Best Easy Weeknight Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry
You can put this take-out fave on the table faster than delivery.
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Yields:
4 serving(s)
Prep Time:
10 mins
Cook Time:
10 mins
Total Time:
20 mins
Is there anything more comforting than take-out? At least once a week we find ourselves craving a big bowl of rice flavored with a salty-sweet sauce, and topped with stir-fried veggies and protein of some sort. Even though it's easy to eat, ordering out that much, is, unfortunately, not so easy on our budget.
Luckily, it turns out that our favorite take-out dish — stir fried Beef and Broccoli — is not only simple enough to make at home, but we can get it done in practically less time than it takes delivery to get here! And best of all, since we're making it ourselves, we also can adjust the flavor so it suits us perfectly. If you, too, find yourself craving stir fry in a rich, delicious sauce, then bookmark this recipe and enjoy!
What is beef and broccoli sauce made of?
Though a lot of things can go into beef and broccoli sauce, we use chicken stock, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, and cornstarch.
Most of the ingredients are there to create a balance of flavors, but the cornstarch does several things, thickening the sauce as helping create that "velvet" beef texture, and helping it cling to the beef and veggies.
How do you make stir fry beef so tender?
Many restaurants and recipes marinate beef for 20 minutes or longer in either an acid, such as lime juice, or an alkaline, such as baking soda.
While this will definitely tenderize the beef (which is great for tougher cuts), it can also easily lead to the beef feeling or tasting slimy, or even mushy. It also adds time and complexity to the dish.
Instead, we recommend starting with a good cut of meat, such as flank steak, slicing it thinly, and cooking it quickly, directly in the pan over high heat, before mixing it with any sauce.
This will ensure it's cooked through without being over or under cooked.
What is velveting meat?
That velvety texture that is a hallmark of Chinese takeout beef comes from the cornstarch in the sauce. It helps the sauce coat and stick to the beef, and gives it that great flavor.
You can also velvet the steak with a marinade, but as we note above, we don't think it's necessary.
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Ingredients
- 1/3 cup chicken stock
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp. plus 1 teaspoon pure honey
- 1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp. plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 12 oz. flank steak, thinly sliced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 Tbsp. canola oil
- 12 oz. broccoli florets, halved if large
- 1 one-inch pieces fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- Hot cooked rice, toasted sesame seeds, sliced scallions, and lime wedges, for serving
Directions
- Step 1Whisk together stock, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, and cornstarch in a bowl until cornstarch is dissolved.
- Step 2Season steak with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add steak and cook, stirring occasionally, until almost cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes; transfer to a plate using tongs. Reduce heat to medium-high. Add broccoli and season with salt. Cook, stirring often, until broccoli is crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes (you can add a few tablespoons of water if pan starts to get too dark). Add ginger and garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Step 3Whisk sauce and add to pan with steak and any accumulated juices. Cook, stirring, until sauce is thickened and steak is warm, about 1 minute.
- Step 4Serve over rice topped with sesame seeds and scallions with lime wedges alongside.
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