Beef and Broccoli Chinese Restaurant Style Recipe
People like to order this beef and broccoli from Chinese restaurants, and it’s very easy to make at home. It’s also better for you than most takeout meals. This simple dinner is as colorful as it is tasty. It has juicy, succulent meat and crisp broccoli in a rich brown sauce. For a real Chinese take-out meal, put it over hot rice. {Can be made gluten-free}
Beef and broccoli is a recipe that you should always make for supper on weekdays. It’s healthy, easy to make, and tastes great. If you’ve been getting food delivered, I strongly suggest that you try making it at home at least once. This Chinese beef and broccoli is incredibly spicy and easy to make, just like takeout. You don’t need a wok to make this dish, yet it will still taste real.
This beef and broccoli dish is a popular choice for Chinese takeout, and it’s very simple to cook at home. It’s also better for you than most other takeout meals. This simple dinner is as colorful as it is tasty, with tender, juicy meat and crisp broccoli in a rich brown sauce. For a real Chinese take-out dinner, serve it over hot rice. {Can be made gluten-free}
If you want this recipe to be gluten-free, use dry sherry instead of Shaoxing wine and tamari instead of soy sauce.
Which part of the cow to utilize
Flank steak is my favorite cut of beef and broccoli, and skirt steak is my second favorite. I wouldn’t use a fancy cut like a strip because it’s too pricey and the results aren’t as good.
What if you need to buy a tougher cut of beef that costs less? Read on to find out how to make beef that is exceptionally tender and juicy.
How to make tough beef tender
The baking soda approach is your best bet if you have to utilize a tougher cut like brisket, chuck, or round roast. Chinese restaurants often make meat that is extremely juicy and tender. You just need to add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda (not baking powder) to the marinade, mix it in, and let it sit for at least 30 minutes before cooking.
Other veggie options
It’s fine if you want to add other kinds of vegetables to this recipe.
You can use 1 cup of sliced carrots, red peppers, snap peas, or snow peas in favor of half of the broccoli.
If you’re using carrots, add them at the same time you cook the broccoli so they can steam together.
You can add vegetables that cook faster midway through steaming the broccoli and steam them for 20 to 30 seconds. Then, at step 6, put them back in the pan at the finish of cooking.
The argument over the wok and skillet
I always tell home cooks to use a flat skillet instead of a wok. This is because you may get very comparable, and sometimes even better, results when you cook on an electric stove using a skillet. If you want to know more about this, I published about 10 reasons not to use a wok and Wok vs. Stir Fry Pan – Which is the Right Tool for You?
The sauce for Chinese meat and broccoli is incredibly tasty. It makes cooking on a skillet easier to handle. Also, if you cook at home, your stove might not be as strong, thus you might have to cook the dish in more than one batch. Using a skillet on an electric stove is better because it has a bigger contact area, which helps the food sear better.
You can create beef and broccoli like you would get at a restaurant in nearly any nonstick skillet, but a deeper pan like this nonstick deep pan works best because you won’t spill as much as you stir the dish. Get a wok with a big bottom that can cover the biggest heating element on your electric burner if you choose to use one.
Mise en place
Before you start cooking, you should have the following things on your table:
- Beef that has been marinated
- Broccoli florets cut up
- Sauce that is mixed
- A bowl with ginger and garlic in it
You will need to move rapidly when you start cooking so that the steak doesn’t get too done. So it’s crucial to have everything ready.
How to make beef and broccoli
It’s quite easy to cook beef and broccoli!
- Put a little water in the skillet and steam the broccoli.
- Sear the meat
- Put in the aromatics and give it a brisk shake.
- Put the broccoli and sauce in.
- Mix everything together until the sauce gets thicker.
That’s all!
Meat and Sauce
- 1 lb flank steak, skirt steak, or another cut (*see footnote 1)
- 1 tablespoon of peanut oil (or vegetable oil) and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda (optional) (*see footnote 1)
Sauce
- 1/2 cup of chicken stock (or beef stock) and 2 teaspoons of Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce (*footnote 2)
- 2 teaspoons of brown sugar (or white sugar)
- 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
Fry in a pan
- 1 head of broccoli, chopped into small pieces
- 1 tablespoon of peanut oil or vegetable oil (*Footnote 3)
- 2 teaspoons of chopped ginger and 3 cloves of garlic
How to do it
- Cut the beef into 0.5 cm (1/4 inch) thick slices or 1-cm (1/2 inch) sticks by cutting against the grain. Put it in a small bowl. Put in the soy sauce, peanut oil, and cornstarch (*Footnote 1). With your hands, gently mix everything together until all the slices are covered with a thin layer of sauce. While you get the other ingredients ready, let the meat marinate for 10 minutes.
- Put all the sauce ingredients in a bowl that is medium-sized. Mix it up well.
- Put 1/4 cup of water in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and let it boil. Put the broccoli in and cover it. Steam the broccoli for about a minute, or until it is barely soft and the water has evaporated. Put the broccoli on a platter. If there is still water in the pan, use a paper towel held in tongs to wipe it out.
- Add the oil and swirl it around to coat the bottom. Put it over medium-high heat until it’s heated. Put the steak in a single layer. Let it fry for 30 seconds without touching it, or until the bottom side is golden. Turn it over and cook the other side for a few seconds. Stir and heat until the outside is gently browned and the inside is still pink.
- Put in the ginger and garlic. Stir a couple times to let the taste and smell out.
- Put the broccoli back in the pan. Stir the sauce again until the cornstarch is completely dissolved, then pour it into the skillet. Cook and whisk for approximately a minute, or until the sauce thickens. Put everything on a dish right away. Serve hot as the main course.
Finally, if you want your beef and broccoli hot, add a little chili oil or sriracha to make it more interesting.
This beef and broccoli has a lot of sauce, so you’ll have enough to cover your rice. Don’t forget to start the rice at the beginning of meal prep. A tasty Chinese supper will be ready when the rice and main dish are both done.
For example, if you want to use a cheaper but tougher cut of beef like chuck, brisket, or round roast, add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to the marinade and let the meat sit in it for 30 minutes before cooking. This process makes the meat more soft and will make it very juicy.
Dark soy sauce will lend an attractive dark color to the sauce with a bit of caramel taste, but you can avoid it if you don’t have it. You can add 1/2 teaspoon of molasses to make the flavor better if you don’t use dark soy sauce.
If you don’t have peanut oil, you can add 1/2 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil at the end of frying, after turning off the heat, and mix it all together. It will make the taste better.
Nutrition
1 serving has 291 calories, 13.9 grams of carbohydrates, 26.6 grams of protein, 14.3 grams of fat, 4.2 grams of saturated fat, 48 milligrams of cholesterol, 790 milligrams of sodium, 487 milligrams of potassium, 1.5 grams of fiber, 4.5 grams of sugar, 45 milligrams of calcium, and 2 milligrams of iron.