The BEST Beef and Broccoli – It’s easy to see why this one-pan beef stir fry is one of the most popular recipes on this site, with ultra tender beef strips and juicy bites of broccoli. A sweet-and-savory sauce bumps up the flavors a notch, and it’s perfect served with white rice.
Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 1 pound flank steak, sliced into 1/4 inch thick strips (Note 1)
- 3 cups small broccoli florets (Note 2)
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
Sauce:
- 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce (Note 3)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar (Note 4)
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
Instructions
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Brown Beef: Toss sliced beef in large bowl with corn starch until well-coated; set aside. Heat oil in pan over medium heat for a few minutes or until hot. Add sliced beef and cook until it browns, a few minutes, stirring frequently. Transfer beef to plate.
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Cook Broccoli: Add broccoli florets and garlic to now-empty pan, and stir. Add beef broth. Stirring occasionally, simmer until broccoli is tender, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, proceed to next step to prepare sauce.
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Make Sauce: While waiting for broccoli to cook, stir together all sauce ingredients in bowl until well-mixed.
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Finish & Serve: Once broccoli is tender, return beef to pan and pour sauce on top. Stir until everything is coated with sauce. Simmer for about 5 minutes to thicken sauce a bit. Serve (Note 5).
NOTES & TIPS
(1) Beef. Use flank steak, thinly sliced to 1/4-inch thickness or thinner. The thinner the beef, the more tender it will be, and the less time it will take to sear on the stovetop. Slice against the grain by identifying long muscle fibers and slicing perpendicular to them, which means less work for your teeth and more tender beef.
(2) Broccoli. You can cut florets from a head of broccoli, or you can buy a bag of pre-cut raw florets located in the refrigerated produce section of many U.S. grocery stores. I recommend cutting the florets into smaller pieces (no larger than 2 inches) so that they cook quickly. I use fresh florets, but frozen should be fine — you may need to cook them longer to simmer off excess liquid.
(3) Soy Sauce. I use low sodium soy sauce by brands like Kikkoman or Trader Joe’s. Avoid regular soy sauce, which will be too salty. “Light soy sauce” refers to color and is not the same as “low sodium soy sauce.” If you follow a paleo, whole30, or gluten-free diet, substitute with coconut aminos.
(4) Brown Sugar. This can be replaced by sugar substitutes; for example, see Low Carb Beef and Broccoli.
(5) Serving / Leftovers. Serve beef and broccoli over cooked white rice, alongside a refreshing appetizer like Asian cucumber salad. There’s a fair amount of sauce that comes with the recipe, so you’ll want some rice to help sop it up. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, and reheated using the microwave.
(6) Instant Pot Version. If you prefer using your pressure cooker, check out Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli, which is a similar recipe that uses boneless beef chuck instead of flank steak.
(7) Beef Tenderizing Tips. This recipe follows the tips summarized in this post on how to cook tender stir fry beef. It’s a useful read if you’ve ever wondered how Chinese restaurants make their beef so tender.
Source: savorytooth.com