Spread the love

    

You should always have beef and broccoli on your weekday dinner menu because it’s so quick to make, healthier than takeout, and tastes great.

I strongly suggest that you try making takeaway at home at least once if you’ve been ordering it. 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.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• You can make everything in one pan. The broccoli doesn’t need to be blanched again!
• The meal has a lot of sauce and tastes wonderful with rice.
• You don’t need a wok! You can still obtain that restaurant-style taste with a flat skillet.

Beef and broccoli stir-fry (牛肉炒西兰花)

Time to get ready: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15minutes minutes
Total Time: 30minutes minutes

Servings: 2 to 4 servings

This beef and broccoli is a popular Chinese take-out meal and it’s also easy enough to make at home. It’s also healthier than most take-out food selections. With juicy tender beef and crisp broccoli mixed together in a rich brown sauce, this simple dinner is as colorful as it is tasty. Serve it over hot rice for an authentic Chinese take-out supper. {Gluten-Free Adaptable}

To make this recipe gluten-free, use dry sherry instead of Shaoxing wine, and use tamari instead of soy sauce.

Ingredients

Meat and Marinade

• 1 lb boneless flank steak , skirt steak, or other cut (*see footnote 1)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (Optional) (*see footnote 1)

Sauce

• 1/2 cup chicken stock (or beef stock)
• 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce (*footnote 2)
• 2 teaspoons of brown sugar (or white sugar)
• 1 tablespoon of cornstarch

Stir-fry

• 1 head of broccoli, chopped into small pieces
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil (or veggie oil) (*Footnote 3)
• 3 garlic cloves , minced
• 2 teaspoons ginger , minced

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 need to move rapidly when you start cooking so you don’t overcook the steak. So it’s necessary to get things ready.

Preparation Steps

1. Slice the beef against the grain into 0.5 cm (1/4 inch) thick slices or 1-cm (1/2 inch) sticks. Transfer to a small bowl. Add soy sauce, peanut oil, and cornstarch (*Footnote 1). Gently mix thoroughly by hand until all the slices are coated with a thin coating of sauce. Marinate for 10 minutes while preparing the remaining ingredients.
2. Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a medium-sized bowl. Mix well.
3. Add 1/4 cup water into a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until the water begins to boil. Add the broccoli and cover. Steam until the broccoli just turns tender and the water evaporates,1 minute or so. Transfer broccoli to a dish. Wipe the pan with a paper towel held in a pair of tongs if there’s any water left.
4. Add the oil and stir to coat the bottom. Heat over medium high heat until heated. Spread the meat in a single layer. Allow to cook without touching for 30 seconds, or until the bottom side is browned. Flip to cook the other side for a few seconds. Stir and heat until the surface is gently browned and the inside is still pink.
5. Add the garlic and ginger. Stir a few times to release the taste and fragrance.
6. Return the broccoli to the pan. Stir the sauce again to dissolve the cornstarch fully and pour it into the skillet. Cook and stir until the sauce thickens, about 1 minute. Transfer everything to a plate immediately. Serve hot as a main dish.

How to make broccoli and beef

It’s really easy to cook beef and broccoli!

1. Add a little water to the skillet and steam the broccoli in it.
2. Sear the meat
3. Put in the aromatics and give it a brisk shake.
4. Put the broccoli and sauce in.
5. Mix everything together until the sauce gets thicker.

That’s all!

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 when you make dinner. So that the rice and main dish are done at the same time for a tasty Chinese meal!

Finally, if you want your beef and broccoli hot, add a little chili oil or sriracha to make it more interesting.

Things you need

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. Step 6: Put them back in the pan at the conclusion of cooking.

The argument over the wok and the 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.

Additional Information

Video

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Notes

• If you need to use a cheaper but toucher cut of beef, for example, chuck, brisket, or round roast, add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to the marinade and marinate the meat for 30 minutes before cooking. This process tenderizes the beef and will give a very juicy product.
• 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. If you forego the black soy sauce, you can add 1/2 teaspoon molasses to improve the flavor.
• If you do not have peanut oil, you can drizzle 1/2 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil at the end of the cooking after turning off the heat and mix together. It will increase the flavor.

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.

Simple Chinese Cooking

Is this your first time on our site? You should start with this free email series. I’ll teach you how and why some of my most popular recipes operate. You’ll soon be able to make superior Chinese food at home.

Spread the love