Beef and Broccoli
Beef and broccoli is a classic take-out dish and you can make it right at home minus the grease with this recipe!
The most important thing about this recipe is the sauce. It needs to be thick enough to cover the beef and broccoli but light enough so that it doesn’t weigh down the entire dish. The sauce also goes great with rice, which makes it even more important.
Like our Ginger Beef recipe, this beef and broccoli recipe is a Chinese American dish. It is said that the beef and broccoli recipe was invented in the 1800s but wasn’t popularized until the 1920s.
Chinese take-out is so popular in North America that we have a special day dedicated to it. You can read more about the history of Chinese take-out here.
These westernized Chinese dishes are the first examples of fusion cuisine.
Broccoli is actually an Italian vegetable! If the Chinese did have beef and broccoli, it would involve Chinese broccoli which is called gai lan.
Enough talk about it, let’s get started on this beef and broccoli recipe!
Beef and Broccoli Recipe
Servings: 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
- 3 tbsp cornstarch, divided
- 1 lb flank steak
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 3 tbsp packed light brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ knob of fresh ginger
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
- 4 cups small broccoli florets
- 1/2 cup sliced white onions
Instructions:
- Peel the garlic and ginger. Then mince the garlic and grate the ginger.
- Cut your flank steak into thin 1-inch cubes. Using the back of the knife, beat the meat slightly to tenderize it.
- In a large bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of water. Add the beef cubes in and mix. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
- In a separate small bowl, combine the remaining 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with the soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic and ginger. Mix until the sugar is dissolved.
- Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add in 1 tablespoon of the oil once it is hot.
- Add the beef into the pan and stir constantly until the beef is almost cooked through.
- Without pouring out the juices from the pan, move the beef onto a plate and set it aside.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to the pan and once it is hot, add the broccoli florets and sliced onions and cook, stirring occasionally.
- Cook until the broccoli becomes tender which will take about 4 minutes.
- Return the beef to the pan then add the prepared sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil and let it simmer for 1 minute or until the sauce thickens. Make sure to keep stirring to prevent burning.
- Remove from heat once the sauce becomes thick.
- Beef with broccoli is best served with steam rice. Enjoy!
