This recipe for Chinese Chicken and Broccoli in a brown sauce is quick, easy and on the table in just 30 minutes – what more could you ask for?
This healthy version of a takeout favorite combines chicken, super healthy broccoli, garlic, and ginger for a delicious, weeknight dinner.
Making Chinese food from scratch isn’t at all complicated.
Whether you’re new to cooking or a seasoned cook, this Chinese chicken and broccoli recipe can be made in your kitchen to serve up a simple dinner the whole family can enjoy.
Start with steaming the broccoli until it’s just under cooked (you’ll be adding it at the end to finish it off).
Next, hat the wok and brown the chicken on all sides.
I use chicken thighs because it’s juicier and full of flavor. Once the chicken is browned, remove it from the wok and set aside.
Add some oil to the wok and stir fry garlic, green onions and ginger (being careful not to let it get too dark).
Put the chicken back in the wok. Add the soy sauce, hoisin sauce and hot water.
Bring to a boil.
Drizzle with some of the honey, cover and simmer, turning & drizzling with honey now and again for 7-10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce reduced.
Return the broccoli to the wok and toss with the sauce until fully cooked.
It’s that simple. Serve and enjoy!
Impress your guests by serving this dish with my best ever fried rice for a real authentic tasting meal that’s completely homemade!
- For an added crunch and texture, add some unsalted cashews or water chestnuts.
- Add mushrooms, carrots and snow peas to create a whole new dish that’s just as easy.
- Serve with brown rice for an extra healthy meal.
Update Notes: This recipe was originally posted in 2014, but was updated in 2017 with slight changes to the recipe as well as including step by step photos as well as nutritional information.
★ Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating below!
Chinese Chicken & Broccoli
Make this easy Chinese favorite at home -Made with garlic, ginger, soy sauce and honey it's cheaper and much more flavorful than take out.
Ingredients
- 1 large Head of Broccoli cut into florets
- 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and finely chopped
- 3 green/spring onions trimmed and sliced
- 1 inch piece of ginger peeled and chopped
- 2 Tablespoons Hoisin Sauce
- 3 Tablespoons light soy sauce (extra to taste)
- 6 Tablespoons honey approximately
- 6 tablespoons hot water
Instructions
- Steam or saute the broccoli to the softness just a bit firmer than you prefer & set aside.
- Heat a wok over a high heat and add a bit of oil. Add the chicken and brown on all sides to seal the meat. Remove the chicken and set aside.
- Fry the garlic, spring onion and ginger for 30 seconds in the hot wok, adding a little more oil if necessary, tossing now and then.
Put the chicken back in the wok. Add the soy sauce, hoisin sauce and the hot water and bring to a boil. Drizzle with some of the honey, cover and simmer, turning & drizzling with honey now and again for 7-10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce reduced.
Add the broccoli and toss with the sauce until cooked through
jackie kapcheck says
Loved, Loved this recipe! Even my picky son ate it and wanted secons.
Mia Caruso says
Lovely recipe. Isn’t it interesting the way we long for food we once had?
Deanna says
Delicious recipe…my mom is my toughest critic and she loved it!!!
Erren says
I have one of those in my house! I’m so glad you were able to please your’s, Deanna!
Dagmara says
I will be making this tonight for my family along with your fried rice… I am saving your page to my favorites and will let you know which one i’m making – but to be honest everything looks delicious here!!!
Sending hugs from NJ 🙂
Erren says
Thanks so much, Dagmara! That’s so nice to hear! Keep me posted! 🙂 And thanks for the Jersey hugs!
Elizabeth Lorenzen says
Had little trouble getting sauce to thicken, but tasted great
Ting says
Sounds delicious!
I’m going to try this tonight. It sounds healthy and yet full of flavor.
Erren says
Hope you like it!
Minnie Faison says
OMG, The Chicken and Broccoli with Garlic aSauce was Delicous
Kat says
Hi, I just made this for my family (: They said they really liked and it came out tasting delicious. I love your website because I can change the servings for the recipe!
For this recipe I have a question though, to know if I am not cooking it right… My sauce was very soupy. Was it maybe from the juices from the chicken? After browning the chicken I removed it from the wok, and it did have a lot of juice in the bowl as well. When I put the chicken back in the wok am I supposed to remove the juices first?
Erren says
Hi Kat, Did it cook down into a thicker sauce at all before you added it all back to the pan? You can always add a tablespoon of cornstarch to some cold water, stir well to remove any lumps and pour it in when you add the chicken. Make sure to bring to a boil to thicken.
I’m going to remake thus recipe myself and see if cornstarch should be a change to the recipe. Thanks for letting me know.
Amna says
Is it required to add the green onions and hoisin sauce?? Can I just add regular chopped onions or is that not the same?
Erren says
Hi Amna, So sorry for the late reply. I use an app to keep up on comments and my reply must not have posted. You can use regular onions, but they take longer to cook. You can replace the hoisin sauce with oyster sauce. Hope this helps.