Beef and Broccoli
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Tender strips of steak with crisp broccoli in a rich brown sauce, beef with broccoli is a weeknight favorite.
Beef and broccoli, or tender strips of steak and crisp broccoli florets in a rich brown sauce, is a popular Chinese restaurant dish, but it’s easy to make at home too. At most American Chinese restaurants, the dish is made with flank steak that has been tenderized with a baking soda solution and marinated, but when I make beef and broccoli at home, I prefer to use flat iron steak. It’s an affordable cut of meat that does not require tenderizing or marinating, and it’s ideal for high-heat, quick-cooking methods like sautéing. This recipe comes together in just 40 minutes with ingredients found at most supermarkets. Make some rice and dinner is done!
What you’ll need to make Beef and Broccoli
Step-by-step Instructions
Begin by slicing the beef into 1/4-inch slices. Add 1 tablespoon each soy sauce and Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry) and let marinate while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
While the beef marinates, chop the scallions, garlic, and ginger. It’s important to do this before you start cooking because the dish cooks very quickly.
Next, prepare the sauce by combining the the remaining 3 tablespoons of soy sauce with the cornstarch, and stir with a fork until the cornstarch is dissolved. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry), oyster sauce, chicken broth, sugar, and sesame oil. Stir and set aside.
When you’re ready to cook, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large sauté pan or wok over high heat until smoking. Add the broccoli and stir-fry for 30 seconds, then add the water. Cover the pan with a lid (or tightly with foil) and lower the heat to medium; steam the broccoli until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes, then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
Wipe any excess water out of the pan. Increase the heat to high and heat another tablespoon of oil in the pan until smoking. Add half of the beef, so that it is in a single layer. Cook without moving until the beef is well seared, about 1-1/2 minutes. Continue cooking while stirring until the beef is lightly cooked but still pink in spots, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and heat until smoking. Put in the remaining beef and cook without moving until the beef is well seared, about 1-1/2 minutes.
Next, add the garlic, ginger, and scallion whites. Cook, stirring constantly with the beef, for about 30 seconds. Return the reserved beef and broccoli to the pan, along with the reserved sauce and scallion greens.
Bring to a boil and cook, tossing and stirring constantly until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 45 seconds. Serve with rice and enjoy.
Note: The sauce for this recipe (not the method) is adapted from one of my favorite food columns, The Food Lab on Serious Eats by J. Kenji López-Alt.
Video Tutorial
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Beef and Broccoli
Tender strips of steak with crisp broccoli in a rich brown sauce, beef with broccoli is a weeknight favorite.
Ingredients
- 1 pound flat iron steak, cut into ¼-inch thick strips (flank steak, skirt steak or hanger steak may be substituted, but won't be as tender)
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup Shaoxing wine (Chinese rice wine) or dry sherry
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ¼ cup oyster sauce
- ⅓ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon Asian/toasted sesame oil
- 4 scallions, whites finely sliced, greens cut into ½-inch segments on the diagonal, reserved separately
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger (see note)
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 pound bite-size broccoli florets, from about 1½ pounds broccoli crowns
- ⅓ cup water
- Rice, for serving
Instructions
- Combine the beef with 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of the Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry) in a bowl and toss to coat. Let marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature or 1 hour in the refrigerator.
- Meanwhile, combine the remaining 3 tablespoons of soy sauce with the cornstarch and stir with a fork until the cornstarch is dissolved. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry), oyster sauce, chicken broth, sugar, and sesame oil. Stir and set aside.
- Combine the scallion whites, garlic and ginger in a bowl and set aside.
- When you're ready to cook, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large sauté pan or wok over high heat until smoking. Add the broccoli and stir-fry for 30 seconds, then add the water. Cover the pan with a lid (or tightly with foil) and lower the heat to medium; steam the broccoli until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes, then transfer to a paper towel–lined plate.
- Wipe any excess water out of the pan. Increase the heat to high and heat another tablespoon of oil in the pan until smoking. Add half of the beef, so that it is in a single layer, and cook without moving until the beef is well seared, about 1½ minutes. Continue cooking while stirring until the beef is lightly cooked but still pink in spots, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate.
- Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and heat until smoking. Add the remaining beef and cook without moving until the beef is well seared, about 1½ minutes. Add the scallion whites, garlic and ginger mixture and cook, stirring constantly with the beef, for about 30 seconds.
- Return the reserved beef and broccoli to the pan, along with the reserved sauce and scallion greens. Bring to boil and cook, tossing and stirring constantly until the sauce is lightly thickened, about 45 seconds. Transfer to a serving platter and serve with rice.
- Note: Check out easy guidance on how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger here.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 369
- Fat: 21g
- Saturated fat: 5g
- Carbohydrates: 17g
- Sugar: 6g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 28g
- Sodium: 1523mg
- Cholesterol: 77mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Is Mirin the same as rice wine?
Mirin is just a type of rice wine. Hope that helps!
I made this last night. It was ok, but in defense, knowing I detest oysters, I should have simply not used the oyster sauce. But wanting to give the recipe an honest look, I followed it to a tee, and used low sodium soy as well. It was good, but I could taste the oyster way more than desired for my pallet. The recipe was very easy, and I know I will use it again but without the oyster sauce. I also used my favorite cut of meat which is top sirloin, a good choice as it is always tender.
I thought this was great… My husband had been in the hospital and needed to build himself up and I thought this would work really well for him and he LOVED IT!!! The broccoli was great and I was happy to have a meal I could make quickly and also he was so glad to be home and to have “real food” instead of hospital fair…. so he and I were both thrilled… I have tried several of your dishes and loved them all… Thanks for making my honey happy!! Married 53 years!!
Tasty and beautiful! This dish is easy to put together if you use the technique of mise en place…( french for have everything chopped,diced,and measured before you begin) I found grass fed beef, a 10 oz pack, and it was enough for three….my husband hates broccoli, so I used a bag of small, red orange,and yellow peppers, sliced thin, and it was beautiful….also followed the advice of others and used low sodium soy..you could always have full strength on the side, but I felt the reduced soy sauce was just enough. Next time I might add a dash of red pepper flakes for an added kick…..will try it with chicken also…a nice Sunday supper!
Agreed. ..way too salty!! Wow. …almost inedible
WAY too salty. Made extra for leftovers that I don’t know if I’m going to be able to use. Disappointed.
Agreed!
I followed the directions as written with the only exception being the cut of beef. I opted for a rouladen cut which was cheaper and worked out just fine.
The textures of the dish were great. Tender meat, crisp broccoli, relatively thick sauce. My children really enjoyed the flavor but I found it a bit too salty for my liking. I added a trivial amount of sugar to see if it would help, but it didn’t.
I wanted to give this dish 5 stars as I feel the rest of your recipes (that I have attempted) are deserving of.
What do you recommend I try next time to mask the saltiness? Maybe low sodium soy? I thought about rice wine vinegar, but didn’t want to change the flavor profile of the dish. Thanks for sharing great tips and great recipes.
Hi Jen, sorry to hear you found this a bit too salty– Yes, the easiest way to reduce the salt here is to use low-sodium soy sauce. Hope that helps!
Outstanding. I followed your recipe exactly using flat iron steak. This was the second recipe of yours I have tried and again another 5 stars. My goal is to make one of your recipes a week. So glad I stumbled into this site.
I normally don’t give a review but I have to on this one. Beef was hard I don’t think frying it is a good idea. Too much soy sauce. Definitely will not make this one again.
Hard beef means you overcooked it. When slicing beef this thin it does n’t take long to cook, especially when cooked on medium-high to high heat in pan or wok.
I’ve made many versions of this same recipe, but this one is way out front. There is so much flavor in this recipe, you’ll want to have it weekly. Loved it!