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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Jenn I’ve been making beef and broccoli for a long time but this was by far the best recipe I’ve ever used. It came out perfectly and my wife and I enjoyed it very much. Usually I have enough left over for a lunch or 2 but tonight we ate it all. Well done!
This is a very easy recipe, so delicious and authentic. Couldn’t find a flat iron steak so I used Rib Eye and it was very tender. Also microwaved the fresh broccoli florets for half the time indicated in the packaging then added them at the end with the sauce. Thank you for another great recipe.
My daughter gave me your cookbook for Christmas. I had been making your recipes for some time and we love them all.
Jenn, what is skirt steak/hanger steak? I am making this with sirloin steak. Hope it is OK. Your Asian Beef Bowl is a big hit in our house.
So glad you like the recipes! I’ve never made this with sirloin but a few readers have commented that they have and have been happy with the results. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
I made this with flap loin steak sirloin tips that I was subbed for a grocery delivery and frozen broccoli. I will use the remainder of the meat for the Carne Asada dish which I also love. i had made this beef with broccoli before and even though tonight’s broccoli was a bit soggy as it wasn’t fresh and with an unknown meat cut, the meal was still delicious, and my broccoli-hating husband loved it and said the broccoli makes it better. My 13 year old also said my (aka Jenn’s) Asian dishes are really good!
Was too salty the first time so I waited until the end to put in the soy sauce this time and only used 1 TB. I added 1/4 cup of half and half at the end to further tone the saltiness down. Also used 1/2 of the fresh ginger. Served with fried rice. It was good.
I have been making this recipe several times a month since I first saw it. Wife and I both love it. Had been making it using Skirt steak until last night when I used the Flat Iron steak. I won’t be going back to using Skirt anymore. Another Delicious Recipe!!
Would not make this again! Waste of money and time making this recipe. I have had great results with all the other recipes on this site.
Can you explain why you didn’t like it.
Made this for dinner tonight, it was absolutely delicious! Better than takeout!😁
AMAZING! We made this tonight with chicken (no beef in the house) It was gorgeous and perfect beats takeaway hands down (other than the dishes after 😂) thank you!
Wonderful recipe. I used gluten free (tamari) soy sauce and doubled the sauce. My kids love sauce on their rice and the flavor was on point. They asked for seconds and we make this almost weekly. A helpful tip is to cover your pan with a lid to help “steam” the broccoli for 1-2 minutes. Helps to infuse the sauce into the broccoli and makes the broccoli a bit more cooked through. Thank you!
What can I use in place of the wine? Thanks Jen!
Hi Dom, There’s not a perfect substitute for the wine. You could try replacing it with chicken broth. Also, one reader used sake and was happy with the results. Hope that helps!
This was delicious! and will be a repeat at our house! I could not find flat iron steak in my town so used flank steak. Next time I will double the sauce as it was so good. Thanks Jenn!
Hi Jenn, is Flank steak usable in this recipe?! I couldn’t find Skirt steak. #bummer
ALSO there was NO fresh Ginger, can I use powdered ginger?!? Thanks!
PS. I’ve made this before and it was DELISH!!!
Sure, Gigi, just be careful not to overcook it. Enjoy!
Hi Jenn! Loving your recipes! I haven’t made this one yet but can’t wait!!!
I’m unsure what the alternative is to flat-iron steak in South Africa? Would fillet work instead? Thank you! Krystle
Hi Krystle, Glad you’re enjoying the recipes! You can use flank steak in place of flat iron but try this tenderizing technique first. Please let me know how it turns out!
I made this recipe tonight for dinner. It was excellent! My hubby doesn’t like ginger, so I halved the amount. I’ll definitely be making it again.