Beef and broccoli: A delicious way to dirty every dish in your kitchen

Beef and broccoli isn’t something I ever order at restaurants. Maybe that’s why I like this homemade version so much. It reminds me of good Chinese food, and it doesn’t pale in comparison. It’s easy enough, but not quite simple. The original recipe in a Williams Sonoma Asian cookbook clocks it at 30 minutes start to finish, but I’d say more like 45. This is slightly adapted.

If you haven't done much with stir-frys, the secret is to cook the ingredients separately then throw them together with the sauce at the end. I should say that I've heard that's the secret. This is the only stir-fry I've ever managed to get right, and I think that's because it's hard to mess up beef in a frying pan.

The sauce

• 1/3 c water 
• 1/4 c oyster sauce
• 2-3 TBSP soy sauce (The sauce might be too salty with the full amount of soy. We’ve tried it with less and I think it’s better.) 
• 2 TBSP rice wine or dry sherry (or I usually use 1 tsp of whatever wine I’m drinking and 1 tsp. sherry vinegar) 
• 2 tsp. Asian sesame oil 
• 1/2 tsp. brown sugar 
• 1/4 - 1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger 
• 1 small clove of pressed or grated garlic 
• 1 tsp corn starch

The stir-fry

• 1/2 pound broccoli 
• corn or peanut oil for sautéing 
• 1 pound of sirloin 
• Optional: 1.5 c sliced mushrooms and a half of sliced onion 

The accompaniments

• Cooked rice
• Store-bought frozen egg rolls

1. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil to blanche the broccoli in.
2. Make the sauce. Put all the sauce ingredients above in a bowl and stir them with a fork. Set it aside.
3. Trim the fat from the sirloin and slice it thinly against the grain. 
4. Cut the broccoli into florets and slice the onion and mushroom if you’re using them. 
5. When the water is boiling, blanche the broccoli for 3-4 minutes. When it’s done, drain it and set it aside. 
6. Heat the oil in a frying pan on high till it’s hot. Add the beef (and onions if using) and brown it on both sides. The recipe says it should only need two minutes per side, but I think it takes about 10 minutes total. Remove it from the pan when it’s done and set it aside. 
7. I take the frying pan off the stove and wipe it out with paper towels at this point. Some people might call what’s left behind flavorful “browned bits,” and if you’re one of them, best wishes. But I think it looks burnt and gross. If you’re using mushrooms, add a smidge of fresh oil to the pan to sauté them and then remove them from the pan and… set them aside.
8. Assembly: Pour the sauce into your frying pan. Let it bubble for a minute or so, until it slightly thickens. Then take each one of those ingredients you set aside and add them to the pan. Toss until it’s heated through, about a minute.

I'd love to hear how you adapt this one ... whether you add or omit anything from the sauce or the stir-fry.