Chinese Take-Away: Beef and Broccoli

Everyone enjoys the occasionally Chinese Take-away meal. It's fast, fun, and let's be honest, we all have our favorites. Wonton soup, sweet and pungent chicken, fried rice, the list is endless. One of my mother's favorite dishes is Beef and Broccoli or Chicken and Broccoli. It is the perfect balance of meat and vegetables cooked in a subtle sauce. As we have often discussed I love making my own Take-Out nights, and this one is quick and easy to enjoy!

If your more in the mood for Chicken or Shrimp, just substitute equal amounts of them.

Full time: 20 Minutes
Sevres 2-4

You will need:

1 lb. boneless chuck steak, round steak, or flank steak.
2 broccoli heads
4 tbsp corn starch or tapioca starch
4 tbsp water, warm
1 tsp garlic powder

For Sauce:

1/2 cup water, warm
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp corn starch or tapioca starch
1 tsp ground ginger

For cooking:

1/4 cup water, warm
1/4 cup vegetable oil, divided

Let us begin:

You will want to get everything set up before you start cooking. Once you start cooking this will go rather fast so there wont be much time to be mixing.

Slice your steak into strips roughly 1/4" in thickness and set aside for a moment.

In a bowl mix together the corn starch, water, and garlic powder.  Make sure you get a nice smooth paste.

Add in the beef and toss it with your fingers to coat. Set aside next to cooking area.

Cut broccoli heads into florets, you should hopefully end up with around 4-5 cups of florets.

 top shows florets size you are looking for

                                       bottom shows full head

Set these aside next to cooking area.

In a small bowl mix together the sauce ingredients. Stirring to make sure the starch doesn't clump up. Set this aside near cooking area.

Let's begin the cooking.

Get a wok or large saute pan heated over medium high heat and add in 1/2 of the oil.

Once oil is nice and hot, toss in the beef, it will start to brown very fast so move it around in the pan.

Once your meat is cooked to your desired temperature (2-3 minutes medium rare, 3-4 minutes medium, 4-5 minutes well) remove it to a plate and keep warm.

Add in the remaining oil and get it nice and hot.Toss in the broccoli and lower heat to low.

Just as before, your going to want to stir the pieces around to prevent uneven cooking. Cook 8-10 minutes.

Add sauce into the pan and allow the broccoli to soak it in for 3-4 minutes.

Return beef to the pan and stir it around to fully incorporate.

Add in the 1/4 cup water and cook until the water is absorbed into the sauce, less than 2 minutes.*

Plate over rice if desired and serve immediately. Enjoy!

*The broccoli will still have a little crunch to it, if you don't like crunchy vegetables. Pop a lid over the pan and cook for 5 -8 minutes more, just watch for scorching. You may want to add extra water to create a little steam action.