My Mom's Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Author Notes: Velvety strips of marinated beef stir fried with tender crisp broccoli in a flavorful brown sauce, perfect served over steamed white rice.
The best part is the marinade that ends up becoming the sauce upon stir frying with the beef. It is already quite fragrant due to the soy sauce, garlic, and sesame oil, but my mom adds a secret ingredient that really brings it over the top: cinnamon! Such a tiny amount is added that you can't really taste it, but the aromatic spice somehow boosts all the other flavors in the sauce in a way you wouldn't expect. —Joy Huang | The Cooking of Joy
Serves 4
- 1 pound flank or sirloin steak, sliced thinly against the grain
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 4 tablespoons rice wine
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 6 cups broccoli florets
- Salt, to taste
- 1/2 cup water
- Whisk together the soy sauce, cornstarch, rice wine, sesame oil, sugar, minced garlic, and cinnamon. Toss with the sliced steak and marinate for at least 30 minutes.
- In a large frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil on high and add the broccoli florets. Season with salt and stir fry until bright green. Add 1/2 cup water and cover. Steam until the broccoli is done. Transfer the broccoli to a bowl, and wipe down the pan.
- Add another 2 tablespoons of oil and heat on high again. Add the steak and marinade to the pan. Rinse out the container that the beef was in with 1/2 cup water and add to the pan. Stir fry until the beef is just done and no longer red. Add the broccoli back into the pan and continue to stir fry for another minute or two to combine. Serve hot.
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best One-Pan Dinner
More Great Recipes:
Entrees|Vegetables|Beef & Veal|Broccoli|Steak
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5 days ago Katelinlee
This turned out great, thank you!
5 days ago Joy Huang | The Cooking of Joy
You're welcome!
9 months ago drbabs
Barbara is a trusted source on General Cooking.
What a nice simple recipe. I added some more vegetables and a minced chili for some heat. I also added about 1/2 cup of chicken broth to the leftover marinade and used that to make the sauce when I put the vegetables back into the pan with the meat. Really great easy delicious dinner. Thank you!
9 months ago Joy Huang | The Cooking of Joy
You're welcome! Glad you were able to adapt it and make it work!
9 months ago Gardener
I made this for dinner. Delicious! My husband, who does most of the stir fry cooking in our kitchen, couldn't guess the secret ingredient that gave the dish it's mysterious, complex flavor. When I revealed cinnamon, he was truly shocked and impressed. Thanks for sharing your mom's recipe. Love it.
9 months ago Joy Huang | The Cooking of Joy
Yay, I'm glad you guys liked it! The cinnamon is definitely unexpected, isn't it? But it just works so well for some reason....
9 months ago Gardener
It really does. The flavor is reminiscent of star anise but somehow more satisfying.
9 months ago txchick57
That looks great. I don't eat meat but it looks like you could sub strips of tofu or even portobello. I'll try it and report back.
9 months ago Joy Huang | The Cooking of Joy
I'd probably use seitan as a substitute, but dried or pressed tofu could work as well. Let me know how it went for you!
Showing 9 out of 9 comments