Beef with Broccoli with tender thin sliced beef and fresh broccoli coated in a savory homemade stir fry sauce. This Chinese Beef with Broccoli recipe is super easy to make, better than takeout and ready in less than 20 minutes!
Our family loves Chinese food and the convenience of getting take-out for dinner. What if I told you, that you can make a healthy, budget-friendly, mouthwatering delicious Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry at home in less time than driving to your favorite restaurant?
This Beef with Broccoli recipe always delivers, both in flavor and convenience, plus it’s a super quick and easy weeknight meal your whole family will love!
We love serving this easy stir fry with rice, cauliflower fried rice or noodles.
Beef And Broccoli Ingredients
- Beef: Although you can use your favorite steak cut, I usually use flank steak.
- Broccoli: I use fresh brocoli.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is best.
- Stock: Beef stock or chicken broth can be used.
- Rice Wine: If you don’t have rice wine, you can use white wine vinegar.
- Oyster Sauce: This tasty brown sauce is found in the ethnic aisle of most supermarkets.
- Oil: Vegetable oil, canola oil or any other mild oil can be used.
- Green Onions: Scallions thinly sliced.
Beef Broccoli Sauce
- Soy Sauce: You can use low-sodium soy sauce or gluten free tamari.
- Sesame Oil: To flavor stir fry sauces, use Asian toasted sesame oil.
- Cornstarch: It coats the steak and also helps thicken the stir fry.
- Baking Soda: Helps to tenderize the steak.
How To Make Beef With Broccoli
- Marinate: Mix the beef and broccoli marinade ingredients and marinate the meat.
- Make The Sauce: Mix the Chinese fry sauce ingredients
- Stir Fry: In a hot wok or skillet, heat the oil and saute the beef and garlic.
- Add Broccoli: Add the broccoli and stir fry for a couple of minutes.
- Add Sauce: Stir in the tasty beef broccoli sauce.
- Cook and Serve: Cook the broccoli beef for a few minutes stirring constantly. The tasty sauce will slightly thicken.
What Cut Of Beef Is Best For Beef With Broccoli?
This easy beef recipe is best made with cuts of beef that are tender and lean. Flank steak is usually my first choice, but I also like to use flat iron steak, top sirloin and tri tip for any quick beef stir fry recipe.
How Do You Cut Flank Steak For Beef And Broccoli?
Slice the meat against the grain (across the lines that run along the length of the beef) making sure the beef slices are thin (about 1/4-inch thick).
How Do You Cook The Beef So It’s Tender?
The secret to tender, melt in your mouth beef just like beef stir fry served at Chinese restaurants, is the marinade. The baking soda in the marinade acts as a quick meat tenderizer.
What Is Velveting?
Velveting is a Chinese cooking technique commonly used for stir frying. Slices of meat are marinated in egg white, a liquid – like wine or soy sauce – and cornstarch. After marinating, the meat slices are usually blanched in hot oil. Then stir fried. In this recipe, although egg whites are not used, the cornstarch and the soy sauce do the job.
Can I Make This Recipe Ahead Of Time?
Yes! This is a great meal prep dish that can be made 3-4 days in advance. Just keep it stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Beef And Broccoli Recipe Tips
- Avoid purchasing pre-sliced beef for stir fry. These convenient packages usually contain a miss match of different cuts of beef.
- To be able to slice the beef thinly with ease, you can freeze it for 30 minutes before slicing it. Freezing the meat for a short period of time makes it firm.
- Add additional healthy veggies to your tasty stir fry, if you like. Sliced or chopped red bell peppers, snow peas and thinly sliced carrots are great additions to this easy beef recipe.
- This Beef and Broccoli recipe cooks the broccoli to a crisp tender texture. If you prefer your broccoli a bit softer, lower the heat to low and cover the wok or skillet for about 2-3 additional minutes. The steam will cook and soften the broccoli a bit more.
- Using cornstarch in the beef marinade creates a light coating on the steak giving it a silky, tender and smooth texture. The cornstarch also gives the Beef and Broccoli sauce a nice consistency.
- The Baking Soda tenderizes the beef. The oil helps distribute the cornstarch and baking soda and also helps the meat absorb flavor.
This delicious Beef with Broccoli recipe has been adapted from my friend Chef Jet Tila’s cookbook 101 Asian Dishes You Need To Cook Before You Die.
Take A Look At These Other Delicious Recipes:
Beef With Broccoli
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch, divided
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pound flank steak
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/3 cup beef or chicken stock , (plus more if needed. See notes)
- 2 teaspoons rice wine
- 1/4 cup oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 pound broccoli florets
- Sliced green onions , (for garnishing – optional)
Instructions
Make the Marinade
- Whisk the soy sauce, sesame oil, 1 teaspoon of cornstarch and the baking soda in a medium bowl (or you can mix the ingredients in a large zip top bag for easy clean up)
- Slice the beef into thin strips and add them to the marinade. Let the beef marinate for 20 minutes or in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.
Make the Sauce
- In a small bowl, stir together the stock, rice wine, oyster sauce and the remaining 1 teaspoon of cornstarch. Mix until well combined.
Stir Fry
- In a wok or large skillet, heat the oil over high heat. Add the marinated beef and garlic and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes stirring constantly. The beef should get a nice sear but still be rare to medium rare inside.
- Turn the heat to medium and add the broccoli florets. Cook for about 2 minutes stirring often. Stir in the sauce and mix well. Cook for a few minutes tossing the ingredients (stir frying) constantly. The sauce will start to thicken and turn into a nice glaze. Remove from the heat, garnish with sliced green onions (optional) and serve.
Notes
- Freeze the beef for about 30 minutes before slicing. The beef firms up and it’s easier to slice.
- Slice the beef against the grain.
- If your sauce/glaze gets too thick after cooking, you can add additional broth to make it thinner.
- If you like your beef rare, only cook it for about 1 minute before adding the broccoli.
- If your broccoli is too al dente for your taste, turn the heat to low and cover the wok or skillet and let the stir fry cook for about 2 – 3 minutes. Keep in mind this will also cook the beef a bit more.
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