Easy Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
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Forget take-out with my Easy Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry recipe. In 15 minutes you can have this insanely delicious beef and broccoli stir fry! Way better than any restaurant version!
Easy Beef And Broccoli Stir Fry Recipe
I’m sure you all have your favorite recipes that you make often, if not on a weekly basis, mostly because you just love them so much and they’re easy. Well this is mine! It’s the easiest dish to put together and the flavors are out of this world.
I remember the first time I made it, hubs thought I made a mistake and that’s why it turned out so good. Lots of faith he’s got in me, doesn’t he? But I showed him and made it over and over again, and every single time I got the same result: Absolute deliciousness.
The great thing here is that it’s quite affordable to put together too. You can use a cheaper cut of beef like a flank steak and then all you need is a head of broccoli. Most of the other ingredients should be right out of your pantry.
But it’s not the beef nor the broccoli that I find are the stars of this recipes. It’s the sauce. It’s garlicky, as usual I put a lot of garlic, it’s salty from the soy sauce, it’s spicy, it’s smooth, it’s just complete yumminess.
Why We Love This Beef And Broccoli
- Affordable! Cheaper than takeout and much better for you because it’s homemade.
- Quick And Easy! This dish comes together in just 15 minutes, start to finish!
- Very Versatile! Feel free to add your favorite veggies to this dish like snow peas, carrots, peppers, mushrooms, etc.
- Better Than Takeout!
Sauce
- Soy Sauce – I always use low sodium soy sauce.
- Cornstarch – This ingredient is completely gluten free, and will create that nice, thick, and glossy sauce. You can adjust the amount of cornstarch in the recipe to suit how thick you’d like your sauce.
- Garlic – The more garlic the merrier! I love to use fresh garlic whenever I can.
- Cooking Wine – Don’t bother going to a liquor store to get this ingredient- you can find great cooking wine at your local grocery store. Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing) or vinegar will also work in place of sherry.
- Honey – A little touch of sweetness is exactly what we need to balance out the saltiness of the soy sauce in this recipe. You can adjust for your sweet-tooth preference.
- Fresh ginger – Using fresh ginger makes a world of difference in this recipe! I store my ginger in the freezer so it’ll last longer. Peel it using a spoon, and use a microplane to get a nice fine mince.
- Sesame oil – Make sure you find a nice high quality sesame oil. If you can find toasted sesame oil, buy it, you will seriously fall in love with this ingredient! So good.
- Red pepper flakes – Not a fan of spice? You can leave this ingredient out. Love to breathe fire? Add as much as you want!
- Sriracha – Or Sambal Oelek which is just a chili garlic sauce that is a must in my opinion!
- Beef broth (low sodium) – Chicken or veggie stock will work in place of beef broth if that’s what you have handy. The flavor, though, will be a lot deeper and more authentic with beef broth.
Stir Fry
- Olive oil – Other oils with a high smoke point such as vegetable, sunflower, safflower, peanut, and avocado oil are great for this recipe.
- Steak – I used flank steak for this recipe. Skirt steak would also work well. These are nice and tender cuts which make them perfect for high-heat cooking. They’re also quite cheap!
- Broccoli – I used 1 head of broccoli. You can, of course, use more or less depending on you preference. Not a broccoli fan? Try out bell peppers, carrots, cauliflower, snow peas, onion, or a combination!
- Prepare the beef: Cut the beef in really thin pieces. I find it easier sometimes if the meat is a bit frozen it’s way easier to slice it thin. To do this place the beef in the freezer for 20 minutes before slicing it.
- Make the sauce and cook the beef: Mix all the sauce ingredients together. Sear the beef for about 3 to 4 minutes over medium-high heat in a little bit of olive oil, just until it starts to brown then you add that yummy sauce. You should see it start to thicken almost immediately from the cornstarch. If you don’t like or want to use cornstarch, you could use flour instead.
- Finish the stir fry: Add the broccoli florets and cook everything for another 2 minutes, or until the broccoli is tender. I like a little bit of crunch left in my broccoli. If you want it more tender, cover the pan with a lid and let everything steam together.
Expert Tips
- To easily slice the steak, place it in the freezer for about 20 minutes before slicing. This will make it so much easier to slice it as thinly as possible. Always slice the beef against the grain.
- To get a good sear on the meat, get the skillet hot before adding the meat. Once you add the meat do not touch it for 1 to 2 minutes, give it time to get a nice sear, then toss it around and finish cooking it.
- When cooking the beef, if your skillet isn’t big enough, do no overcrowd the meet, cook it in batches, if needed.
- Do not cook the beef for too long in step 1 because the beef will continue to cook in the sauce and with the broccoli.
This recipe is the BEST EVER! Made it on the weekend, just in time after making a fresh batch of beef stock. Best BEEF BROCCOLI ever! Thanks a million for this easy and super delicious recipe!
Can I Use Chicken Or Pork?
Yes, you can! You might not be able to call it beef and broccoli anymore, but it’ll still be delicious. Make sure you slice the chicken or pork in small thin or bite-sized pieces.
How Do You Keep The Broccoli Bright Green?
First of all, cut them into equal size florets so they all cook at the same time. Secondly, Once you add them to the skillet, just simmer them in the sauce until they’re bright green and crispy. Do not over-cook them, as they will turn into mushy broccoli.
How To Store Leftovers
This beef and broccoli will last 3–4 days in the fridge when stored in an airtight container, and 3–4 months in the freezer. You can reheat it either in the microwave, or covered in a pan over medium heat.
What To Serve With Beef And Broccoli
I love to serve my beef and broccoli over rice such as Basmati or Jasmine rice, but sometimes I love it over noodles. Try it over ramen, soba, udon, or rice noodles.
More Fake-out Takeout Recipes:
- Kung Pao Chicken
- Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli
- Korean Beef Rice Bowls
- Thai Red Chicken Curry
- Mongolian Beef Ramen Noodles
- Slow Cooker Pepper Steak
- Mongolian Chicken
- Chow Mein
- Asian Style Pepper Steak
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Easy Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Video
Ingredients
Sauce
- ½ cup soy sauce (low sodium )
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 3 tablespoons cooking wine (such as Shaoxing)
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger (minced)
- 2 tablespoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce (or to taste)
- ½ cup beef broth (or chicken broth, low sodium or no sodium)
Beef and Broccoli
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound flank steak (trimmed of fat and sliced thin against the grain)
- 1 head broccoli (cut into small florets)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Prepare the beef: Cut the beef in really thin pieces. I find it easier sometimes if the meat is a bit frozen it's way easier to slice it thin. To do this place the beef in the freezer for 20 minutes before slicing it.
- Make the sauce and cook the beef: Mix all the sauce ingredients together. Sear the beef for about 3 to 4 minutes over medium-high heat in a little bit of olive oil, just until it starts to brown then you add that yummy sauce. You should see it start to thicken almost immediately from the cornstarch. If you don't like or want to use cornstarch, you could use flour instead.
- Finish the stir fry: Add the broccoli florets and cook everything for another 2 minutes, or until the broccoli is tender. I like a little bit of crunch left in my broccoli. If you want it more tender, cover the pan with a lid and let everything steam together.
- Serve: Serve over rice or noodles.
Equipment
Notes
- A good substitute for the sherry would be apple cider.
- To easily slice the steak, place it in the freezer for about 20 minutes before slicing. This will make it so much easier to slice it as thinly as possible. Always slice the beef against the grain.
- To get a good sear on the meat, get the skillet hot before adding the meat. Once you add the meat do not touch it for 1 to 2 minutes, give it time to get a nice sear, then toss it around and finish cooking it.
- When cooking the beef, if your skillet isn’t big enough, do no overcrowd the meet, cook it in batches, if needed.
- Do not cook the beef for too long in step 1 because the beef will continue to cook in the sauce and with the broccoli.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
