Beef And Broccoli Recipe

We've said it before and we'll say it again, but it's hard to beat a meal that's absolutely delicious and a breeze to make.

"This is a causal mid-week meal that comes together very easily," says chef and recipe developer Susan Olayinka of The Flexible Fridge. She loves the dish over rice, though her husband prefers it over noodles. You can make beef and broccoli the entree of a great family meal that "is so easy to make," or you can make it but one offering as part of a feast for a larger group, as the flavors blend beautifully with other dishes as well.

Don't worry about the cost of steak here, as there's no need for a filet mignon or ribeye. "Sirloin is perfect for this," Olayinka says. And don't worry about the time or effort, either, as the whole meal takes only a little more than a half hour from start to finish. One important note Olayinka adds regarding starting off here: "I would just recommend that people have all their ingredients laid out at first to make the process easier." Let's get started!

For this sweet, savory, and tangy beef and broccoli recipe, you'll need beef, broccoli, brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, chopped garlic cloves, sesame seed oil, mirin, chopped ginger, sesame seeds (for garnish), corn flour, and some lime to squeeze on top of your beef and broccoli. There's a good chance that you already have some of this stuff in your kitchen ready to go. However, you can easily find whatever you don't have here at your local grocery store.

And if you want to spice things up, you can add some red pepper flakes, too.

To start things off, chop the beef into thin strips. This will help it soak in the marinade and cook more quickly. To make the marinade, whisk together two tablespoons of the soy sauce and one tablespoon of corn flour, then toss the meat in this mixture. 

Now, marinate the beef in a small bowl for ten minutes, stirring once or twice to make sure all of the exterior sides of the meat are coated. As the meat marinates, go ahead and measure out all the rest of your ingredients and chop the broccoli into those bite-sized pieces.

After ten minutes have passed, pour the sesame oil into a large pan and turn the heat to medium. Once the oil comes to heat, fry the garlic and ginger. Once they become fragrant, add the meat to the pan as well.

Let the meat for your beef and broccoli cook on one side until it browns, and then flip the meat onto the other side to finish it cooking. This will take about ten minutes, but to be sure the beef is ready but not overcooked, you can slice a piece in half to check its doneness. Better yet, try using a meat thermometer.

Once the meat is cooked for your beef and broccoli, it's time to add pretty much everything else to the pan. Start with the brown sugar, the honey, the rest of the soy sauce, and the mirin. Stir well, and cook everything on medium heat for five minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce will now start to thicken.

Now, add the broccoli and cook for two to three minutes until the pieces soften. You can cover the pan to help the broccoli cook more rapidly and evenly if you'd like. You can also add a dash more soy and a bit of water if necessary.

Take the beef and broccoli off the heat and squeeze some lime juice over everything while it's still in the pan, then stir a few times to mix the citrus in. Now you can plate the meal and finally sprinkle over some sesame seeds, which add a bit of flavor and a lot of visual pop. And go ahead and toss on some red pepper flakes for spice if you're into that.

The dish is now ready to serve! You can do so with a side of rice, you can serve it with rice noodles (or whatever noodles are your favorites), or you can stick with the dish as-is for a low-carb, high-protein meal.