The ultimate Chinese Beef and Broccoli recipe: learn how to get perfect crisp-crunchy broccoli florets and succulent and tender beef with a savory marinade and simple stir-frying techniques.
Why this Beef and Broccoli recipe works:
- Sure, it’s easy to throw everything in a wok – but you’ll end up with soggy, sad broccoli and over-cooked beef.
- Learn our simple stir-fry skill that ensures perfectly cooked broccoli and always-tender beef.
- Learn which cut of beef to use (and which to avoid)
- Learn how to NOT burn garlic in the wok.
What kind of beef to use in Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry?
For stir-fries, our go-to cut of steaks is flavorful, tender when thin-sliced, and affordable. The steaks that fall into that category are:
- Flank Steak
- London broil/Top Round Steak
- Sirloin/Sirloin Tip
- Top Blade Steak
- Flat Iron
- Eye of Round Steak
- Bottom Round Steak
- Tri Tip
*My favorite to use for this dish is Flank Steak or London Broil/Top Round Steak.
Steaks that you could use, but are more pricey:
- Filet
- Ribeye
- NY Strip
These cuts are tough and are better for stews. Do not use:
- Chuck Roast
- Stew Meat
- Top Round Roast
Whatever meat you use, make sure that you are slicing thin and ACROSS THE GRAIN for the most tender result.
Stir Fry Basics
In authentic Chinese stir-fries, meats cook separately from vegetables. That’s because they cook at different temperatures and time. Here are the basic steps:
- Marinate beef, cut the vegetables into bite-sized pieces
- Sear the beef on high heat. Remove from wok.
- Stir-fry the vegetables until halfway cooked through
- Add in sauce, return beef to wok
- Finish cooking all together
This method allows for the beautiful, flavorful sear on the beef AND perfectly cooked vegetables. Most stir-fries that use meat will follow these same steps.
How to Prevent Garlic from Burning
Here’s the stir-fry conundrum: high heat is essential for authentic stir-fries with “wok hay” or breath of the wok. However, delicate aromatics such as minced garlic can burn within seconds in a very hot wok!
Burnt garlic is bitter and tough. That’s why I always instruct my students to add in the garlic at a LATER step in the stir-fry – so that the garlic does not overcook.
Chinese Beef and Broccoli Recipe
Ingredients
FOR THE BEEF
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
- freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 pound flank or sirloin steak (or use any of the suggestions above)
FOR THE SAUCE
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon Chinese cooking wine or dry sherry (optional)
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
FOR THE STIR-FRY
- 3/4 pound broccoli florets
- 2 tablespoons neutral cooking oil (avocado or vegetable oil), divided
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
Instructions
- 1. Prepare the Beef: Thinly slice the beef ACROSS the grain. The slices should be maximum 1/4" thick. In a medium bowl, whisk together the marinade ingredients and add in the beef slices. Set aside.
- 2. Prepare the Sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients. Set aside.
- 3. Partially Cook the Broccoli: In a wok or large skillet bring a cup of water to a simmer. Add in the broccoli florets, close with lid. Cook the broccoli until bright green and just about halfway-cooked through, about 1 minute. Immediately drain and set aside. Rinse with cool water to stop the cooking.
- 4. Sear the Beef: Return wok to stovetop and wipe very dry. Turn heat to high and when very hot, swirl in just 1 tablespoon of the cooking oil. Add in the beef slices in a single layer. Let sear, undisturbed, for 1 minute. Flip and sear the other side for 30 seconds. Immediately remove the beef to a clean plate.
- 5. Stir-Fry: Return wok to stove and turn heat to medium-high. When hot, swirl in the remaining cooking oil. Add in the garlic and cook for 15 seconds, until fragrant. Add in the steamed broccoli, and stir fry with the garlicky oil for just a few seconds. Add in the seared beef and then the sauce ingredients. Simmer for 30 seconds until the sauce thickens and the broccoli is cooked through.
Nutrition
Did you try this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a review in the comment section! I always appreciate your feedback and I know other readers do, too!
Stay in touch with me in our 
Yummy! I think I need broccoli beef for dinner. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Hi! I’ve made both your recipes for beef and broccoli, but for some reason really liked this version of it. I tried looking at the recipe today on Simply Recipes, but the page didn’t load. It might not exist anymore. Just wondering if you could post it again.
Here you go: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/broccoli_beef/
Thanks for letting me know recipe link is broke – I fixed it!
This recipe is a winner! So delicious on steaming white rice! Definitely worth making again!
I made this dish last night and it was everything I hoped it would be: fast, easy and delicious! My husband told me he likes it as much as our favorite Chinese restaurant back in Houston, which is a huge compliment. Thank you for this recipe.
I recently bought your cookbook (after checking it out from the library twice, I just had to have it!). This was the first recipe I made from the book and it is the best broccoli beef I’ve had. Also, your method for cooking the broccoli in a shallow frying pan – as opposed to a gallon of boiling water that takes an hour to heat up, like I usually do – was genius!
My husband loves meat + broccoli. This is going to be our dinner tonight!
P.S. I like your commentary on the propositions they tack on the end of the ballots. I’m in Omaha, NE and we had the a couple lengthy and confusing propositions on our ballot. I actually voted for a proposition I was actually against, because the wording had me all jumbled!
Amazing! I’ve tried making it before using another recipe, and thought, oh this can’t be difficult. Didn’t turn out so well..but your recipe was phenomenal!
My family and I love it, it’s delicious and really flavourfull. It’s an every week dish and I make sure there’s enough for the lunchboxes. Thanks so much!!
OMG, woman. You make everything look so easy. I love this dish, and hadn’t a clue how to make it. Mystery solved, thanks to you.
Yum, I just made this tonight and it was easy and delicious. I’ve never thought to make beef and broccoli before. It’s always been something I order at Panda Express on the rare occasions I go there. Now I know I can make it, and it amuses me. Heh.
blimey that looks really good. a very comforting dish!
This looks perfect–I’ve gotta try it!
yuuuuum! this sounds absolutely delicious!
I love seeing pics of food… it’s my porn at work 😛
Looks delicious! I’ve made chicken and broccoli at home, but never tried beef w/broccoli… might have to make this soon. Yum!
I fell asleep reading some of the propositions (i think it was the one regarding the drug rehab one). It just went on and on and on. Beef and brocolli, one of the staples in our family. Yours look delicious!
I just love how you walk us through your thoughts and tweaks on your photos. Thanks for taking the time to do that! That beef and broccoli looks amazing!
mmm… hubby’s favorite… thanks for sharing… 🙂
You really need to research those amendments in advance and even then the lingo is difficult to interpret. I wonder how many people just wing it and go ‘eenie meanie mine moe’. I don’t think voting for constitutional amendments the way it occurs now, is a good idea.
the good news though, it’s over…no more campaigning for a while. NO more phone calls, no more mail, etc.
Food looks good though…thanks.
My local ballot had a referendum on whether to eliminate township tax assessors or not. It was confusing because both sides were claiming fairer property taxes. I still don’t know the outcome of the referendum.
Also, Indiana has a stupid law that prohibits the sale of alcohol on election days until the polls close. Now, that one I’d like to see in a referendum.
I had to vote on that same amendment and I had a similar reaction.
Seems to be a southern thing. Back on Long Island, the majority of polling places were schools, which yes, were open for classes even as we voted.
“Separation of church and state” is a myth. The constitution prohibits the government from setting up a state religion or discriminating on the basis of religion. The idea was more to keep government out of religion than to keep religion out of government. As to how a church becomes a polling place, I’d suggest that it’s probably conveniently placed, has sufficient room to allow for setting up booths/machines, and check-in tables, with decent parking…
Wow.. Beef and broccoli! Total flashback to watching Yan Can Cook as a kid and flying chinese cleavers and smashed garlic!
The dish looks delish. May I drop by… at about 7? Love the wording on those propositions. I think they do it for fun just to mess with us.
The food looks awesome and I love the photo play-by-play every time you post it. And yea, lol about the FL propositions. They read like a random collection of words from the dictionary were thrown up in the air and glued together in the order they hit the floor.
Jaden, it is like you read my mind. I was looking for this the other day to make for the better half. What do you think can be done to combine this with an orange type dish?
In photoshop, curves are your friend! I always find that one needs to be careful when they fiddle with the white balance post-processing because it can overblow a lot of other components. You seem to have a good balance here.
Good shot!
hee hee! I make this at least once a week! It’s a staple in my house! I even make extra so that I can have leftovers for lunch the next day! Your money shot looks especially yummy! I love how crispy green the broccoli is and the meat is so juicy-looking! mmmm.
This is my dad’s favorite dish to cook and eat!