Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry - easy to make at home!

If you google “beef and broccoli stir fry,” you’ll get thousands of hits so let me add to the list. What’s great about this recipe is its versatility. You can adjust the aromatics to suit your tastes, serve it alone, over rice or noodles and you can add whatever vegetables you have on hand (or don’t and just enjoy the stir fry sauce). Also you can adjust the aromatics as you see fit. My measurements are a balance but if you really love ginger, live it up and add as much as you want or skip it if you don’t like it. Instead of water, I used mushroom liquid in this recipe. An excellent pantry staple to have on hand are dried shitake mushrooms. I soaked them in hot water overnight and am using the soaking liquid in lieu of water. If you don’t have dried shitake mushrooms, use water. You can use the rehydrated mushrooms in other recipes. The liquid smells amazing and great to use in soups or any recipe that calls for water. I’m not using a wok because I don’t own one. I want one but I have a small kitchen so space is a premium and I can be a little lazy so I don’t know if I can properly care for one. I didn’t add additional sauce due to the soy sauces and MSG so feel free to add more if desired. Prepare all ingredients before cooking as the cooking process goes very fast. This recipe feeds two. Ingredients 200g striploin beef (or flank steak or any cut) Marinade: 2 tsp soy sauce 2 tsp oyster sauce 1 tsp mirin (or substitute a pinch of sugar) ½ tsp baking soda 2 tsp cornstarch ¼ tsp MSG (optional) ½ tsp white pepper 2 tbsp mushroom liquid *see mention above (or cold water) Stir fry sauce: 2 tsp soy sauce 2 tsp sweet soy sauce (or dark soy sauce) 2 tbsp oyster sauce ¾ tsp sugar 2 tsp cornstarch 3 tbsp mushroom liquid (or cold water) 150g cut broccoli (adjust to taste) 2 green onion 4 garlic cloves (adjust to taste) 10g ginger (adjust to taste) 5 large brown mushrooms (adjust to taste) 2 tbsp neutral oil (vegetable, canola, avocado, grapeseed, etc.) ½ tsp toasted sesame oil Pinch of salt Sesame seeds (optional) Mise-en-place *Note* It’s important to have everything prepared in advance as the cook time is very fast. 1. Thinly slice the beef against the grain, then add to a bowl. 2. To the beef, add all the items listed under marinade and massage into the beef. 3. In a separate small bowl, add all the ingredients for the stir fry sauce and whisk to combine. 4. Bring a medium pot of water to boil. 5. Slice the broccoli into bite-size pieces (it will shrink a little during cooking). 6. Slice the mushrooms. Prepare any other vegetables you want to add; ensure all vegetables are roughly the same size so they cook evenly. 7. When the water is boiling, fill a small bowl with ice and cold water and put beside the stove. Add salt to the boiling water and add the broccoli and blanch for 20-30 seconds. Remove the broccoli and submerge it in the ice water to stop cooking and keep the broccoli green and crunchy. 8. Separate the green and white ends of the green onion. Slice the white parts and add to a bowl, slice the green parts on a diagonal and set aside. The green ends will be garnish. 9. Peel and chop the garlic. 10. Remove the ginger skin and mince. If you really love ginger, leave the ginger a little chunkier. 11. Pour the water and ice out of the broccoli bowl. 12. Place a wok or large pan over high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the oil. 13. When the oil is hot, give the beef a stir to separate and add to the pan, spreading it out so each piece is on the hot pan. Let it sear for 60 seconds. 14. Stir the beef and add the mushrooms; continue to stir for 30-60 seconds. *Note: If your pan is small, remove the beef, add the mushrooms and let sear, stir, then re-add the beef. 15. Add the white parts of the green onion, garlic and ginger and stir, be careful to not let anything burn. 16. Add the broccoli and stir for one more minute. 17. Add the stir fry sauce; let it sit for 5 seconds, then stir to combine and get everything coated. Stir for another minute. 18. Turn off the heat. 19. Add the sesame oil and stir. 20. Enjoy! 00:00 Introduction 00:12 Ingredients 00:22 Mise-en-place 02:21 Make the stir fry 03:29 Let’s eat