Veggie-Packed Delight: Chicken and Broccoli Zucchini Noodle Stir-Fry Recipe

Stir-fry is a quick and easy way to get dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes. Substitute the flour noodles with some zucchini noodles and you also have a healthier meal. As a result, I’m sure this chicken and broccoli zucchini noodle stir-fry will soon become your next favorite meal. It’s rich with delicate Asian flavors of ginger, garlic, and sesame oil, and also has a wonderful crunch from the cashews.

Have you been using a spiralizer? Well, I’ve been hooked on to it for a while now, almost two years. I used to watch these videos on zoodles all the time and kept saying “I wanna buy that spiralizer.” And yet, like everything else, I have to buy things overseas and ship it to me. Often, it ends up on my wishlist to buy and never gets bought.

One day, I received a spiralizer in the mail. My lovely friend Gloria from Homemade and Yummy has sent me a spiralizer as a gift. I was so excited. And I’ve been using it since then and really enjoy it.

I love that I can use zucchini noodles, sweet potato noodles, and such things rather than the regular flour noodles (my waistline does not like flour very much). I also spiralize my veggies for a salad. So, it gets the kids to eat more veggies. My kids love spaghetti and noodles, so all these veggies work great. Most of all, I think it’s a great way to eat healthier while not feeling deprived.

This is my first zucchini noodle recipe, and it’s a stir-fry. Having lived for over 10 years in Asia, stir fry is close to my heart. Hence, I make them often.

Ingredients and substitute

• Chicken – The breast meat works best for stir fry because it cooks quickly and absorbs the sauce well.
• Broccoli – A great veggie to stir-fry because it cooks quickly and still looks bright and vibrant. Also, don’t throw away the stems. Rather, chop them up smaller and add them to the pan first. This will cook them and still keep them crunchy
• Onions – Sliced thickly these add a nice bite to the dish. And yet, if you don’t like onions you can also slice them up thin. That adds flavor to the sauce.
• Garlic and ginger – Ain’t no stir-fry without these two flavor boosters.
• Herbs – I love cilantro. And yet, Chinese parsley is most commonly used in stir-frys.
• Cashew nuts – These add a nice bite to the dish. While you can use any nuts you like, seems like, cashews are most commonly used in Asian cooking.

Step by step instructions

Marinate chicken

• Combine all marinade ingredients in a bowl.
• Use a paper towel to remove any excess moisture from the chicken breasts.
• Cut chicken into thin slices.
• Add the sliced chicken pieces and give it a good mix so each piece is well coated in the marinade.
• Leave this for at least 10 minutes while you prepare everything else. You can also marinate for an hour or more in the fridge.

Cut veggies

• Wash and chop broccoli. Drain any excess water. Keep any extra stems separate so you can use them.
• Cut the onion into thick slices and separate the layers.
• Chop the ginger and garlic into thin slices.
•  Dice the scallions/green onions – add the white and light green parts to the onions and put the green leaves to the cilantro and parsley.
• Roughly chop the cilantro or parsley.

Prepare the sauce

• Combine all sauce ingredients in a bowl – and set aside.
• The cornflour will sink to the bottom so it needs to be mixed up just before using.

Spiralize the zucchini

• Wash and cut the ends of the zucchini.
• Spiralize it using the thicker blade.
• Place the noodles in the colander lined with cheesecloth or paper hand towel to soak up excess moisture – and set aside.
• Just before adding the noodles to the stir-fry give it a good squeeze with the cloth or paper towel.

Saute

• This is to give the cashews a toasted look and to give the chicken a crisp coating and color.
• Add 1/2 tbsp oil in a wok – stir fry the cashew nuts until lightly toasted. Remove from the pan on a paper towel.
• To the same pan add another tbsp oil – stir-fry the chicken on high heat. The cornflour in the marinade will give it a crispy coating.
• Cook for about three minutes. Remove chicken and keep warm while you cook the rest.

Stir-fry

• Stir fry is a quick process, so have all your ingredients ready to go.
• Add the remaining 1/2 tbsp oil to the wok.
• And now add the ginger and garlic, followed by the onion and broccoli stems.
• Saute for about two minutes on med-high heat.
• Add the broccoli and 2 tbsp water (water creates steam and help cook the broccoli).
• Cook on medium-high heat until the broccoli is tender.
• Add the chicken and cashew nuts back to the pan.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Stir in the prepared sauce and add to the wok, and coat everything in the sauce.
• Add the Zucchini noodles and saute for 3 to 5 minutes, while keeping it al-dente.
• Lastly, add in the cilantro or parsley.
• Check and adjust seasoning. (if needed – add salt – depending on the brand of soya sauce used, you may or may not need any additional salt.)
• Enjoy!

You may also like

Did you enjoy this recipe? Please ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ it.
Save it for later.
You can also find a collection of my recipes and  tutorials here on Pinterest. Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
And, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog to receive new recipes by email.

Chicken and Broccoli Zucchini Noodle Stir Fry

Author: Veena Azmanov

Print Pin Rate

Share by Email Share on FB Save Grow Saved! Add to Favorite Saved!

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 7 minutes mins

Total Time: 17 minutes mins

Calories: 204kcal

Adjust Servings Here: 6 servings

Description

Stir-fry is a quick and easy way to get dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes. Substitute the flour noodles with some zucchini noodles and you also have a healthier meal. As a result, I’m sure this chicken and broccoli zucchini noodle stir-fry will soon become your next favorite meal. It’s rich with delicate Asian flavors of ginger, garlic, and sesame oil, and also has a wonderful crunch from the cashews.

Ingredients 

½x1x1½x2x3x

For the Stir-Fry

• ▢ 1 lb (450 g) Chicken breast ((about 2 breasts))
• ▢ 2 cups Broccoli flowerets (stems chopped thinly – separated)
• ▢ 1 med Onion (sliced and layers separated)
• ▢ ½ inch Ginger ((thinly sliced))
• ▢ 1 med Garlic ((thinly sliced))
• ▢ ¼ cup Cilantro or Chinese parsley ((roughly chopped))
• ▢ 12 Cashew nuts
• ▢ 2 tbsp Canola oil
• ▢ ¼ ts Salt (or less if using regular soy sauce)
• ▢ ½ tsp Pepper
• ▢ 2 large Zucchini (Spirlized)

For the Marinade

• ▢ 1 tbsp Dark soy sauce (I use low sodium)
• ▢ ½ tsp Sesame oil
• ▢ 1 tsp Pepper
• ▢ 2 tbsp Cornstarch ((cornflour) )

For the Sauce

• ▢ 2 tbsp Light soy sauce
• ▢ 1 tbsp Hoisin sauce (or oyster sauce)
• ▢ 2 tbsp Chinese rice wine (or sherry)
• ▢ 1 tbsp Cornflour (/cornstarch)
• ▢ ¼ tsp Tabasco sauce
• ▢ 1 tbsp Brown sugar
• ▢ ⅓ cup Water

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Follow Veena Azmanov on Pinterest

Instructions

Marinate Chicken

• Combine all marinade ingredients in a bowl.
• Use a paper towel to remove any excess moisture from the chicken breasts.
• Cut chicken into thin slices.
• Add the sliced chicken pieces and give it a good mix so each piece is well coated in the marinade.
• Leave this for at least 10 minutes while you prepare everything else. You can also marinate for an hour or more in the fridge.

Cut Veggies

• Wash and chop Broccoli. Drain any excess water. Keep any extra stems separate so you can use them.
• Cut the onion into thick slices and separate the layers.
• Chop the ginger and garlic into thin slices.
• Dice the scallions/green onions, and add the white and light green parts to the onions and put the green leaves to the cilantro and parsley.
• Roughly chop the cilantro or parsley.

Prepare the Sauce

• Combine all sauce ingredients in a bowl – and set aside.
• The cornflour will sink to the bottom so it needs to be mixed up just before using.

Spiralize the Zucchini

• Wash and cut the ends of the zucchini.
• Spiralize it using the thicker blade.
• Place the noodles in the colander lined with cheesecloth or paper hand towel to soak up excess moisture – and set aside.
• Just before adding the noodles to the stir-fry give it a good squeeze with the cloth or paper towel.

Saute

• This is to give the cashews a toasted look and to give the chicken a crisp coating and color.
• Add 1/2 tbsp oil in a wok and stir-fry the cashew nuts until lightly toasted. Remove from the pan on a paper towel.
• To the same pan add another tbsp oil and stir-fry the chicken on high heat. The cornflour in the marinade will give it a crispy coating.
• Cook for about three minutes. Remove chicken and keep warm while you cook the rest.

Stir-Fry

• Stir-fry is a quick process so have all your ingredients ready to go.
• Add the remaining 1/2 tbsp oil to the wok.
• Add the ginger and garlic, followed by the onion and broccoli stems.
• Saute for about two minutes on med-high heat.
• Add the broccoli and 2 tbsp water (water creates steam and help cook the broccoli).
• Cook on medium-high heat until broccoli is tender.
• Add chicken and cashew nuts back to the pan.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Stir in the prepared sauce and add to the wok –  coat everything in the sauce.
• Add the Zucchini noodles and saute for 3 to 5 minutes – while keeping it al-dente.
• Lastly, add in the cilantro or parsley.
• Check and adjust seasoning. (if needed – add salt – depending on the brand of soy sauce used, you may or may not need any additional salt.)
• Enjoy!

Recipe Notes & Tips

 

• Stir-fry is quick cooking so always have all your ingredients ready before you start.
• High heat is always recommended for stir-fry. And yet, some veggies like broccoli, carrots, and beans benefit better from medium-high with a slash of water. While mushrooms and leaves benefit from high heat to quickly evaporate the released moisture.
• When adding any liquid turn the heat up and stir at the same time so everything is coated in the starch before the water evaporates.
• Also, take the pan off the heat when done to prevent overcooking.
• In addition, sometimes it’s best to transfer the stir-fry to a serving platter to prevent veggies from getting mushy.
• And, use salt sparingly. Because sauces used in stir-frys have salt added to them as a preservative.

Conversions Used

1 lb = 453 grams, 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 stick = 113g, 1 tbsp= 15 ml, 1 tsp= 5 ml,

Nutrition Information

Nutrition Facts

Chicken and Broccoli Zucchini Noodle Stir Fry

Amount per Serving

Calories

204

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

8

g

12

%

Saturated Fat

 

1

g

5

%

Cholesterol

 

48

mg

16

%

Sodium

 

760

mg

32

%

Potassium

 

693

mg

20

%

Carbohydrates

 

11

g

4

%

Fiber

 

2

g

8

%

Sugar

 

6

g

7

%

Protein

 

19

g

38

%

Vitamin A

 

470

IU

9

%

Vitamin C

 

47.5

mg

58

%

Calcium

 

35

mg

4

%

Iron

 

1.4

mg

8

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you

Did you make this recipe? Share it with me.Tag @veenaazmanov on instagram or #hashtag it #veenaazmanov

Add to CollectionGo to Collections

Thank you for sharing - Save for later