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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Loved it. I made a couple changes. I roasted the broccoli separately, and added in onion. Some fish sauce or fermented black bean paste would push this recipe over the top!
It’s also nice to finish this with toasted sesame seeds or flax seeds.
Do you think pork tenderloin would work in this recipe?
Hi Jean, I think this is best with beef, but that pork tenderloin would work if you cook it very quickly. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Made it last night and it came out really good. The whole family liked it and there were no leftovers. Thanks Jenn
Such incredible flavor (and worth seeking out flat iron steak at Eataly in NYC!). My sauce, like a few others, didn’t thicken up and I can’t figure out why.
Glad you enjoyed it, Annie! Regarding the sauce not thickening, it could be due to a couple different variables. This link (scroll down to the question about the sauce being thin) may shed some light.
J love Jenn’s website and have prepared many of her recipes (we LOVE the pecan-crusted chicken!). This recipe just didn’t work for us. When I saw it added a tablespoon of sugar I was dubious, but followed the recipe. The final result was cloyingly sweet– we actually added soy sauce, which is cliche, and not typical for us — to counterbalance the sweetness. I might omit the oyster sauce, too. I’m an everyday cook, not a chef. I followed the recipe, but wouldn’t make it again.
So sorry this didn’t work out for you, Deborah!
We loved this! We did half the amount of beef since my daughter doesn’t like too much meat, but kept everything else the same. Thank you!
I’ve made this recipe twice. The flavor is fantastic but for some reason my sauce never thickens up as described. It stays thin and runny so I just drizzle it over the top of my dish at the end. Any suggestions for thicker sauce as described/pictured?
Hi Caitlin, Check out this link and scroll down to the question about the sauce being thin – there are a few things it could be. Hope that helps!
Hi Jen,
Can I substitute mirin for shoaxing?
Hi Lynda, Mirin is a type of rice wine, so that should be fine. Enjoy!
Made last night – husband and I really liked this! Thank you for having reliably good recipes. One question : I substituted Tamari for the oyster sauce because no one in the family can tolerate fish sauce, so I didn’t even want to try oyster sauce. Is there a different substitution I could have tried (for people who are allergic to shellfish for example). The final result may have been a little too salty for that reason. Thanks.
Hi Kathie, glad you enjoyed this! Hoisin sauce is a reasonably good substitute for the oyster sauce (and it won’t be as salty with that).
This recipe is outstanding. Thank you Jenn for your amazing recipes and such clear step by step instructions. I have used your recipes for several years now and am never disappointed. This has great flavor and has become a house favorite.
My family loved this recipe. It isn’t always easy to get my husband and son (10) to eat broccoli but they both said it was delicious. The three of us ate the entire recipe and both son and husband were left wanting more. I used sherry because I couldn’t find Chinese rice wine. I sliced the flat iron a little thinner than 1/4 inch. Otherwise I followed the recipe. I served with brown rice. Excellent recipe that I plan to add to my rotation. I have only recently discovered Once Upon a Chef but I love this site and have already ordered the cookbook. Thank you!