We were reallllllllly in the mood for some Chinese food but our favorite take-out restaurant has been temporarily closed. I decided to branch out and try making some myself. I said to myself, "Self, why don't you look in Google? Google knows everything! It must know how to make Chinese food." I'm glad I listened to myself because I was right. A quick search led me to the "Better-Than-Takeout Beef and Broccoli" recipe, how could I pass that up? Beef and broccoli are one of my favorites so I decided to expand my culinary skills. I've added the full recipe link down below the photos in case you want to try this too.
We found some nice heads of broccoli that were just begging to be cooked. The most time consuming part of this meal was cutting it into individual florets. Of course, being a big fan of raw broccoli it did provide ample opportunity to "sample" pieces as I worked.
I used about a pound of sirloin steak, cut against the grain into very thin (about 1/8") slices. The slices were then marinated for about 20 minutes in a mixture of soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, and cornstarch. The cornstarch used now, and more later, are the key to the sauce being thickened later on.
The strips of meat were then seared in a medium hot pan with a little oil. Just like my mentor, Julia Childs, taught me it was important to keep the slices in a single layer. If all of the meat was dumped in at once they would steam each other instead of quickly browning. Once browned, the meat was removed and garlic was added to the pan. I cooked the garlic for a minute or so and then added more cornstarch broth, brown sugar, soy sauce, and a little siracha sauce.
The liquid was heated to a simmer and then in went the broccoli. It really didn't seem like enough sauce at first but as the broccoli cooked it released its moisture and there was a perfect amount of sauce. It was important to stir everything around really well to completely coat all of the broccoli with the sauce. Everything simmered for about 5 minutes until the broccoli became nice and tender and all of the flavors got to know each other.
Once the broccoli was the right tenderness, the beef strips were mixed in and it was ready for the finishing touches. After being transferred into a serving bowl, the dish was garnished with sesame seeds and chipped green onions. I was surprised how good my first attempt at this turned out. This was fun and easy to make and it was downright delicious.
Our pantry/fridge had a couple of "standard" ingredients added to it while I've started my cooking adventure -- butter, cream, and parsley. Now it looks like I'll be needing to keep a supply of soy sauce and sesame seeds available too!
My Chinese vocabulary is limited to about one word so, for now at least, I'll continue to end with:
Bon Appetit!
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