Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

Try this easy beef and broccoli stir fry for dinner tonight - takeout made right at home!

Ingredients

For the Beef:

½ cup beef broth

¼ cup low sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon dried onion powder

½ teaspoon dried garlic powder or more to taste

¼ teaspoon ground ginger or more to taste

minced fresh garlic and minced fresh ginger to taste

1 pound beef round cut into strips; or another TENDER cut

For the Broccoli:

1 tablespoon oil

1 pound broccoli in florets

Instructions

Marinate beef:

Whisk beef broth, soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, cornstarch and spices (and fresh garlic/ginger, if using) together in a medium bowl. Stir in the beef and set aside.

Cook broccoli:

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the broccoli and stir fry until just tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside on a plate.

Cook beef:

Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the beef with the marinade to the hot pan and stir-fry until beef is just cooked, 30 seconds to 2 minutes (depending on how done you want it).

Finish dish:

Stir the broccoli into the beef and simmer for 30-60 seconds, until sauce has thickened. Add more soy sauce or salt to taste.

Notes

Ingredient notes

Beef: Please do yourself a favor and use a tender cut of beef that cooks quickly.

Something like beef round cut into strips is perfect. I know there’s many delicious recipes for crock pot beef and broccoli out there, but this one is a quick variation so you need a quick-cooking cut of beef.

Beef broth: if you don’t have any beef broth on hand, you can use chicken broth. the sauce will be less rich, but still delicious.

Toasted sesame oil: this does add a nice flavor, but it’s an ingredient I know not everybody has on hand. Just use a neutral oil to replace it, and sprinkle the dish with sesame seeds before serving, if you have those.

Brown sugar: calm down, people, it’s just 1 teaspoon ? if you want to avoid the sugar, use honey/maple syrup or skip it completely.

Broccoli: I used fresh, but frozen broccoli is OK, too. I would defrost before using it, and you’ll have to be OK with it being a little more mushy.

Recipe tips

make sure you use the right cut of beef and cut it into even strips against the grain for best results

don’t overcook the beef or it will turn out tough

don’t overcook the broccoli either, or it will get smashed when you stir it into the beef and sauce

if you want, you can marinate the beef in the fridge for a couple of hours. I do not recommend marinating this specific cut for longer or even overnight, as it doesn’t need tenderizing. You only marinate it to get the flavor.