Beef and Broccoli.
It's what you need today – a familiar pick-me-up meal that hits the spot every time!
Neighbors, today we’re making Chinese delivery-style food.. from home!
Today is beef & broccoli (woot-woot!)
Our recipe is very simple, relatively quick and (damn) delicious!
Now, I’ve seen other recipes online where the beef and broccoli pieces are drowning in a pool of “brown sauce”. That’s not my style.
I like lot of ingredients, with minimal sauce. Just enough to coat the ingredients and mix-into the rice.
Now, there are two key steps which we brings out that “authentic” Chinese take-out flavor.The first pro-tip is using chicken stock powder.
Chicken stock powder is a popular seasoning in Chinese cooking. It’s salty like salt, but provides a deep-bodied, savory flavor. Perfect for seasoning stir-fried dishes – including our beef & broccoli.
The second tip is velveting the beef.
Velveting meat is a technique used in Chinese cuisine for preserving the moisture and juices of the meat while cooking.
It typically involves pre-coating the meat with oil, egg white and corn starch. Then frying the meat pieces into a hot oil bath before stir-frying it.
This process produces meat that is tender, silky and smooth.
You’ll be thoroughly impressed with the overall flavor, visual and taste.
Cooking Notes for Beef and Broccoli:
Before doing anything, pat-down the piece of steak with a few paper towels. We want to soak-up any residual moisture/liquid from the beef – which will cause the oil to splatter in later steps.
Blanche the broccoli for only 1 minute – as we will stir-fry it again and we want it to have some crunch.
Don’t add in all of the corn starch mixture – the sauce will turn gelatinous. Add in only 1 spoonful… and stir-fry it around. Add more if you need.
Of course, don’t forget to get that rice cooking in the background!
If you make this dish at home, tag us in an IG photo. We love seeing pictures of your dishes in the morning. Make us happy – better than morning coffee heh!
- Daniel out! 🕺 Bon Appetit ya’ll
Ingredients
- 1 Head of Broccoli
- 300 grams New York Steak Cut (10 oz Sirloin or Chuck good too)
Velveting Beef
- 1 Egg White
- 2 Tablespoons Corn Starch Powder (or Potato Starch Powder)
- Few cracks Black Pepper
- 3 Tablespoons Vegetable oil (Mix-in 1 Tablespoon at a time)
Brown Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Sugar
- 1 teaspoon (!) Oyster Sauce
- ½ teaspoon (!) Chicken Stock Powder
- 3 Tablespoons Water
Fry Beef
- ½ cup Vegetable oil
Additional Ingredients for Final Stir-Fry
- 2 teaspoons (!) Vegetable Oil
- ½ teaspoon (!) Minced Garlic
- ½ teaspoon (!) Minced Ginger
- 1 Tablespoon Starch Water (see ingredients below)
Starch Water Mixture (For Thickening Sauce)
- 1 Tablespoon Starch Powder (Use Potato Or Corn Starch)
- 2 Tablespoons Water
Instructions
Prep Beef & Broccoli
- Pat the piece of beef down with a few paper towels - get rid of excess moisture (that way, it doesn't splatter when you fry it later). Then cut the piece of beef into thin strips.
- Take out a mixing bowl. Place in 1 Egg White, Starch Powder (2 Tablespoons), Black Pepper (few shakes). Stir it together until it turns into a slurry. Then we will add-in a total of 3 Tablespoons of Vegetable Oil. However, add in only 1 Tablespoon at a time. Give it a stir and repeat until you add all 3 Tablespoons of oil.
- Then mix-in the meat pieces. Set it aside and let it marinate for 20 minutes.
- Cut a head of broccoli into smaller florets. Don't forget about the stem - slice the upper portion of the stem into thin pieces as well.
- Bring a pot of water up to boil. Once its boiling, blanche the broccoli for exactly 1 minute. Then immediately strain and soak in very cold water. Then strain and shake off excess water - set aside and let it drip off excess water.
- Make brown sauce: Mix Soy Sauce (1 Tablespoon), Sugar (1 Tablespoon), Oyster Sauce (1 teaspoon), Chicken Stock Broth Powder (½ teaspoon), Water (3 Tablespoons).
Fry Beef First
- Place ½ a cup of vegetable oil into a pot or wok. Once it turns hot, carefully add in the beef strips - add one at a time. Flip and fry until the pieces are cooked on both sides. Then take out each one and place onto a plate.
- Now, discard the oil from the frying pan. Thoroughly wipe out any leftover oil with a paper towel.
- Before we get to stir-frying, let's make the starch water mixture. Mix 1 Tablespoon of Starch Powder with 2 Tablespoons of Water.
- Now its time to stir-fry: Add in Vegetable Oil (2 teaspoons) to a wok or frying pan. Once it gets hot, add in the Minced Garlic (½ teaspoon) & Minced Ginger (½ teaspoon).
- Once it starts to sizzle in the oil, immediately add in the Broccoli, Beef Pieces and the Brown Sauce. Stir-fry it around, so all the ingredients get covered in the brown sauce.
- Then give your starch mixture another quick mix. Place in one spoonful and stir-fry. This should start to thicken-up the sauce. If you need more, add in more spoonful. Stir-fry for 10-15 seconds.
- Turn off heat. Serve over rice - and enjoy life!
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