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Chinese Broccoli Beef Recipe

Jaden
The secret ingredient in this dish is Chinese black vinegar. If you don't have this, substitute with young, unaged balsamic vinegar. The aged, good quality balsamic vinegar is too sweet - so make sure you get the cheaper, young balsamic. To keep this dish vegetarian, replace the beef with fresh, thick, meaty shitake mushrooms (cut in half) or even sliced portobello mushrooms. If you use flank steak, make sure you cut ACROSS the grain....which is perpendicular to the grain, for the most tender steak. If you cut WITH the grain, the meat will be tough.
5 from 11 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 4 people
Calories 162 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 pound flank or sirloin steak
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 pound broccoli cut into bite-size florets
  • 1 tablespoon high-heat cooking oil canola, vegetable, rice
  • 2 cloves garlic finely minced
  • 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

FOR THE STIR FRY SAUCE

  • 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
  • 2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry (or omit)
  • 2 teaspoons Chinese black vinegar or young/cheap balsamic vinegar

Instructions
 

  • If you are using flank steak, slice into thin pieces, ACROSS the grain. If using sirloin, grain doesn't matter. In a bowl, combine the beef with the soy sauce, cornstarch and black pepper. Marinate for 10 minutes at room temperature.
  • In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the Stir-Fry Sauce.
  • In a wok or large saute pan, add 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Add the broccoli and cover to steam for 3 minutes. The broccoli should be bright green, crisp tender and you should be able to just pierce the stem with a fork. Drain.
  • Discard the water in the wok and dry the pan well. Set the pan over high heat, swirl in the cooking oil. When the wok is hot, add the marinated beef, use your tongs to spread the beef out all over the surface of the wok in one layer. Let beef cook, undisturbed, for 2 minutes, until nicely browned. Flip the beef, again spread the beef out over the wok and brown the other side.
  • Push the beef aside and add in the garlic and ginger. Stir fry the garlic and ginger for 30 seconds. Then mix together with the beef.
  • Pour in the Stir-fry Sauce and stir to combine. Simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 15 seconds. Add the cooked broccoli back into the wok and toss to coat well.

Notes

The beef in this recipe is thinly sliced flank steak. It can sometimes be tricky to slice steak, so I typically put it in the freezer for about 30 minutes before I slice it. Freezing the meat helps to firm it up so that you can get thinner slices.
If you’re not able to use flank steak, other great options include sirloin, skirt steak or New York strip.
Oyster sauce is a brown Chinese sauce that can be found in the ethnic aisle of most grocery stores. It is different than fish sauce, which is typically used in Thai and Vietnamese cooking. If you can’t find oyster sauce or don’t want to use it, you can substitute hoisin sauce. Hoisin sauce isn’t exactly the same but still makes for a great dish.
This dish is great for meal prep, and will stay fresh for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.

Nutrition

Calories: 162kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 15gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 34mgSodium: 562mgPotassium: 551mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 705IUVitamin C: 101.4mgCalcium: 70mgIron: 1.7mg
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