American-style Chinese beef with broccoli stir-fry – a healthier take on a classic dish
- Increasing the amount of vegetables in the dish will not affect the flavour but it will make it better for you
- Choose a tender cut of beef such as flank steak or rib eye rather than one that is meant for stews
As with other Chinese-American dishes, beef with broccoli probably has its roots in a more traditional dish, such as beef with gai lan (Chinese broccoli). The original version almost certainly used a small amount of meat to flavour a larger portion of vegetables, but in its move to the United States, it has morphed into a dish with almost equal quantities of both. In an effort to eat more vegetables, I’ve dialled back the beef. It’s healthier but no less flavoursome.
Beef with broccoli
Choose a tender cut of beef for this dish, not something that’s meant for stews. I like flank steak and rib eye; filet mignon is too lean (and too expensive).
If you want a more colourful dish, add some carrot. At restaurants, they carve the carrot into cute shapes, but you don’t have to do this at home. Just slice the carrot into thin discs or batons and add the pieces to the boiling water when you are blanching the broccoli. Add the carrot and broccoli to the wok at the same time.
This dish takes about 15 minutes to prepare all the ingredients and five minutes to stir-fry.
For the beef:
250 grams (9 oz) beef fillet
20ml (4 tsp) light soy sauce
15ml rice wine
½ tsp granulated sugar
½ tsp fine sea salt
1/8 tsp finely ground white pepper
1 tsp cornstarch
5ml cooking oil
For the other ingredients:
650 grams (3.5 cups) broccoli
1 onion, about 225 grams (8 oz), peeled
2 large garlic cloves, peeled
3-4 thin slices peeled ginger
1 red banana chilli
50 grams (4 tbsp) oyster sauce
30ml (2 tbsp) cooking oil, divided
1 Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and place over a high flame.