Broccoli in the garden calls for Beef Broccoli for Dinner!!!

Broccoli Beef Recipe

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound flank or sirloin, sliced thinly across the grain
• 3/4 pound broccoli florets
• 2 tablespoons high-heat cooking oil
• 2 cloves garlic, very finely minced or smushed through garlic smusher
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

For the beef marinade

• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)(seasoned rice vinegar)
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce

• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce (If you do not like or have oyster sauce use this recipe below for a subsitude)
• 1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)(seasoned rice vinegar)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 cup chicken broth

Method

1 Marinate the beef: Stir together the beef marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the beef slices and stir until coated. Let stand for 10 minutes
2 Prepare the sauce: Stir together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
3 Blanch the broccoli: Cook the broccoli in a small pot of boiling, salted water until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes. Drain thoroughly.
4 Heat a large frying pan or wok over high heat until a bead of water sizzles and instantly evaporates upon contact. Add the cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add the beef and immediately spread the beef out all over the surface of the wok or pan in a single layer (preferably not touching). Let the beef fry undisturbed for 1 minute. Flip the beef slices over, add the garlic to the pan and fry for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute until no longer pink, Pour in the sauce, add the blanched broccoli and bring to a boil. Pour in the dissolved cornstarch and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils and thickens, 30 seconds.

Oyster Sauce or Hoisin Sauce subsitude......
Ingredients:
4 Tablespoons Soy sauce - dark/light/usual
2 tablespoons Peanut butter - or black bean paste
1 tablespoon Honey - or molasses
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons sesame seed oil
20 drops Chinese-style hot sauce , I like Sriracha sauce
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
Simply mix all ingredients by hand.
At first it does not appear like it will mix, but keep at it just a bit longer and you have Hoisin Sauce. Letting it rest does not appear to improve the flavour any.

Notes for this recipe:

Broccoli Beef was one of my first recipes I tried when I was newely married many many years ago. Because  broccoli was cheap and beef could be sliced thinly to stretch and feed unexpected guests or go along ways for a family dinner I cooked it often. I have learned some tricks along the way in preparing this yummy dish.

How do you get the broccoli crisp-tender and the beef juicy, succulent? Well, the secret is to blanch the broccoli first, before stir frying the beef. This helps you control the cooking times for the broccoli, instead of praying that the broccoli and beef finish cooking at the same time. You’ll add the broccoli back into the pan as the beef finishes cooking.

And how do you prevent the garlic from burning? Most recipes will have you add the garlic in the pan or wok before you add the beef. If you do this, you’ll surely burn your garlic, as the beef takes about 1 minute to 1 ½ minutes to cook through on high heat. In this recipe, you’ll add the garlic after you add the beef. There should be plenty of oil in the wok to fry the garlic (if you use a large frying pan or wok) and the timing will be perfect.