A Panda Express Beef and Broccoli delicious spot-on copycat with tender stir fried flank steak and steamed broccoli in a classic ginger soy sauce.
Panda Express Beef and Broccoli is one of my anchor choices every time we go to Panda Express. Not sure if you guys have noticed the wide array of Panda Express recipes on the blog. While there are a LOT of copycat recipes, Panda Express is definitely my most popular copycat source. There are so many things to love about Panda Express, like how when you walk in you see trays of fresh whole vegetables that are going to be cut up and used fresh in the foods. I think we tend to forget about vegetables when we go out for fast food, but it is so easy to include them at Panda Express.
This Panda Express Beef and Broccoli shines because the recipe is quick, tender, healthy-ish 😉 and has lots of delicious broccoli in the mix. It makes you feel better about the Chow Mein and Orange Chicken you put next to it in your two item combo.
There may be a few ingredients in the recipe that aren’t in your pantry. Yes you can probably substitute some things, but to get the real Panda Express Beef and Broccoli flavor you will have to visit your local Asian grocer or pop over to Amazon to grab them. There is really just a few things you’d need and it will open up your options exponentially as most of the recipes use the same handful of ingredients.
Keeping track of all the Panda Express copycat recipes here on the blog?
- Panda Express Orange Chicken
- Panda Express Mushroom Chicken
- Panda Express Firecracker Chicken Breast
- Panda Express Chow Mein
- Panda Express Fried Rice
- Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken
- Panda Express Kung Pao Chicken
- Panda Express Beijing Beef
- Panda Express Mandarin Teriyaki Chicken
- Panda Express Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Panda Express String Bean Chicken Breast
- Panda Express Honey Walnut Shrimp
- Panda Express Cream Cheese Rangoon
- Panda Express Beef and Broccoli (you’re here!)
- Panda Express Sweetfire Chicken Breast
Some tips to keep in mind when making takeout Chinese Food at home:
- Invest in a wok. It can be a second hand one or an inexpensive option on Amazon, but a wok will make your prep and cooking infinitely easier.
- Learn to slice meat thinly, against the grain. Most Panda Express recipes include beef or chicken cut wide and thin (I think it is to make the pieces look larger, haha) so pay close attention to your prep. If you slice the beef too thick it will NOT be as tender.
- Prep your vegetables ahead of time. Once you’re working with your wok everything has to be in grabbing distance and able to be added quickly or your food will overcook.
- Cook quickly. When you’re working in a wok, things happen fast and flavors stay crisp, so don’t keep simmering or cooking the food.
- Authentic ingredients. Yeah it may suck to spend 7 dollars on a bottle of oyster sauce, but that sauce will make you so many delicious meals that by the time you finish the bottle you will be completely at peace with the cost of it. 😉
Ingredients
- 1 lb flank steak , sliced thinly against the grain
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons shaoxing wine , divided
- 1 lb broccoli floret , cut into bite sized pieces
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil (I use canola, vegetable is fine too)
- 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger , very finely minced
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds (optional)
Instructions
- Add the beef, cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of the shaoxing wine together in a ziploc bag and squeeze the bag a few times to combine.
- Let marinade for 20 minutes.
- Half steam your broccoli, I usually microwave in a glass bowl with a wet paper towel on top of freshly rinsed broccoli for 2:45 to cook though. In this case I would cook for 2 minutes.
- Combine the oyster sauce, water, 1 tablespoon of the shaoxing wine, brown sugar, soy sauce and cornstarch into a small bowl and stir to mix.
- Heat a wok on high, the hotter the better.
- Add the cooking oil and sesame oil to the pan and when you see it rippling, add ⅓ of your flank steak.
- Sear on high heat, 1 minute on each side.
- Remove beef and cook the last two batches.
- Add your garlic and ginger and cook for 10-15 seconds.
- Add the beef back into the pan.
- Add in the broccoli.
- Stir your sauce again (to make sure the cornstarch hasn't settled) and add it to the pan.
- Quickly toss to combine until the sauce just thickens.
- Add sesame seeds for garnish (optional).
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition
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Double the recipe My husband loved it. I will make again
I’ve never dined at Panda Express but I’ve been looking for a good recipe for Beef and Broccoli. I finally found it! I followed the recipe only substituting mirin for the shaoxing wine. This recipe is a keeper! I follow Sabrina and LOVE all her recipes.
Thanks so much. You have an intuitive sense of what to substitute as needed. Appreciate the 5 star rating also 🙂
I NEVER EVER post on these things but I just had my second baby and meal prepping is my life now. My three year old isn’t a huge fan of veggies but goes IN on the Panda Express broccoli. This recipe is an absolute win in my home. I doubled the recipe because we like it saucy and I made it to reheat later in the week. It’s good!!
Made this for dinner while slow cooking rooster for tomorrow’s dinner. This was BETTER than Panda Express! This is always in my order when I go to that place. Thanks!
You nailed it!
Perfect re-creation. Thank you!
Is there a suitable substitute for the shaoxing wine?
Rice wine or white wine would work.
Can I use chicken instead of beef in this recipe?
Sure!
I recently found your copycat Panda Express recipes. Oh my gravy they all look delicious. I would like to try to make the beef & broccoli…. However, I am having a hard time finding grass fed flank steak. Could you please recommend another type of meat? Thank you so very much. ?
The closest substitution would be skirt steak or hanger steak. Hope this helps!
Hello, I don’t have a wok (no space). Also, my husband doesn’t like crisp vegetables… Do you have a pointer for cooking in a pan? I have an iron skillet, stainless skillet and a non-stick. Thanks!
I am sure the recipe has long been cooked/or not but I still want to try to help.
I would say use the largest skillet you have to space out the vegetables so they don’t steam. Make sure its coated with oil and very hot. This will help cook them crispy vs soggy. I don’t have a preference other than the iron may stick in spite of your best efforts with such a short cook time. I’d use stainless or non-stick.
1st time making this (beef n broccoli) it was a hit!! My husband loved it.. I must say it was delicious thank you for these copycat Panda Express recipes I’ll make a chicken one tomorrow Yummy
I’m glad you decided to give it a try, Linda.
I love this recipe! Any suggestions for how to make it with more of the sauce?
You can just double the sauce ingredients. So glad you love it!
When you steam your broccoli in the microwave you say that you put freshly rinsed broccoli in a glass bowl and cover it with a wet paper towel and then microwave it for two minutes and 45 seconds. Do you have any water in the bowl? Or is the moisture left on the broccoli from the rinsing produce enough steam?
The moisture from the rinsing the broccoli is usually enough but you can add a tablespoon of water if you’d like.
Found a copycat recipe for the Potato Chicken.
You are amazing Jennifer!! Thank you so much. Getting the ingredients to test this out now.
could you please send me the potato chicken recipe?
Thank you! and Thanks for all your recipes!
Very good recipe! I just discovered velveting the meat so I was anxious to try it with beef. However. I found that I had to make triple the amount of sauce. But it was verrrry good!!!
My sauce came out sticky, thick and globby :/ too much cornstarch maybe? I tried dividing measurements by 4 for 4 oz steak instead of 16oz
Oh no! I’m so sorry.
Great dish! Simple, quick to prepare. I think I like mine better than Panda’s!
Thanks for giving us this recipe. Much appreciated.
You’re welcome, Diana!
I had a difficult time with this recipe. I don’t understand the insistence on a particular brand (Xiaoxing) of rice cooking wine. My local Asian grocery store has a 3-ft x 4-shelf section full of different brands and variations of rice cooking wine, and most of them would do for this recipe. The coated meat (top sirloin) stuck to the wok, as I suspected it would, even when I used the oils. I needed an aggressive scrape with my nylon turner to turn the meat over.When I was finished searing the meat, the wok required deglazing before I added the sliced leek (my tweak). Otherwise, it, the garlic and ginger root (my tweak) would’ve tasted of burnt meat.
Make sure your pan is smoking hot before you add the beef. Hope it helps.
Shaoxing is not a brand, it it is a style of cooking wine. Much like sherry and marsala are types of cooking wine with their own distinct flavor. I suspect a decent portion of cooking wine section you were looking at was, in fact, shaoxing style wine.
The beef sticking sounds like a “you issue.” As others noted, make sure the pan is hot (even smoking) before adding oil. Or, I suspect given the rest of your comment, your wok may not be properly seasoned.
As for the recipe, I thought it was quite good, though not super similar to Panda Express. I agree with others if you are looking for something lighter/fresher it may be better. I think it could get closer to Panda by 1) adding a bit of salt, 2) maybe upping oyster sauce, and 3) adding some black or white pepper.
You are amazing!! I love these recipes. I will definitely make some or all of these. I appreciate your efforts and hard work. Thanks Sabrina!!
Thanks Kirk!
I made this Friday when my boyfriend came over and we absolutely loved it my son as well I love to cook and this was fun to make daughter bought me an electric wok will try the General Tso’s next can’t wait to try all your recipes thank you I’m so glad I found your website
Fantastic! Glad you all enjoyed it!
I think a half tsp of salt would round out the flavors a bit. That and I also added black pepper to the sauce. Otherwise good recipe!
I’m making this dish today for dinner, and the aroma already smell like it’s coming straight from the restaurant! I know it will be yummy! Thanks for the recipe
You’re welcome Shaundrica!
Yummy! Yummy! In my tummy! I don’t know how you did it but it tastes just like the Broccoli and Beef from Panda Express! It was soooooooo good! I never heard of those ingredients, oyster sauce and shaoxing wine but I didn’t let that stop me from mixing them all in the sauce! I have an Asian store a mile from my home and I found everything there! Thank you so very much!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Okay wow- this was delicious! WAY better than Panda Express. I used top sirloin steak instead of flank because flank was 3x the price. I also used Rice Vinegar instead of Shaoxing Wine because I couldn’t find Shaoxing wine. But it still turned out delicious! I didn’t have a wok so I used a regular frying pan but I will DEFINITELY be investing in a wok for next time because the frying pan made it really difficult to cook. 5 stars!
Thank you so much for the 5 star rating Brooklyn!! So glad you loved it!
Made this tonight and it was very good. Will make again. Looking forward to seeing more from this site.
So glad you enjoyed it!
I just made this tonight with a few small modifications and it was really great. I order this dish at Panda Express regularly and think your recipe tastes better (less salty).
The changes I made tonight were out of necessity as I was short on ingredients. I used; grocery store (pre-cut) stew meat, powdered garlic and powdered ginger. I marinated the meat in a zip lock bag with three tablespoons of soy sauce ( I did not have the Chinese wine), two tablespoons of flour, a little garlic powder, a tiny bit of ginger powder and one teaspoon of corn starch for about ten minutes (mixing it all together in the bag). When cooking the final mixture (drain any excess oil after cooking the meat first) I added more garlic powder (1/4 teaspoon and a tiny bit more ginger powder and a dash or two of soy sauce).The result was spectacular. Thank you again for your recipe and the inspiration to try making this.
Thanks Cam!
Just made this tonight. My girlfriend loves the Panda version of this dish, but said that this is better. Trust me, that is very high praise!
I love hearing this!! Thank you so much for coming back to let me know 🙂
Hi! I just made this and it is soooo much better than our Panda Express Dive In! We live about 40 minutes from the one I go to after shopping at Sam’sClub every month. Thanks for posting these recipes ?
*!*
You’re so welcome! Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know how much you loved it!
Hi..I love your receipes. Panda express is my very favorite place to eat. I’d like to know if I really need to use oyster sauce. I knowingly won’t use anything fishy. But if I need it in these receipes I’ll just have to get over it . Thank you so much for a dream come true!
Yes, oyster sauce is a huge part of the flavor. Worst case scenario I would suggest use the mushroom based vegetarian version if you’re averse to it, but I promise I am not all about anything fishy (I hate fish sauce) and you wouldn’t even know it is seafood based in this dish. Promise!
I don’t see where you used the sesame oil. Does it go with the cooking oil?
Yes, add it to the pan at the same time as the cooking oil. Thanks for pointing this out, the recipe has been corrected!
Which way is the grain in flank steak?
The cut on the flank steak would be the shorter side. You should see lines running down the meat, you want to cut across them, it would be really tough and chewy if you cut it along the longer side.
Do you have a recipe for the panda express eggplant and tufu? I don’t like yufu and would replace it with meat.
Sorry this comment took so long to get to, it ended up in my spam filter somehow! Yes it is getting posted in the near future too!