Broccoli And Chicken Stir-Fry Recipe

If you're on the hunt for a new quick and easy (but sure to please) weeknight meal, you'll love this broccoli and chicken stir-fry care of chef and recipe developer Catherine Brookes of Blue Sky Eating. And we mean it when we say meal — what with the chicken, broccoli, and your choice of rice or noodles as a base, this dish has you covered in terms of protein, veggies, and starch. And the mushrooms, cashews, sauces, and spices have you covered in terms of taste.

"I love that you can make your own easy, healthy, and super tasty stir fry at home without the need for a store bought sauce," says Brookes.

As for being a great weeknight meal, you can create this entire dish, from start to finish, in less than 25 minutes. In fact, the rice you serve it over may take longer to make than your entree, so you might want to get that on the stove first thing as you start to whip up this dish. 

Don't worry — while this recipe calls for a fair number of ingredients, it really is pretty simple to make. Just measure everything carefully, prep the chicken, mushrooms, garlic, ginger, nuts, and broccoli properly, and you'll be fine.

All told, you'll need olive oil, chicken breasts, button mushrooms, broccoli florets, cornstarch, white rice vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, garlic, a chunk of ginger, cashews, and salt and pepper.

This recipe is defined by the bold, tangy sauce you create right at the start. Mix together the white rice vinegar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Then, in a separate (slightly larger) bowl, add the sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, garlic, and ginger, mixing them well. 

Pour the cornstarch slurry into the bowl with the other ingredients. Mix well to combine them into a sauce.

"I'd say the sauce is what really makes this dish shine," says Brookes. "It's a great combination of sweet, savory, and sour that pairs so well with chicken and broccoli."

Heat a tablespoon olive oil in a large frying pan, then fry the chicken on a medium-high heat until cooked through — about five minutes. Make sure you keep the chicken moving, stirring it often to cook all sides.

When the chicken is cooked, remove it from the pan and add another tablespoon olive oil. Stir fry the broccoli and mushrooms until they're slightly softened and browned — this should take another 5 minutes.

Now it's time to add the chicken back to the pan, along with the sauce and the cashews. Give everything a good stir and let it cook for another few minutes to heat through as the flavors all meld.

Serve your stir fry over rice or noodles to make the meal complete, or enjoy it as-is for a lighter option. "You could potentially store the dish in the fridge up to two days and reheat it in a pan again," says Brookes, but she adds: "But it make have lost some of it's crunch and moisture. [It's] definitely best served straight away!"