Chicken and Broccoli with brown sauce is a popular Chinese takeout dish. This chicken and broccoli recipe will show you how to make it with a delicious Chinese brown sauce.
Our recipe uses the same technique as Chinese restaurants. The broccoli is blanched, and the chicken is seared separately. The aromatics and sauce are cooked and thickened with cornstarch slurry (2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water), and everything is tossed together at the end.
After you learn how to make Chinese Chicken and Broccoli at home, you won’t go back to ordering takeout again!
Brown Sauce or White Sauce?
When I worked in Chinese restaurants, including my parents’ own family restaurant, we always doubled-check with customers if they wanted their chicken and broccoli with brown sauce or white sauce.
Brown sauce was the overwhelming favorite, probably due to the deep umami flavors of soy sauce and oyster sauce and its rich, tantalizing amber color.
That said, quite a few patrons did want their chicken with broccoli in white sauce. Similar to our moo goo gai pan, chicken broccoli with white sauce gets its flavor primarily from ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and Chinese rice wine (Shaoxing wine). Without the strong taste of soy sauce, the delicate flavors of the dish were allowed to come through. Of course, then there was the healthy crowd who preferred that the chicken was blanched and less oil was used in the white sauce version.
If you like your Chinese chicken and broccoli with brown sauce, follow this recipe. If you like yours with white sauce, we have a recipe for that too!
Should I Use Dark or White Meat?
Chinese restaurants almost always use chicken breast for chicken and broccoli because most Americans prefer white meat.
However, if you prefer dark meat, you can use chicken thighs to make a delicious homemade dark meat chicken broccoli with brown sauce.
Chicken thighs have a higher fat content and are harder to overcook. They’re also juicier and smell just like fried chicken when seared in a hot wok!
What’s In the Sauce for Chicken and Broccoli?
Basic stir-fry sauce is made up of aromatics like ginger and garlic, dark and regular soy sauces, sesame oil, oyster sauce, sugar, Chinese rice wine (Shaoxing wine) and white pepper.
Cornstarch is used to thicken the sauce enough to coat the chicken and vegetables.
Bored with just broccoli? This method can be applied to many different dishes with whatever proteins or vegetables you like.
After you learn how to make this authentic takeout Chinese chicken and broccoli recipe, check out our recipe for Chinese Stir-fry Sauce to see how you can apply it to whatever dishes you can dream up.
Shortcuts & Tips for Making Chicken & Broccoli At Home
- Get pre-washed, pre-cut broccoli florets, and use them right out of the bag.
- Slice your chicken and marinate it overnight for quick and easy cooking the next day.
- Prepare your own homemade stir-fry sauce ahead of time and keep it in your refrigerator for convenience.
- Don’t overcook your chicken. Cooking chicken breast until it is just done is an art you need to master!
- Cook lots of rice ahead of time (or skip the rice entirely, since chicken and broccoli makes a great low carb meal)!
Chicken and Broccoli Recipe Instructions
Start by marinating your chicken. In a bowl, add the sliced chicken, 3 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, and 1 ½ teaspoons vegetable oil.
Rub the marinade ingredients into the chicken with your hands until all the liquid has been absorbed by the chicken. Set aside for 10 minutes.
The chicken will absorb the oyster sauce and water, making the chicken, moist, tender and delicious. For more information and preparing chicken for stir fries, see Bill’s post on Chicken velveting 101.
Next, prepare the sauce mixture. In a small bowl or measuring cup, add the warm chicken stock, sugar, soy sauce, dark soy sauce , oyster sauce, sesame oil and white pepper. Stir everything together until well combined and set aside.
Boil water in your wok and blanch the broccoli for 1 minute (or 2 minutes if you like your broccoli softer). Remove with your spider, drain and set aside.
Clean and dry your wok. Place it over high heat until smoking. Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and sear the chicken until opaque on all sides (this should only take about 3 minutes).
Turn off the heat, remove the chicken, and set aside. The chicken will be about 90% done, but will be cooked again at the end.
Without washing the wok, set the flame to medium heat. Add another tablespoon of oil, along with the garlic and ginger (if using).
Stir the garlic and ginger for 5 seconds and add the Shaoxing wine around the perimeter of the wok. Then pour in the sauce mixture.
Use your wok spatula to stir the sauce around the sides of the wok to deglaze, and let it come to a simmer.
Stir up the cornstarch and water slurry and drizzle the mixture into sauce while stirring constantly. Allow the sauce to simmer for 10 to 15 seconds until thick and gravy-like.
For more detailed information on the many ways to use cornstarch to get authentic results at home with our recipes, see our post on How to Use Cornstarch in Chinese Cooking.
Next, toss in the chicken and its juices and the blanched broccoli. Stir-fry until the chicken and broccoli is coated in the sauce.
At this point, you can make adjustments. If you like your brown sauce darker, add a dash more of dark soy sauce. Add more cornstarch slurry if your sauce is too thin, or more chicken stock or water if the sauce is too thick.
Serve with steamed rice.
If you like this recipe, try our restaurant quality Beef and Broccoli dish!
Watch Video!
Chicken and Broccoli with Brown Sauce
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 12 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast (or thighs, 340g)
- 3 tablespoons water (45 ml)
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
For the rest of the dish:
- 2/3 cup low sodium chicken stock (160 ml, warmed)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar (or brown sugar)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
- 4 cups broccoli florets (300g)
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil (divided)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ginger (grated, optional)
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch (mixed with 2 tablespoons water to form a cornstarch slurry)
Instructions
- Start by marinating your chicken. In a bowl, add the sliced chicken, 3 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, and 1 ½ teaspoons vegetable oil. Rub the marinade ingredients into the chicken with your hands until all the liquid has been absorbed by the chicken. Set aside for 10 minutes.
- Next, prepare the sauce mixture. In a small bowl or measuring cup, add the warm chicken stock, sugar, soy sauce, dark soy sauce , oyster sauce, sesame oil and white pepper. Stir everything together until well combined and set aside.
- Boil water in your wok and blanch the broccoli for 1 minute (or 2 minutes if you like your broccoli softer). Drain and set aside.
- Clean and dry your wok. Place it over high heat until smoking. Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and sear the chicken until opaque on all sides (this shoul d only take about 3 minutes). Turn off the heat, remove the chicken, and set aside. The chicken will be about 90% done, but will be cooked again at the end.
- Without washing the wok, set the flame to medium heat. Add another tablespoon of oil, along with the garlic and ginger (if using). Stir the garlic and ginger for 5 seconds and add the Shaoxing wine around the perimeter of the wok. Then pour in the sauce mixture. Use your wok spatula to stir the sauce around the sides of the wok to deglaze, and let it come to a simmer.
- Stir up the cornstarch and water slurry and drizzle the mixture into sauce while stirring constantly. Allow the sauce to simmer for 10 to 15 seconds until thick and gravy-like.
- Toss in the chicken and its juices and the blanched broccoli. Stir-fry until the chicken and broccoli is coated in the sauce.
- At this point, you can make adjustments. If you like your brown sauce darker, add a dash more of dark soy sauce. Add more cornstarch slurry if your sauce is too thin, or more chicken stock or water if the sauce is too thick. Serve with steamed rice.
Good recipe
Thanks Jane!
Best brown sauce recipe ever! Can’t wait to make this again and check out the rest of your recipes! Thanks for sharing :)
Glad you enjoyed this chicken and broccoli and welcome to our site!
Just delicious. Loved it.
Thanks Stephanue!
VEGAN SWAPS!
I made this with vegan chicken seitan from the local chinese supermarket + sautéed celery, cabbage, bok choy.
I subbed the chicken broth for better than bouillon chicken-less broth and used vegetarian oyster sauce.
Served over short grain brown rice!
It’s so yummy and my partner was so happy to see the dish packed up for our lunches this week. Thanks for the authentic recipes!
Hi Maria, your vegan version sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing the details!
I can’t stop making this!! It’s so tasty and easy to make, friends and family are repeatedly asking for it again and again. I have been cooking a vast amount of Chinese/Asian dishes over the last couple of years and this is one of my ultimate favourites. Thank you so much – can’t recommend it enough! I really want to try the beef and broccoli version but am struggling to find the appropriate cut of meat here in Scotland.
Hi Fiona, No reason to stop making a dish you love haha! As far as trying the beef, maybe a flat beef brisket could work for you, since that cut seems to be very common everywhere. Use the techniques in our post on How to prepare Beef for stir-fry for your beef and broccoli, or any beef stir-fry dish, and they should all turn out fine :)
Thanks – I will give this a try!
Thank you so much for sharing these amazing recipes! My parents owned a Chinese Restaurant a long time ago – I was that little girl in the backroom studying and getting to have both amazing Chinese-American dishes as well as the special authentic Chinese food the chefs would make for the staff at the end of the night. My parents have since retired and moved back to Taiwan and I sorely miss their restaurant. Finding your family’s blog was like discovering a treasure chest of yummy, delectable goodies. I can see all the love and thought put into each recipe and really appreciate all the time your family has put into getting the measurements correct, teaching techniques, helpful tips, and sharing a bit of yourselves. Whenever I ask my parents how they cooked a specific dish, it would always be “Oh, you just put a little bit of this and a splash of that.” A lot of the measurements were also in “small rice bowl-fuls” hahaha~ I have a million cookbooks and your family’s recipes have been the most delicious and spot on. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Hi Mimmie, thank you for taking the time to share your kind comment and story :) We hope you keep cooking with us and continue trying our new recipes!
So good! Chicken was perfectly tender and juicy and broccoli had the perfect texture for us (tender crisp). My husband said it’s like being at a really good Chinese restaurant again! Thank you!!
Hi Kris, thanks for sharing the news of your successful chicken and broccoli. What a great compliment to hear from your husband on your cooking and execution of the recipe :)
Hi Bill,
I love your recipes. I’m wondering if it’s okay to blanch vegetables earlier in the day to cut down on prep time. I’ve tried this once when preparing a different dish and thought the broccoli retained too much water while stored in the refrigerator. I dried it, and overall it came out okay—but if there’s a trick I can use to avoid water retention, please let me know. If the best strategy is to blanch right before stir frying, I’ll make sure I do that moving forward. Thank you!
Hi Cheryl, I think the best strategy is to blanch before stir-frying, but you could blanch them 15 minutes before so they are still warm but have had a chance to drip-dry ;-)
My family loves this! Thanks, Bill!
You’re welcome Cheryl – enjoy!
Absolutely delicious
Hi Michiko, enjoy!
Thank you so much! This was delicious and another winning recipe from you guys, so happy I found Woks of Life!
Hi Hillary, you’re welcome and we’re happy to hear you found us and are now cooking with us too!