This is one deliciously saucy dish! This is a favorite of the buffet-style dishes you find at most Chinese restaurants here in the States. It is basically a flank steak served in a dark brown sauce with broccoli over rice or noodles.
This is a surprisingly easy meal to put together in spite of the variety of ingredients it requires. Things I haven't heard of, let alone cooked with before. Don't let that intimidate you, the process is pretty straightforward.
Take Me Out
I mean I want 'take out'.
I really mean, I want 'take out' without going out.
Which ultimately means, I will need to cook it myself.
One of my all-time favorite 'take out' dishes is beef with broccoli but 'eating out' isn't exactly affordable these days. Even with all the ingredients; it may appear on the surface that it would be cheaper just to order it pre-made to go from your nearest Asian restaurant. However, when you make it yourself, you can feed your whole family or yourself with leftovers multiple times. Plus, you will have ingredients that you can use for several more meals.
"Let's get started"
You are going to need a whole bunch of stuff to do this but I promise it will be worth it when it's all said and done. You'll just need to trust me. Some stuff you may never have heard of but shouldn't be hard to locate at your grocery store. This recipe will make about 4 servings. Overall, it should take about 15-30 minutes to prepare and about 5-10 minutes to cook. Depending on the individual.
Ingredients for the Sauce
1/2 tsp Black pepper
4 tsp Cornstarch
1/2 tbsp Hoisin sauce
1/3 cup Water
2 tsp Sesame oil
1/2 cup Oyster sauce
2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine/rice wine - I substituted it with cooking sherry - *Do not use rice wine vinegar!
4 tsp Light brown sugar
Ingredients for the Stir Fry
1/2 tsp Ginger - grated
1 lb Flank or Skirt steak
3 Cloves of garlic - sliced thin
1 tbsp Baking soda
1/4 cup Water
2 tbsp Vegetable oil
1 lb Broccoli florets
Optional Ingredients
2 cans of Water chestnuts
1 small bag of Snow Peas
Rice or Lo mein noodles
Make the Sauce
For this, I used an empty jar I had on hand. What you'll do is mix the water and cornstarch together then add all of the ingredients to the sauce (listed above). Set this aside for future use.
Preparing the Beef
The meat will be best when it is very tender. This can be achieved with the use of baking soda and by cutting the meat across the grain. So, lay the meat out, trim off the fat and cut it across the grain into strips of about 1/4" in thickness. Place the strips into a bowl and cover lightly with the baking soda and toss gently until it is thoroughly coated. Let it rest for about 15 minutes before rinsing the beef thoroughly and pat dry. Don't be alarmed that this process alters the color, it is normal.
Cooking the Broccoli
While the beef is 'resting', boil 1/4 cup of water and grab a large skillet. Heat the skillet on a medium-high setting and add the broccoli and snow peas (snow peas are optional) and boiling water. Cover the skillet and allow it to steam for approximately 2 minutes then transfer to a plate and set aside.
Cooking the Stir Fry
Return the skillet to the stove and crank the setting to high. Now, add in the oil and let it simmer, then add the beef strips.
After cooking for about 1 minute, add the broccoli (and snow peas) to the skillet along with the garlic and ginger. Drain the water chestnuts and add those as well. They are optional but I hope you choose to use them; they are so delicious with this dish. Finally, give the sauce a quick shake or stir and pour that over the dish.
Does it get any better?
Allow it to simmer for a minute or two and it will be ready to serve over your choice of rice or lo mein noodles.
That wasn't so bad, was it? So good, and so totally worth it. The key is to break it down and organize your strategy into steps. I hope you give this recipe a try. It's perfect for a date night or to impress your co-workers at lunchtime the next day.
Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.
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