Beef and Broccoli

by Sabrina Snyder

Published on Last updated

23 Comments

5 from 7 votes
4 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
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Beef and Broccoli better than takeout while still being a healthy Chinese food option with flank steak and broccoli in less than 30 minutes!

Remaking the Chinese food classics including General Tso’s Chicken, Orange Chicken and Lo Mein and Mongolian Beef are fan favorites and this Beef and Broccoli is soon to be on your short list too!

Beef and Broccoli Beef and Broccoli Recipe

We do have Panda Express Beef and Broccoli copycat recipe on the site but this recipe is different than that recipe and more like your local favorite restaurant.

What’s the difference? Well in a more classic restaurant setting you’ll find more oyster sauce, less brown sugar which Panda Express uses for depth of flavor that’s less expensive than oyster sauce.

If you’re looking for more Asian favorites made with beef you may also like Beef Teriyaki, Ground Beef Teriyaki Ramen or a completely new Asian fusion recipe of Korean Beef Sloppy Joes.

Much of the Asian recipes we love are made with chicken because cooking with beef can be intimidating or costly. Some ways to combat this are to shop on sales. When flank steak is on sale buy the 1 pound. Then if you want to make the slices even thinner than you think you can cut, add the beef to the freezer for one hour.

When the beef is partially frozen (you should still be able to push in on the beef with your finger) you can take it out and slice much thinner slices against the grain.

In addition to cutting really thinly you can double up on your vegetables. In this case double the broccoli is great (make more sauce too!) but you can also add in carrots or zucchini to add bulk without adding more beef.

Chinese beef and broccoli

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST BEEF AND BROCCOLI:

  • Get the pan or wok nice and hot because you’ll only be cooking the meat for 1 minute on each side.
  • Cut against the grain. This is the most important way to make lean cuts of beef tender.
  • Do not crowd the beef in the pan even if that means cooking in batches. If you crowd the pan the beef will steam instead of sear.
  • Do not leave the beef in while the sauce reduces, this will make the beef very tough.
  • Have all the ingredients ready to add so nothing burns, this cooks fairly quickly.

What cut of beef is best for beef and broccoli?

The best cut of beef for beef and broccoli is flank steak. Hands down, no need to test otherwise, in Chinese restaurants around the country they’re using flank steak.

The most important thing about the recipe is the beef. If you use the pre-cut stir fry meat or any tougher/leaner cut of meat you’ll end up with a chewy beef and broccoli. No amount of delicious sauce is going to save tough meat.

If you’re looking to make the beef even more tender I highly recommend a longer marinating time. I call for 15 minutes in the directions but I always just leave it overnight. Then drain the beef really well (I leave it in a strainer over the bowl of marinade while I get all my other ingredients and the pan ready before cooking. This minimizes the amount of liquid in the pan.

Easy Beef and Broccoli

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Dinner, then Dessert

Beef and Broccoli

Beef and Broccoli is a healthy Chinese food option with tender slices of meat and tender broccoli in less than 30 minutes and just a few ingredients!
Yield 4 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Chinese
Author Sabrina Snyder
Beef and Broccoli
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 1/2 cup oyster sauce
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup cooking sherry
  • 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon white sugar
  • 1 pound flank steak sliced thinly against the grain
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 teaspoon ginger minced
  • 1 pound broccoli cut into bite size chunks

Instructions

  • Add everything except the canola oil, garlic, ginger and broccoli into a large bowl and mix well, and let marinate for at least 15 minutes.
  • In a wok add canola oil on high heat and add in half the beef and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side before cooking the second half of the beef another 1-2 minutes on each side.
  • Add in the garlic and ginger, stir and cook for 30 seconds and pour in the marinade and broccoli, cover and cook until the sauce thickens before adding the beef back in to coat with sauce.

Nutrition

Calories: 317kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 68mg | Sodium: 1024mg | Potassium: 760mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 705IU | Vitamin C: 101.6mg | Calcium: 89mg | Iron: 2.7mg

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About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  2. there is only 1 cup of marinade that marinates the chicken overnight (as suggested) so there is practically zero sauce to add with the broccoli when the recipe instructs

    Reply

        1. You can use any red or white wine or if you’re looking for a non alcoholic alternative, you can use rice wine vinegar. Hope this helps!

          Reply

  6. I made this recipe and it was delicious! My only problem was that the marinade was very thick so I had to add some water to it when I was cooking the broccoli and when I added the beef. Flavor was super yummy! I will make it again!

    Reply

    1. Marie, when making beef and broccoli or any sauce I use a bit of broth instead of water. They have no sodium, low sodium or regular. Also beef, chicken, vegetable. Hope this helps.
      Pipi

      Reply