Takeout-Style Beef And Broccoli Recipe
If beef and broccoli is your go-to takeout Chinese food order, you might be pleasantly surprised to realize how easy it is to make at home. Not only is the homemade kind cheaper than restaurant carryout, but recipe developer Cecilia Ryu says it's "better and healthier," too. You can even customize it to your liking with different ingredients. Ryu says, "I used flank steak here, but skirt steak works great as well" and goes on to say, "You can substitute with the same amount of thinly sliced chicken breast or even shrimp" if you want to make a version without red meat.
One thing that makes this beef and broccoli recipe so easy, Ryu tells us, is that she omits the step of blanching the broccoli. Not only does this omission make this a one-pot recipe, but it also "avoids the common mistake of overcooking the broccoli which can lead to a mushy texture." She also adds a special touch right at the end, a small amount of sesame oil that she says "doesn't seem like a lot but it truly makes a big difference in flavor," adding just a hint of nuttiness that really ties the whole dish together.
Gather the necessary ingredients to make beef and broccoli
The two most important ingredients in this dish you already know from the name: beef (in this case flank steak) and broccoli. The other ingredients are onions, garlic, and ginger as well as canola oil for cooking and soy sauce, brown sugar, oyster sauce, mirin (Ryu says you can substitute sake here), pepper, and sesame oil for flavoring. You'll also need some cornstarch and water to thicken the sauce.
If you're wondering whether frozen broccoli can be used in place of the fresh stuff, Ryu says "I don't see why you couldn't." She suggests, though, that in this case you not sauté it on its own as a first step, but instead just add it in along with the onions.
Cook the broccoli
If you are starting with fresh broccoli, you'll first need to chop it into florets. Once you have a sufficient amount of those, heat 2 tablespoons of the cooking oil over medium high, then sauté the broccoli. After about 3-4 minutes, it should be sufficiently cooked for this stage of the game, so take it out of the pan and pour in the remaining oil to heat for the next step.
Cook the beef with the sauce and onions
Turn the burner up to high, then put the steak strips in the pan and stir-fry them for 5 to 10 minutes until they are cooked. Combine the soy sauce with the brown sugar, oyster sauce, mirin, garlic, ginger, and black pepper, then stir this mixture into the steak, turning the heat back down to medium-high. Cook the beef until the sauce is absorbed, then add the onions and cook these for 2-3 minutes. Add the broccoli back into the pan.
Thicken the sauce and add the remaining ingredients
Mix the cornstarch with the water until the former dissolves in the latter, then stir this mixture into the pan. The reason for doing so, Ryu explains, is that "the sauce will thicken from the addition of the cornstarch slurry." Once it does, stir in the sesame oil, then your dish is done.
You can, if you like, eat the beef and broccoli on a bed of white rice, and Ryu also suggests that toasted sesame seeds might make a nice garnish. Should you have leftovers, she says these can be frozen and suggests you then "defrost and reheat [these] in the microwave" next time you want another "order" of beef and broccoli.
- 4 tablespoons canola oil, divided
- 1 large head of broccoli, cut into florets
- 1 pound flank steak, cut against the grain into thin strips
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 1 ½ tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup sliced onions
- 1 ½ tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
- white rice, for serving
- In a large wok or skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high. Add in the broccoli and sauté for 3-4 minutes, then remove it from the pan.
- Turn the burner to high and heat the remaining oil.
- Sauté the beef for approximately 5-10 minutes, until cooked through.
- Combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, oyster sauce, mirin, garlic, ginger, and black pepper.
- Reduce the heat to medium-high and add the sauce to the pan with the beef. Sauté until the beef has absorbed the sauce.
- Add the sliced onions to the pan and cook them for 2 to 3 minutes, then return the broccoli to the pan.
- Mix the cornstarch and water, stirring until the cornstarch has dissolved. Add the cornstarch to the pan and mix well until the sauce thickens.
- Stir in the sesame oil.
- Serve the beef and broccoli, optionally with toasted sesame seeds and white rice.
| Calories per Serving | 454 |
| Total Fat | 25.4 g |
| Saturated Fat | 5.2 g |
| Trans Fat | 0.1 g |
| Cholesterol | 77.1 mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 26.0 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 5.8 g |
| Total Sugars | 9.0 g |
| Sodium | 1,249.3 mg |
| Protein | 31.5 g |
