hello hi everyone! Wesley here. Today we’re taking a shot at one of my favorite stir fries of all time, which is a broccoli beef stir fry. For those not familiar, a broccoli beef stir fry is an entirely American creation, and is one of the more popular dishes that you’ll come across in Chinese take out spots throughout the states. It features a tender seared steak, flash cooked crispy broccoli, and a savory sauce based that heavily relies on the use of the big 3 that you will now have come across in many Woo Can Cook recipes for deeply savory sauces: dark soy sauce, black vinegar and oyster sauce. We’ll also be using this one as an opportunity to explore the use of baking soda and corn starch, which is going to help us science our way to the most tender piece of steak that I have ever created. Hope you try it.
Serves 2-3
INGREDIENTS
1 lb top cut angus sirloin (or flank steak)
2 large heads broccoli
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp (about 1 inch) ginger
1/4 cup stock
sesame seed
peanut oil
INGREDIENTS (marinade)
1/4 tsp baking soda + 1/4 cup water
4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp corn starch
INGREDIENTS (sauce)
4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp black vinegar
1 tbsp doubanjiang
2 tbsp lao gan ma
1 tbsp shaoxing wine
2 tbsp corn starch + water
PREP
COMBINE baking soda and water into slurry, set aside
THINLY SLICE the steak, then add baking soda slurry and let sit for 30 minutes
DRAIN excess baking soda liquid, then add all marinade ingredients and let marinate for an additional 30 minutes
CRUSH and mince the garlic, set aside
FINE MINCE the ginger, set aside
SLICE the broccoli into thin spears, set aside
COMBINE all sauce ingredients except corn starch, set aside
COMBINE corn starch + water into a slurry in a separate bowl, set aside
ON THE STOVE
HEAT a wok as hot as possible, then add 4 tbsp of peanut oil and long yao
ADD the steak to the wok flat side down, one piece at a time, and sear undisturbed for 2 full minutes, then toss for an additional minute, remove from heat, and set aside
DEGLAZE with 1/4 stock, then add sauce mixture and corn starch slurry, stir to combine, and remove from heat
WIPE down the wok, reheat, add an additional 4 tbsp of peanut oil and long yao
ADD the broccoli and saute for 2 minutes
SHIFT the broccoli to one side, add an additional 1 tbsp of peanut oil, then add the garlic and ginger and saute until fragrant for about 10 seconds
TOSS to combine, then add the broccoli and sauce back to the wok and toss again
FINISH with sesame seeds