Easy Broccoli and Chicken Stir Fry

I used a cast iron skillet for a good sear on the chicken and wish I hadn't. The meat got great color and flavor, but cast iron over high heat was too much and I had to move super fast so nothing burned.

The flavors, however were outstanding, even though I couldn't find the sambal oelek. I improvised with crushed red pepper flakes and it worked. Next time I'll do a little leg work and visit my Asian market for all the correct ingredients. And I'll use a wok.

I couldn't find the sambal oelek or oyster sauce at Whole Foods. Where is the best place to find this?

I didn't have sambal, so I used Thai red curry paste, and didn't have sherry, so threw in some old red wine. Still it turned out pretty delicious. And it was a quick meal and well appreciated.

Sambal and oyster sauce are available in most (if not all) Asian markets. They are both also available in many of the large grocery stores...in fact I am surprised that Whole Foods didn't have them.

Do keep trying though as they add tremendous flavor to many dishes. Sambal Oelek is one of my favorite ingredients. http://rouxbe.com/drilldowns/159

But if you cannot find them, then Sean had a good idea to improvise with things like Thai red curry paste. It will change the flavor but it will still be delicious.

Our new stove was installed a week ago, what it is really good for is stir frying as the center ring of the burner removes and the wok sits right down on the burner like they do in Asia. The combination of that and this recipe forcefully took us back to our time in Malysia, it tasted just right, like stir fried chicken did there, frankly amazing. Thanks Kimberly and the rest of the crew at Rouxbe.

You're sooooo lucky to have a beautiful stove like that! Have fun cooking!

I'd never tried or heard of Sambal Oelek before, but went looking for it in the local Asian market. They had it in 5 litre tubs! Fortunately I found smaller jars of the stuff in a different section, and this turned out just great.

Didn't have any sherry so I substituted port. Was afraid it'd be too sweet of the flavour overpowering, but it was delicious in the end.

We had to substitute asian chili garlic sauce for the Sambal due to our being out in the boonies. It worked out WONDERFULLY!! We were a bit nervous about the oyster sauce...but it seems we've been eating oyster sauce at chinese food places our whole lives and didn't realize it! It was a very familiar flavor that we had no idea was so crucial to many Asian dishes. I must say though that it probably would have gone abit easier in a wok, since a wok keeps the oil at the bottom and not spread all over like in a regular frying pan...probably easier to toss in a wok as well. Oh well...one more item to add to our kitchen wish list! Great recipe!

Looking at the time of the other comments, I would say I am quite late on this, haha.

Having grown up with a dad who works in a Chinese restaurant and an aunt who owns one, "Chicken and Broccoli stir fry" is just one of those dishes one cannot go without learning.

I really enjoyed this reciepe the both times I made it. The second time it had to be made without oyster sauce which ending up not changing the taste too much.

Made this last night with flank steak (well Joe did) and it was really good. Just very quickly fried the beef first then removed it and cooked the broccoli. Once he cooked that and added the sauce he then added the beef back and gave it a quick toss. The only thing we changed is that we didn't add the almonds this time.

Great flavor combination and colors.

Cooking broccoli in a stir fry pan takes a long time. As the video shows, the sauce might dry out before the broccoli is cooked. To avoid this, I steam the veggie in microwave on high power for about 2 minutes before stir frying it with sauce.

I have a secret love of really greasy chinese food, of which I always feel sick at the end. This recipe was fantastic since it tasted great, and I knew exactly what was going into it. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find kosher oyster sauce, but I found a different recipe that called for brown sugar, so I substituted. It was fantastic :)

Can I substitute chicken with Beef? If so, what kind of beef should I use and will there be any changes to the sauce?

Thanks!

You could use beef tenderloin or a flank steak cut thinly across the grain (as shown in Step 1 from the recipe for Lomo Saltado). No changes to the sauce are necessary. Enjoy!

This is a really good dish. I think that the flavor is very close to what an upscale Chinese restaurant might serve, and it puts most Chinese restaurants to shame.

I am curious about the 'marinade'. It is very different than other asian stir fry marinades that I have seen because of the oil and the cornstarch.

Can anyone tell me why the oil and cornstarch go in the marinade?

Do they add flavor or a textural quality?

I really like the end result and want to understand a little better so I can adapt the style or technique.....

Glad you enjoyed the dish. The technique is called velveting. It is a Chinese cooking technique used to seal in moisture in the meat during stir frying. It is commonly done with cornstarch + oil... or cornstarch + egg whites. Happy cooking!

I used to make it with chicken but since I decided to stop eating meat I had to try it with tofu and it is still delicious =)

I have a Sherry cooking wine from Holland House but I don't want it to be too sweet, do you think this will work? Or what other sherry substitutes are available for this recipe?

I would suggest that you try what you have on hand. You may find that it works just perfectly. Cheers!

I went ahead and used the sherry I had on hand and it turned out delicious! This is way better than what greasy chinese restaurants have, thanks for this fantastic recipe!!

Made the same dish except did not have all of the ingredients for the sauce so used toasted sesame oil for cooking and then added red chili flakes and lower sodium soy sauce at the end. I did use the ginger and garlic though the flavors had to compete a bit with the sesame oil. I also like my vegetables barely cooked so just added blanched broccoli, red peppers to heat through and then green onions and almonds at the end as well. The dish looked great with the brightly colored vegetables but the perfectly cooked chicken was best part thanks to the video instruction. I am looking forward to trying the full recipe but had such success with the techniques and following most of the recipe that I wanted to thank you.

I am looking to buy a good quality wok. Any suggestions, I want to stay away from cast iron, since I have heard that one should not cook sour itmes in a cast iron wok.
Thanks

It depends on the type of heat source you have. Traditional woks sit inside a round opening with a flame directly underneath, which makes the bottom and sides extremely hot. If you have a gas stove, thin, cheap metal woks can can work well. Once used a few times, they self-season and don't react with acid as much.

If you have an electric stove, your best bet is a large, stainless-steel saute pan. This allows the most heat to reach the entire surface of the pan so you can cook things quickly. Hope this helps!