Homemade Broccoli and Beef

Back to our "Making Homemade and Healthier Versions of Americanized Chinese Food" cooking series. We were going to make Sweet and Sour Chicken for this rendition, but Taryn mentioned Beef and Broccoli in the last post, and I thought Mr. B might like a reprieve from chicken. We tend to eat a lot of that clucky bird around here.

So I adapted a recipe from RecipeZaar to fit the ingredients we had in the house and it was delicious.

What You'll Need


Vegetable Oil, 2 teaspoons Ginger, 2 Scallions minced , 2 Garlic Cloves minced, Red Pepper Flakes, Fresh Broccoli, 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce, 2 Tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar and 1/2 lb. beef sirloin.

First things first, you're gonna want to cut your beef into super tiny bite-sized strips. I don't know what bite-sized is for you - only you know that - so use your best judgment.


Then, get out your non-stick skillet (or if you're fancy, you could use a wok). Pour in 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil and heat until it's smokin', then add your ginger, scallions and garlic. Toss and cook for 30 seconds. Don't go one second over 30 seconds. Or do. Whatever floats your boat. Sprinkle in some red pepper flakes and toss it all around for a bit.



Now remember the bite-sized beef strips you've already sliced? Just pop 'em in the skillet and stir them around until they're browned. This won't take long if you sliced the beef thin enough.



Now Broccoli and Beef would not be Broccoli and Beef without the broccoli. Take your brocs (trimmed and bite-sized) and add them to the skillet. Cook until tender but still crisp. And you thought things couldn't be tender and crisp at the same time.


Now pour in the soy sauce and rice vinegar and let those boil. Meanwhile, mix up 1 teaspoon cornstarch with 1 Tablespoon of water. Toss that into the sauce and let it thicken.

Remove from the stove and serve over rice or noodles, or eat it alone if you're a starchy carb watcher. I personally love starch.


There you have it. Next week we'll get back to that Sweet and Sour Chicken, then we're going to have to start taking requests. I don't think I've ever ordered anything but Sesame, Sweet and Sour or Broccoli and Beef at a Chinese restaurant.