to go to our local asian grocery store. Picked up items more closely resembling the recipe and can’t wait to try it again.
What rice would you recommend serving this with?
Thank you
Hi Jon, long grain Jasmine rice is best with this dish ;-)
Hands down the best attempt I’ve ever made at home making take-out style Chinese. I think with a few more attempts I’ll be completely satisfied! Can’t wait to try other recipes.
Hi Luren, practice makes perfect and cooking Chinese is no different – enjoy!
This was mediocre at best. I didn’t have the Chinese wine or the dark soy sauce, but I cut the sugar out and used mirin instead. It was still too sweet for my taste. I used blanched broccoli so that I could get it a little softer. However, I made the corn starch slurry and it congealed immediately into clumps when I added it to the pan, even with constant stirring. My family hated it. I ate a couple of pieces just to say I really tried it, but I’ll never make this again.
Hi Eric, next time, please try to follow our recipe with the ingredients we specify and I’m sure your results will be different. Also, make sure you stir vigorously while drizzling the cornstarch slurry. Adding it all at once will result in clumps ;-)