This classic Chinese-inspired broccoli stir fry recipe is great to prepare as part of a satisfying meal in under 30 minutes. Flavorful and nutritious broccoli is perfect to stir fry for a quick, delicious, and healthy side dish. Here you’ll find step-by-step photos and instructions to make savory vegetarian and vegan stir-fried broccoli for dinner tonight!
About This Broccoli Stir Fry
Broccoli stir fry is a Chinese inspired dish that I like to make often as a healthy and tasty side. Fresh broccoli is quickly cooked with vibrant aromatics – like onions, garlic, ginger, soy sauce and pepper – so the florets are perfectly cooked while still keeping a nice bit of crunch.
Stir frying the broccoli not only helps keep the florets firm and not mushy, it also helps to sear in those delicious flavors. Each bite is bursting with umami without being too overpowering. So it’s great to serve as a side dish with your favorite mains, or simply pair with rice or noodles for a light yet satisfying meal.
And start to finish you need less than an hour to prep and make this easy recipe. Give this stir fried broccoli a try for a relaxing and nearly effortless dinner any night of the week!
How to Make Broccoli Stir Fry
Prepare the Broccoli and Sauce
1. First, prepare the fresh broccoli. Cut the florets from 1 medium broccoli head (415 grams) and rinse them well in water. Set aside.
If you want you can even blanch the broccoli florets in hot water for 1 to 2 minutes. This makes stir frying time shorter and helps keep that vibrant green color.
Finely chop 3 to 4 medium garlic cloves, 1 inch ginger, 1 green chili, 1 small celery stick and slice thinly 1 medium onion. You will be needing:
- ⅓ cup sliced onions
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
- ½ teaspoon finely chopped green chillies or serrano pepper
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped celery
2. In a small bowl, add the sugar and spices:
- 1 teaspoon coconut sugar or raw sugar
- ½ teaspoon edible rock salt or ¼ to ½ teaspoon salt, add as per taste
- ¼ teaspoon crushed black pepper or add as required
3. Add 1 tablespoon soy sauce or Braggs liquid aminos.
4. Mix very well and set aside.
Cook the Aromatics
5. Next, heat oil in a heavy wok or deep pan. Turn the heat to medium-low or medium. Add the sliced onions and finely chopped garlic, ginger, celery, green chillies.
6. Stir and mix well.
7. Next, add the chopped broccoli to the pan.
8. Mix very well.
Stir Fry the Broccoli
9. Now it’s time to stir fry the broccoli: Increase the heat to medium-high or high, and cook the broccoli for 3 to 4 minutes in the scalding hot pan.
10. Continue to toss and stir the ingredients so that they cook evenly without getting burnt.
11. After stir-frying for 3 to 4 minutes (the broccoli should still be firm) lower the heat and add the prepared sauce mixture.
12. Stir to combine and mix evenly.
13. Increase the heat to medium-low or medium. Continue to stir fry the broccoli until the liquid has evaporated and the broccoli is slightly soft.
However, be careful to not overcook the veggies so that they become soft and mushy – there should be a good bit of bite still in your broccoli.
14. Now turn off the heat, and add 1 to 2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro or parsley if you like. Mix very well.
15. Sprinkle some white sesame seeds (raw or toasted) while serving. You can also drizzle some lemon juice for an added tang while serving.
FAQs
Feel free to increase the ginger, garlic, black pepper and/or green chilli to make this dish as spicy as you like.
Enjoy with fluffy rice or Chinese noodle dishes, or as a side with any of your favorite Indochinese mains like Fried Rice or Veg Noodles or Hakka Noodles. You can also serve with simple roll or flatbread for a light lunch or healthy snack.
This dish is certainly best when enjoyed freshly made. However, you can store leftovers in a sealed container and keep them in the fridge for up to 1 day. Reheat in a microwave or on the stovetop, but be careful to not overcook and turn the broccoli mushy.
More Broccoli Recipes To Try!
Soup Recipes
Vegetable Recipes
Indian Breads
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Broccoli Stir Fry
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil or any neutral oil
- ⅓ cup sliced onions
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped celery
- ½ teaspoon finely chopped green chillies or serrano pepper
- 415 grams broccoli
- 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (coriander leaves) or parsley
For the Sauce
- 1 teaspoon coconut sugar or raw sugar or palm sugar
- ½ teaspoon edible rock salt or or ¼ to ½ teaspoon regular salt, add as per taste
- ¼ teaspoon crushed black pepper or add as required
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce Braggs liquid aminos
Instructions
Make the Sauce
- In a small mixing bowl take the coconut sugar, salt, black pepper and soy sauce.
- Mix well and set aside.
Make Broccoli Stir Fry
- Heat toasted sesame oil in a heavy wok or pan.
- Keep heat to medium-low or medium.
- Add sliced onions, garlic, ginger, celery and green chillies. Mix well.
- Add broccoli and mix again very well.
- Increase the heat to medium-high or high and stir fry broccoli for 3 to 4 minutes. Toss and stir often while stir-frying.
- Towards the end of 3 to 4 minutes, stir often, so that the onions or garlic or ginger do not get burnt.
- Lower the heat and add the prepared sauce mixture. Stir to combine and mix.
- Increase the heat to medium-low or medium.
- Stir fry till all the liquids have evaporated and the broccoli is tender. Do note that the florets will shrink and leave their juices. The end result should be dry with no water or liquids. .
- The broccoli should be tender but have a slight bite.
- Switch off the heat and add cilantro or parsley. Mix again very well.
- Sprinkle some sesame seeds while serving.
- Serve broccoli stir fry with rice, noodle or even with a bread roll or flatbread.
Notes
- If you prefer you can blanch broccoli. Note that blanched broccoli will take less time to cook.
- For a gluten free recipe, use tamari or coconut aminos or braggs liquid aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce.
- To increase the spiciness in the dish, add more of the ginger, garlic, black pepper and green chilli. For a more sweeter tasting stir-fried broccoli, add more sugar.
Nutrition Info (Approximate values)
This broccoli stir fry post from the archives (June 2011) has been republished and updated on 22 September 2021.
Your blog is extremely wonderful and helpful!
thanks rushali
Can we use dried basil leaves for this recipe?..
yes you can use dry basil.
Thanks Dassana..Tried the recipe using dry basil leaves…This was my first try with brocolli..had an Italian taste and was yummy 🙂
welcome divya and thanks for the positive feedback.
Enjoyed your Punjabi karela sabzi. Thanks a lot for sharing!
Do you have green bean recipe, say with tomato, garlic etc that goes with rice or roti?
thats good… yes i do know green beans recipe with tomato garlic etc. will try to make one and update it on the website.
Very Nice Pass me some:)
ok….. here u go 😉
Hi,
Thanks for the healthy recipe. Will try for sure. I started following the blog recently. Nice work
thanks priya. do try…. its too good.