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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Hi, Could you use a roast? I have many and don’t really care for them. Bought a side of beef. Hoping I could use this meat for this recipe. Thanks, Trisha
Hi Trisha, I haven’t tried it but I suspect it should work. Just make sure not to overcook the beef. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Jenn, I used Sirlion Steak and it was very tough. I enjoy cooking your recipes they are so delicious. Thank you so much, Trisha
Made variations of this dish a few times. This was really easy to follow, but most importantly it turned out fantastic! Thanks. I put a squeeze of lime juice in the marinade and a fist full of chopped coriander before serving. Worked really well.
I loved this, so did most of the family. Only 1 didn’t like the sauce, but i thought it was the best part!! I will definitely be making this again. For sure, a keeper!
Hi Jenn, what can I substitute for the oyster sauce?
Hi Jane, Hoisin sauce is a reasonable substitute for oyster sauce. Hope you enjoy!
Made this yet again – this time with chicken. So easy and delicious! Did the prep work in advance and cooked the broccoli. Then when we were 15 minutes away from dinner time, pulled everything out and it was on the table in no time! Everyone cleaned their plates, including my super picky 5 year old and some went back for seconds! I don’t usually like standard American Chinese food – but this is super flavorful without all the heaviness of what you might get at a restaurant. Had some wild rice I needed to use up, so served that which added nice nutty flavor to the dish. As with ALL of Jenn’s recipes, highly recommend this one. Oh, and buy her second cookbook – I was a recipe tester for it and you will be THRILLED with what’s in there!
Very good recipe! Made it with ‘Outer Skirt Steak’ which came out beautifully tender…the Flat Iron Steak is a ‘special order’ from the small grocery store in our area and forget about the larger grocery stores which seem to be clueless on this cut of beef.
Made using Sherry and would like to try this dish using the Chinese rice wine next time.
Also appreciated the tender crisp broccoli and technique for achieving it.
thank you!
We like spice in my family, what would you recommend we add to really give it a kick? A chili sauce or hot peppers?
Hi Kelley, I think I’d just add a few pinches of red pepper flakes. Hope you enjoy!
That’s what we did, in addition to sesame seeds. So very savory.
This is a fantastic recipe. If you have not tried it you must! My trick is to have my beef really cold when I cut it so I can cut it thin. I will pop the beef in the freezer while I am getting all of my ingredients together and measured out. Then take it out and slice it. I get really good slices that way. My husband loves this dish! He asks for it often.
I used Hangar Steak and Sherry Wine and it was delicious. I like my broccoli to be crunchy, hardly cooked. The next time I make this, I will saute the broccoli for 30 seconds and reserve on a plate. The meat will be cooked and reserved as well. Then the minced veggies sauteed and sauce made and thickened. Then the meat and rest of ingredients added to the sauce.
Why order from a restaurant when you can make this lovely beef at home. It’s a favorite of ours. Just love your recipes and this is wonderful.. some people like to add ingredients but your recipe need no adjustments.
The Flat Iron cut of beef put the dish over the top because the meat component was more succulent and tender than the standard choice. Even with marination, the flank still doesn’t get tender and is also less flavorful. Highly Recommend!! Jenn really does have the best recipes on-line!
Gemma
This is on regular rotation in our house and every guest I have served this to (remember when we could have guests over for dinner?) asks for the recipe. Tastes so much better than what you get at a restaurant and even though it seems like there are a lot of steps, it goes very quickly once you’ve made it once or twice. Have your mise en place ready!
Also works really well with snow peas and green beans when they’re in season.