Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

I absolutely love Chinese food. I could literally eat it every day of the week. There are two things I dislike about Chinese take-out however; I don't like being hungry two hours after I eat and the other is how much syrup happens to be in actual dinner. I have tried to improve both of these two issues, by adding a more filling meat and used far less sauce then was called for, enough sauce to make the rice have a taste, but not so much we have a pool at the bottom of our dinner plate. The dinner ended up being so yummy I want to make it again tonight for dinner!!

Ready to be plated!!

Utensils Needed:

Measuring Spoons

Small Bowl

Fork

Sharp Knife (to cut meat, don’t need this if you have meat counter cut the meat for you J )

Wok/Deep Pan

Measuring Cups

Pan

Wooden spoon

Ingredients Needed:

2 Tablespoons Cornstarch (for meat) + 1 Tablespoon (for sauce)

2 Tablespoons Water (for meat)+1/2 Cup Water (for sauce)

½ teaspoon Garlic Powder (for meat)

1 ½ Pound Round/Chuck Steak in about 3 inch strips

1Tablespoon Olive Oil (sauté meat) + 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil (sauté veggie)

1/3 Cup Reduced Salt Soy Sauce

2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon Ground Ginger

4 ½ Cups Broccoli

Whole Grain/Brown Rice

This recipe is so easy to make and it is a quick dinner to throw together with just a few ingredients that you surely have around the house already. However we shared this amongst 6 adults and 4 wanted seconds. It is really filling however, so I was fine, maybe I can just add more next time!! It is also easy to make when the weather starts to warm up because the oven does not need to be on!

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry Recipe:

This recipe is really fast, with only 7 minutes of prep time and 30 minutes of total cook time.

Start by prepping the rice by following the recipe on the box/bag. You can use instant rice as well if that is easier, however it takes less time to cook, so start the meat if that is your choice. I used rice out of a bag and it took about 15-20 minutes to cook, so it was done about 5 minutes before the beef and broccoli. I just put it in a glass bowl and placed it in the oven on very low heat to keep it warm. When you go to the meat counter, ask them to cut your meat into approximately 3 inch strips. You would be surprised how happy they will be to do this!

First off we need to make a slight coating for the beef. Or start boiling the water for the rice, whichever you prefer.

2 Tablespoons Cornstarch

Start by placing 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch in a small bowl, followed by an equal part of water.

2 Tablespoons Water

Then add in 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder.

1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder with water and cornstarch

Mix all of this together to make an easy, quick slurry.

All mixed together

After this is all one consistency, add the meat and mix. I thought it was easiest to mix it with my hands. There is not a lot of sauce, but it will cover all of the meat.

Meat covered in slurry

Now is the time to start the rice, if you haven't already. Place 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil in a wok/pan. Wait until it heats up and add the meat to the pan.

Remember to wait until the oil is warm before adding the meat

Once the oil is warm, add the coated meat to the pan to cook. The meat took approximately 8 minutes to cook completely through. Make sure to keep an eye on the meat so it is cooked thoroughly. While it is cooking I started making the sauce.

Cooking the meat

In a bowl add the following ingredients: 

1/3 Cup reduced sodium soy sauce ( I don't add any extra salt in any of my recipes!),

1/3 Cup Soy Sauce

2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar (this will add a sweet taste to tone down the bitter taste of the soy sauce) however the original recipe called for 4 Tablespoons, I thought that would add too much of a sweet taste so I cut it in half, turned out yummy, 

2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon ground ginger,

 followed by the final Tablespoon of Cornstarch (this will help to thicken the mixture once over heat),

Used as a thickening agent

And lastly add 1/2 cup water.

The water looks brown cause I used the same bowl as the soy sauce! NO EXTRA DISHES HA!

Keeping an eye on both the rice and the meat, mix the ingredients together until one consistency. The meat should be just about done by now. Again I placed the meat in a glass bowl and put it in the oven. The rice should be just about done now too with just a few more minutes left. I used the same pan/wok as I did to cook the meat. My dad always told me that it adds extra flavor and I don't like washing dishes :P. Next place the olive oil in the pan followed by the broccoli. 

The stuff in the bottom is leftover from the meat

4 1/2 cups broccoli

The original recipe calls for 3 cups of broccoli, however I love broccoli and this is an easy way to get an extra serving of veggies!!

I stir fried it for about 4 minutes, continuously stirring. Then I added just a splash of water and covered it to steam it for another 4-5 minutes.

You will know when the broccoli is done because it will be a vibrant green

Things are really starting to come together!! The rice should be done now. Fluff it with a fork and place it in a serving bowl. Place it in the oven and take out the beef.

This is 6 servings of brown rice

Add the beef to the broccoli and stir.

The broccoli looks very green!

Mix the two together and add the sauce.

The smell is really starting to fill the house

Mix it around and let it come to a simmer. Continue to simmer for about 3 minutes. Once the sauce is absorbed into the meat and broccoli, it is DONE!!! This was by far in my top 3 favorites of recipes to make! It tastes just like take-out with less fat, less salt, and less calories! 

Finished, plated, and ready to eat!

If you have any comments about this dish, feel free to leave them in the box below! Hope you all enjoy this.