Mom's Beef with Broccoli
There are some nights when only Chinese takeout will do. Days that are full of activities, errands, and an inquisitive, fearless toddler. But there other days that I crave a Chinese meal made at home, and it’s almost always my mom’s Beef with Broccoli. It was a staple growing up, and as an adult, I need to have it at least bi-monthly. It is so good I will never order it at a Chinese restaurant because this version is so much better.
The flank steak is wonderfully tender and has a salty-sweet hoisin flavor with a punch of zippy ginger. And the broccoli is crisp-tender and as addictive as candy! I don’t even really like broccoli, but I gobble this up by the forkful. Served over a bed of fragrant jasmine rice (or brown rice if you prefer the healthier route), it’s almost a one-pot meal, and that makes it a keeper.
A note of advice; plan ahead for this meal. Sometimes I marinate the steak overnight so I can get started cooking right away the day I’m having it for dinner. Also, I highly recommend going the mise en place route for any stir-fry (especially this one) since there are a lot of ingredients and the cooking process itself goes very quickly. Don’t be scared off by the ingredients list—I promise, this recipe is not difficult and it is worth the extra effort!
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Beef with Broccoli
Adapted from Pat Crapanzano
Serves: 2-3
Prep Time: 20 minutes active, plus one hour resting
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients for the marinade:
½ pound well-trimmed flank steak
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 ½ teaspoons vegetable oil
½ teaspoon brown sugar
For the sauce you’ll cook with:
1 tablespoon rice wine
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 ½ teaspoons hoisin sauce
½ teaspoon sesame oil (or sesame-based hot chili oil)
For the broccoli:
1 ½ pounds fresh broccoli, trimmed into separate pieces
3 tablespoons peanut oil (to coat the wok)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon rice wine
3 tablespoons water
To finish the dish:
3 tablespoons peanut oil (to coat the wok)
2 teaspoons minced ginger
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Directions:
Make the marinade. Whisk soy sauce, cornstarch, vegetable oil and brown sugar in a medium bowl; set aside. Slice the steak against the grain into 1/8-inch strips, then cut into rectangles (about 2-inches in length). Toss the steak in the soy sauce mixture and marinate at room temperature for at least one hour.
Make the sauce for the stir fry by whisking the ingredients listed under “sauce,” above. (Rice wine, brown sugar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil) Set aside.
Cook the broccoli. Heat a wok over high heat—you want to see it smoking. You’ll know it’s hot enough when a drop of water immediately evaporates from the wok. Add the peanut oil and swirl to coat the pan evenly. When the oil is hot enough to sizzle a piece of broccoli—about 30 seconds—add all of the broccoli. Stir fry until evenly coated with oil, and then reduce the heat. Add the salt and sugar and continue stir-frying to mix. Sprinkle the broccoli with the rice wine and stir-fry for a few more seconds. Then, cover the wok for 3 minutes until the broccoli is bright green and crisp-tender. Remove broccoli from the wok with a slotted spoon and arrange it in a ring around the edges of a large serving dish.
Finish the dish. Wipe the wok clean with a paper towel. Heat the wok over high heat until smoking. Add the peanut oil. When the oil is hot enough to make a piece of ginger sizzle, add all of the ginger and red pepper flakes and fry for 20 seconds. Add the beef and stir-fry quickly until the beef is cook through (we’re not looking for rare steak here), about 3 minutes. Add the sauce you made earlier and stir-fry until the steak is evenly coated, about 1 minute longer.
Serve. Mound the steak in the middle of the ring of broccoli and enjoy!
