beef broccoli stir fry 2
I’d have to be very honest here; I do go out at night for some wine with some of my best girlfriends. But after drinking a bottle of Merlot and you’re about ready to get home, my hunger pangs start to happen. So I would come home and immediately head to the fridge to look for left overs. When you see all desserts and none of the salty food I’ve been craving, the planning begins. Either I’d call for Chinese food to get delivered or make it myself.

I settled for the latter because I had just come home and is too tired to go out and buy the ingredients I needed. On days when you need Chinese food, this dish is the perfect substitute. I used beef on this one but can be easily substituted for chicken if you desire. On broccoli, beef just works so well. And it’s pretty quick to make by stir frying everything.

The best thing about it is the ingredients aren’t expensive so you can source it out easily from your nearest supermarket. Or, you can buy them ahead and store until you need to cook Chinese dishes anytime of the day. My taste buds are about ready now, so I’m not going waste any more time. Cooking this restaurant style will mean satisfying a craving before heading to bed. I’d call that a pretty good deal.

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup oyster sauce
  • 2 teaspoons Asian (toasted) sesame oil
  • 1/3 cup sherry
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 3/4 pound beef round steak, cut into 1/8-inch thick strips
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more if needed
  • 1 thin slice of fresh ginger root
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
  • 1 pound broccoli, cut into florets

Directions

  1. Begin by preparing the sauce. Mix together the oyster sauce, sesame oil, sherry, soy sauce, sugar and cornstarch in a bowl. Stir this mixture until the sugar is dissolved.
  2. In a shallow bowl, place the stake pieces and pour over the oyster sauce mixture on the meat. Coat every part of the meat well. Place this inside the refrigerator and let this marinate for 30 minutes.
  3. Take your wok or large skillet and heat vegetable oil on medium-high heat. First, add the ginger and the garlic.
  4. Stir and let this sizzle on the hot oil for about a minute. This will flavor the oil. Then take out the ginger and garlic and discard. Next stir in the broccoli and toss around until it turns bright green or until they are tender. It takes about 5 to 7 minutes.
  5. Remove the broccoli and set aside. Add a little oil into the wok if desired and then pour the beef mixture. Toss around until the sauce forms a deep glaze around the beef. Check if the meat is no longer pink. This takes about 5 minutes.
  6. Bring back the broccoli to the wok and stir this well. Make sure the meat and broccoli are heated through. This will be done in 3 minutes. Best served warm.