Have you ever wondered what kind of beef for Beef and Broccoli? Of course you have. And I’m going to tell you all about it! Beef and broccoli is one of my favorite dishes when I order out, but I am always disappointed when the dish arrives. The meat is never as tender as I had hoped, and the broccoli is usually overcooked. But today, I’m going to show you how to make your own beef and broccoli just like they serve in Chinese restaurants.
Beef and Broccoli
Tender beef steak, stir fried with broccoli and a heavenly Chinese-style stir fry sauce. Simple, quick and delicious!
It’s all ready in 20 minutes, so it makes a great mid-week meal for the family.
Gotta love a quick dinner that basically tastes like a tasty takeaway!
This recipe uses a reasonably inexpensive cut of beef, sliced extra thinly – so it’s nice and tender. It’s fried quickly before being smothered in a delicious Chinese-style savoury sauce along with lots of crunchy broccoli. I love serving it on a big pile of fluffy white rice for a comforting weeknight dinner.
What do we need?
- Steak – I like to use feef skirt or flank as it’s a fairly inexpensive cut of meat with good flavour. It does have to be cut thinly though. If it’s cut too thick, it will be chewy. If you prefer you can use sirloin or ribeye steak. These cuts are more tender (and more expensive!) – so they can be cut a little thicker if you prefer.
- Broccoli – I use tenderstem broccoli (or broccolini) as we’re only cooking it for a few minutes, so you want nice thin broccoli stalks to give a bit of crunch – rather than regular broccoli florets that will be too thick to chew through.
- Soy sauce – I use a mixture of light and dark. Light for salty seasoning, and a dark for that wonderful colour and a little sweetness.
- Chinese rice wine – A REALLY important ingredient to add depth to the sauce. Sherry is a good replacement if you haven’t got any rice wine.
- Sesame oil – for a golden toasty-ness and delicious aroma.
How to make this Chinese Beef and Broccoli
**Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post**
- Mix together the sauce ingredients and put to one side. The sauce is a combination of beef stock, light and dark soy sauce, Chinese rice wine (you can swap for sherry if you haven’t got rice wine), sesame oil, sugar, white pepper and black pepper.
- Fry up slices of very thinly sliced flank/skirt steak. Remove from the pan, then fry up plenty of tenderstem broccoli. We only need to fry for a couple of minutes – so it retains that lovely crunch. Remove it from the pan too.
- Next we fry up a little ginger and garlic, just for 30 seconds or so (so the garlic doesn’t burn), then add in the sauce and bubble it all together.
- Thicken the sauce with a little cornstarch slurry, then add the steak and broccoli back to the pan and toss together.
PRO TIP To ensure you get really thin slices of steak (which is important, so the steak isn’t chewy), place the steak in the freezer for 10-30 minutes before slicing. This will make the meat firmer and easier to slice thinly.
Serve with rice and top with a sprinkling of sesame seeds.
What to serve it with
- Fluffy Boiled Rice
- Cauliflower Fried Rice
- Special Fried Rice
- or Egg Fried Rice
Beef and Broccoli
Simple and quick, this tender beef and broccoli in a heavenly homemade Chinese-style stir fry sauce is ready in 20 minutes.
PREP TIME: 5 mins
COOK TIME: 15 mins
TOTAL TIME: 20 mins
COURSE: Dinner
CUISINE: Chinese
SERVINGS: 4
CALORIES: 398 kcal
INGREDIENTS
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil – (or swap for any other high smoke point flavourless oil)
- 500 g (1.1lbs) skirt/flank steak – sliced very thinly, against the grain *Tip 1
- 450 g 1lb tenderstem broccoli – (broccolini) any thicker pieces sliced in half length-ways
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 2 cloves garlic – minced
Sauce Ingredients:
- 250 ml 1 cup + 2 tsp hot beef stock (water + 1 stock cub is fine)
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Chinese rice wine – you can swap for sherry if you like
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 3 tbsp light brown sugar
- ⅛ tsp white pepper
- ⅛ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp cornflour – cornstarch, mixed with 5 tbsp cold water to make a slurry
To finish:
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
INSTRUCTIONS
- Start by mixing together all of the sauce ingredients EXCEPT the cornflour (cornstarch) slurry in a bowl. Put to one side.
- Heat 2 tbsp of the oil over a high heat in wok or large frying pan.
- Add the sliced steak and cook for 2-3 minutes, turning once or twice, until the steak is just cooked.
- Transfer to a bowl using a slotted spoon (leaving any oil behind in the wok).
- Add the broccoli to the wok and stir fry for 2 minutes, stirring often. Then transfer to the bowl with the steak. (see Tip 2 re: frying for longer if you like your broccoli softer).
- Turn the heat down to medium and add in the remaining tablespoon of oil.
- Add the ginger and garlic and fry, stirring often, for 30 seconds.
- Add in the sauce mixture, turn up the heat to high and stir together.
- Allow the sauce to come to the boil, then slowly pour in the cornstarch slurry, whilst stirring, until the sauce thickens. You may not need all of the slurry.
- Add the beef and broccoli back into the wok and toss together. Cook for a further minute, then turn off the heat.
- Serve with boiled or fried rice and topped with a sprinkling of sesame seeds.
NOTES
*Tip 1 Freeze the Steak – just a little
Place the steak in the freezer for 10-30 minutes before slicing. This will make the meat firmer and easier to slice thinly.
*Tip 2 – Fry the broccoli for longer if you like it softer
We want the broccoli for this dish to be tender, but still bright green and with a bit of crunch. If you like your broccoli softer, stir fry for an extra couple of minutes. You can add a tablespoon of water to help it cook quicker and more evenly. Then be sure to transfer the broccoli as well as any liquid left in the pan to the bowl – don’t leave any water behind or it will spit when you add oil to the wok for the next step).
Cut of Beef:I like to use Beef skirt/flank as it’s a fairly inexpensive cut of meat with good flavour. It does have to be cut thinly though. If it’s cut too thick, it will be chewy.If you prefer you can use sirloin or ribeye steak. These cuts are more tender (and more expensive!) – so they can be cut a little thicker if you prefer.
Nutritional Information is approximate and is per portion, without rice.
NUTRITION
- Calories: 398kcal
- Carbohydrates: 22g
- Protein: 33g
- Fat: 19g
- Saturated Fat: 11g
- Cholesterol: 75mg
- Sodium: 1349mg
- Potassium: 476mg
- Fiber: 1g
- Sugar: 12g
- Vitamin A: 1985IU
- Vitamin C: 104mg
- Calcium: 123mg
- Iron: 3mg
EASY BEEF AND BROCCOLI
The BEST and EASIEST beef and broccoli made in 15 min from start to finish. And yes, it’s quicker, cheaper and healthier than take-out!
Ever since we moved to Hollywood, Jason and I have been ordering delivery several times a week. There are tons of fun restaurants we’re just dying to try out but once we get home, we’re just too tired to leave the house again. Plus, Butters makes it really difficult for us to leave.
But as convenient as delivery is, I just can’t keep waiting 60-90 mins for them to come! Plus, the food is always cold by the time it hits our table. So when I had a beef and broccoli craving the other day – a craving I have at least once a week – I just had to try Carrian’s easy version of this.
And yes, it really is the EASIEST beef and broccoli I have ever made! The slow cooker version of mine is great too, perfect for when you work an 8 hr day, but this – this is on your dinner table in 15 minutes, and this includes the prep time! But don’t be fooled by the easiness of the recipe – it’s just as flavorful and tasty, if not better, than take-out!
EASY BEEF AND BROCCOLI
yield: 4 SERVINGS
prep time: 5 MINUTES
cook time: 10 MINUTES
total time: 15 MINUTES
The BEST beef and broccoli made in 15 min from start to finish. And yes, it’s quicker, cheaper and healthier than take-out!
INGREDIENTS:
- 2/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha, or more, to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound flank steak, thinly sliced across the grain
- 1 head broccoli, cut into florets
DIRECTIONS:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together soy sauce, chicken stock, honey, vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, sesame oil, cornstarch, Sriracha, ginger, red pepper flakes and 1/4 cup water; set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add steak and cook, flipping once, until browned, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in broccoli and soy sauce mixture until tender and slightly thickened, about 3-4 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
BEEF AND BROCCOLI STIR FRY
This recipe for beef and broccoli stir fry is a classic dish of beef sauteed with fresh broccoli florets and coated in a savory sauce. You can have a healthy and easy dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes!
This chicken and broccoli stir fry has been one of the most popular recipes on my site for years, it was only a matter of time before a beef and broccoli stir fry came to be! This recipe tastes just like something you’d order at a Chinese restaurant, but is super easy to make at home.
HOW DO YOU MAKE BEEF AND BROCCOLI STIR FRY?
First, cook some broccoli, ginger and garlic in a pan until the vegetables are tender. Remove the veggies from the pan, and add the steak. Cook the steak until browned, you may need to do this step in batches. Return the vegetables to the pan, then make the sauce. The sauce is a mixture of beef broth, oyster sauce, sesame oil and soy sauce. Pour the sauce into the pan along with some cornstarch, then let everything simmer until the sauce has thickened. Serve immediately and enjoy!
TIPS FOR THE PERFECT BEEF AND BROCCOLI
- The beef in this recipe is thinly sliced flank steak. I find that it can sometimes be tricky to slice steak, so I typically put it in the freezer for about 30 minutes before I slice it. Freezing the meat helps to firm it up so that you can get thinner slices.
- If you’re not able to use flank steak, other great options include sirloin, skirt steak or New York strip.
- Oyster sauce is a brown Chinese sauce that can be found in the ethnic aisle of most grocery stores. It is different than fish sauce, which is typically used in Thai and Vietnamese cooking. If you can’t find oyster sauce or don’t want to use it, you can substitute hoisin sauce. Hoisin sauce isn’t exactly the same but still makes for a great dish.
- This dish is great for meal prep, and will stay fresh for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
- Serve your stir fry over rice, noodles or quinoa. If you’re watching your carbs, you can also use cauliflower rice.
BEEF BROCCOLI VARIATIONS
This recipe is delicious as written, but you can absolutely switch up the ingredients to customize it to your tastes.
- Protein: Instead of flank steak, try ground beef, sliced chicken breast, shrimp, pork tenderloin or cubed tofu.
- Vegetables: Feel free to add other veggies such as sliced carrots, bok choy, mushrooms, snow peas, bell peppers or baby corn.
- Add-Ins: You can add sriracha or chili oil for a bit of heat, or cashews, sesame seeds or almonds for texture.
This beef and broccoli stir fry is a great way to satisfy your Chinese food cravings without picking up the phone to call for takeout. I typically start a pot of rice at the same time I make my stir fry, that way all of my dinner components will be ready at the same time. Even my kids love this one!