Broccoli Beef
This succulent beef and tender broccoli, smothered in a flavorful sauce is better than a restaurant! And it is FAST. It is SIMPLE. And it is utterly tasty.
So let’s be real here for a second. I eat a lot of food. And I eat a lot of really great food. So when I declare something the best – you have to know I mean business.
It’s not every day that I say something is “the best” and then cancel the previously requested meal (this and this and this) for my upcoming birthday and insist that my husband make this instead. Seriously, this beef and broccoli is that good!
The succulent beef and tender broccoli, smothered in a flavorful, rich sauce, is one of those meals that leaves you wondering how on earth something so good, better than a restaurant even!, could honestly come out of your homely little kitchen.
And here’s the bonus – it is FAST. It is SIMPLE. And it is so utterly tasty, you may or may not stab your husband with your fork trying to spear the last piece of meat.
I would say the only downfall to this recipe is the fact that flank steak can be a bit pricey but if you look for it on sale or buy a large package and freeze half, it really isn’t so bad. Plus, consider this a meal worth splurging on. It’s worth it, my friends, completely worth it.
Speaking of The Best – I’ve recently updated my Best Recipe section with new headers, sub-categories and a few lost treasures I forgot belonged there. Enjoy!
What to Serve With This
- Baked Brown Rice, Stovetop Brown Rice, or hot, cooked white rice
- Cut up pineapple or other fresh, seasonal fruit
- Asian Noodle Salad or a simple green salad
One Year Ago: Homemade Chocolate Dessert Cups
Two Years Ago: Chicken and Dumpling Soup
Three Years Ago: Lemon and Garlic Grilled Chicken
The Best Broccoli Beef
Ingredients
Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium chicken broth
- 5 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Beef and Broccoli:
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 ½ pounds flank steak, cut into 2-inch-wide strips with the grain, then sliced across the grain into 1/8-inch-thick slices
- 6 medium cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press or minced (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
- 1 teaspoon peanut oil or vegetable oil, plus extra for cooking
- 1 ¼ pounds broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces
- ⅓ cup water
- 3 medium scallions, sliced 1/2-inch thick on diagonal, optional
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine beef and soy sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 10 minutes or up to 1 hour. Meanwhile, whisk the sauce ingredients together in a liquid measure or small bowl. In another small bowl, combine garlic, ginger, and 1 teaspoon peanut oil. Set aside.
- Heat 1-2 teaspoons peanut oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot and rippling. Add half of beef to skillet and break up clumps; cook, without stirring, for 1 minute, then stir and cook until beef is browned around edges and cooked through, about 1-2 minutes. Don’t overcook the meat – cook until just barely cooked through so the meat stays tender. Transfer beef to a medium bowl and cover with a lid and tin foil. Heat another 1-2 teaspoons peanut oil in the skillet and repeat with remaining beef.
- Add 1 tablespoon peanut oil to now-empty skillet; heat until rippling and hot. Add broccoli and cook 30 seconds; add water, cover pan, and lower heat to medium. Steam broccoli until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes. Push the broccoli to the sides of the skillet and add the garlic/ginger mixture. Cook, mashing the mixture with a spoon, until fragrant, about 15-30 seconds. Stir the mixture into the broccoli. Add the beef back to skillet and toss to combine. Whisk the sauce to recombine and add to the skillet. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce is thickened and evenly distributed, about 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, sprinkle with scallions, and serve – or be like me and serve it straight out of the skillet!
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted from America’s Test Kitchen 10th Anniversary Best Recipes Magazine (found at Sam’s Club a few years ago)
Absolutely delicious! I am allergic to oysters, so I used a mixture of fish sauce and soy sauce instead. It turned out great! I will definitely make this again!
Absolutely excellent!! Better than Panda Express! I used leftover roast from Sunday dinner and served over Calrose Rice. Thanks Mel!
My family gobbled this up last night and practically licked the pan. Plus it was quick to make! Thanks so much.
It really IS the best. (I add a little extra brown sugar.)
If I want any of my step-children to visit I tell I’m making this. BAMB! They’re knocking on the door.
Made this for my boys tonight – they finished it without complaint and the adults had seconds. That’s a winner!! We did use bottled ginger paste and minced garlic and that was a nice time saver too!
I just made this recipe for the first time and was disappointed. I thought there was way too much garlic in it for my liking. I didn’t notice it while eating but after – holy cow! I feel like I had been chewing a clove of garlic. But I also need to say I forgot to add the brown sugar, so maybe that made a big difference in the flavor. Anyway I don’t know if I would make it again.
Really yummy and came together pretty fast! Thanks Mel!
Is there a non-seafood substitution for the Oyster sauce? We have a sea food allergy at our house but I’d still LOVE to try this recipe.
You could try a combo of soy sauce + BBQ sauce. Nothing will quite get the same flavor as oyster sauce, but it’s worth a try.
I use 2 TBSP soya sauce and 3 TBSP hoisin sauce to replace the oyster sauce. It is still yummy delicious according to my grandsons!
Is the call for rice wine vinegar the same as Shao Xing cooking wine which I saw at the Chinese market? When I made this dish at home, it had a slight vinegar smell that did not agree with me during the cooking process. The other flavors were spot on especially the flavor of sesame oil.
You could try subbing in a cooking wine for more balanced flavors.
This was delicious and I’ll definitely make it again! Anything that can be done to cut the saltiness? I know oyster and soy sauces are both loaded with sodium, so I’m thinking probably not.
Low sodium soy sauce will definitely help.
Hi! I’ve made a few of your recipes and have enjoyed them all. This was easy and so delicious, definitely will make again! Thank you for making my evening meal planning easier!
Hi. I”m about to make this. Was putting together the sauce ingredients. The Oyster sauce is pretty thick and contains some corn starch. Do I still need to add 2 t of corn starch then?
Yes, I still add it but you can leave it out if you want the sauce thinner.
I ended up using the cornstarch. The flavors were great, I might add some acid at the end next time to brighten it up. I am also not a huge fan of garlic so I’ll reduce next time as well. Thank you!
Mel how do you feel about adding a few other veggies to this dish? I have some cabbage, carrots, and mushrooms I need to use up.
This sounds delicious and I can’t wait to try it!
Thanks!
Tami
I think that’s a great idea!
What other cuts of steak can you use if you can’t find any flank steak?
Skirt steak can work as well as sirloin steak sliced thinly (may not be quite as tender as flank)
I’ve tried many broccoli beef recipes and this one is *the* keeper! I’ll reduce the sugar in the sauce by half next time (personal preference), but I believe in following a recipe precisely the first time I make it. Thanks Mel… you’ve done it again!
(Also, for those concerned over oyster sauce… my fish/shellfish-HATING daughter was bothered knowing this ingredient was in there, but flipped with excitement over how much she loved the overall dish.)
Made this and it tasted great but kudos to the person who can peel and chop that much fresh garlic and ginger, slice all the meat, wash and cut up over a pound of broccoli, gather and mix all the sauce ingredients in twenty minutes, and then actually cook it ten. Apparently there are some kitchen super heroes out there but I’m not one of them!
Mel,
This recipe is fantastic. Whole family loved it. Will be making again, that’s for sure
Love your site. My go to site for family meals!
I am confused it says mix beef and soy sauce together. But then it says after to mix all the sauce ingredients. I am just confused about the amounts of soy sauce. Are the 3 tablespoons to me used to marinate the meat or to be used in the sauce?
Nevermind. I misread instructions. I feel dumb haha.
Mel how do you feel about adding a few other veggies to this dish? I have some cabbage, carrots, and mushrooms I need to use up.
This sounds delicious and I can’t wait to try it!
Thanks!
Tami
Hi Mel! Do you own a meat slicer and does it work for this meal? I am making 10 meals of this this week and am dreading the slicing already!
I don’t have a meat slicer…but I do often use my food processor slicer attachment and it works great (I partially freeze the meat for easier slicing).
I made this for a family get together with egg rolls from a local Chinese restaurant we all like. It was THE BEST BEEF AND BROCCOLI EVER. Absolutely amazing. I will never make another recipe. Love the garlic, love the ginger. It is a lot easier if you prep cook everything because it comes together so quickly. Thank you Mel for this dish.
Fantastic recipe! I wish I would have tried this long ago. I will definitely make it again. Thank you Mel!
I made this last night and it’s a delight! Thanks for the always fail-safe delicious recipes!
I made this last night, and WOW it is being put in the binder for keeps. It did not last long in my house. Made it as is, and it was perfect.
So I made this recipe quite awhile ago, and I remember I did not like the smell or taste of the oyster sauce, so ended up leaving it out. I was wanting to make this again, but am hesitant to go buy it again, but I am one of those who tries best to follow the recipe. 😉 So do u think it could’ve been the brand I used or does this stuff have a very distinct unique taste. I wondered if it cooked in and maybe u don’t notice, idk…just wondering. I usually love everything I make of yours and no one else has commented on this.
Hey Bethany – it might just be the oyster sauce. It definitely has a distinct taste and flavor and smell. You might try subbing in hoisin sauce. It’s like Chinese BBQ sauce.
Thank u! I ended up using The dynasty brand (I saw u had mentioned in a previous comment) was totally fine, and it all tasted great! It was so long ago that I had made it before, so I don’t remember what I had bought before….glad I was able to follow the whole recipe this time! Thanks again for your site…I’ve been following you for a few years now and have just started to comment. 😉 I recommend you to so many people.
Thanks, Bethany – so happy it worked out!
Where do I find oyster sauce? I’ve never heard of it? Or is there a substitute that may be easier to find? This is one of my favorite things to order when we get Chinese, I can’t wait to make it at home!!
Hey Jennifer – oyster sauce is really easily found, usually, in the Asian foods aisle by the soy sauce.
Loved this recipe! I am pretty picky about beef stir fry dishes as many result in tough meet or not enough flavor but this recipe wins on all fronts. The beef was tender and the fresh ginger gave the sauce a delicious fresh taste. I subbed honey for brown sugar which worked well. We will definitely make this again. Thanks, Mel!
Very good, the only beef broccoli I’ll eat
I am a Mel fan. I enjoy all her recipes, but this is our family favorite. I make freezer meals of this, so I buy in bulk for it. One little bit of insider info…you can buy flank steak in bulk at Sam’s, but don’t buy what is in the cooler already. Ask for a cryo pack. It is a couple dollars cheaper per pound. The cryo packs have about 5 giant flank steaks and can make 6 meals with an extra flank steak to marinate and use on the grill. The cryo pack usually costs about $55. This is the most affordable method I have found and the meat is far superior to what is at the grocery store. I have not found a worthy flank steak at the grocery. Anyway, what I really wanted to tell you all is that I have made MANY of these. More than I can count and I still despise the cutting part (probably because it takes me so long with so many flank steaks 🙂 ) I have actually used my cunning to get my OCD daughter to do all the cutting for me as it IS her favorite meal. Well, she was at college today, so I had to do it myself. I had an epiphany. I got the electric knife down from the pantry, almost solely used for Thanksgiving, and LO AND BEHOLD! It is magical. I mean…it was so much easier to cut those 1/8″ slices. They are all even and it is beautiful. This whole meal is beautiful. Now it is easy too. Thanks Mel.
Wow! Two great tips, Beth! The cryo pack AND the electric knife. We make this ALL the time too and I’m excited to use those tips. I don’t have a Sam’s Club near me but I wonder if I could ask for the same at Costco. Thank you!
I had some thin-cut sirloin in the freezer that needed to be used and this looked great. I only had a pound, but I used 8 oz of halved baby bella mushrooms to fill in and just seared them before the beef and added them back at the end. This was amazing! Very flavorful and easy too! The meat and mushrooms were fantastic, I’ll definitely do that again. Thanks for such an easy and delicious meal Mel!
Oh, one more thing. I dislike seafood except lobster. When my husband eats tuna fish in the kitchen, it bothers me for an hour until the stench dissipates. When I’m at a restaurant and I can smell someone’s seafood order, it ruins my meal. Crab, trout, salmon, whatever. Can’t stand the smell. But I went ahead with the oyster sauce and I’m telling you… Thumbs up. Necessary addition.
I made this two nights ago. The flavor was divine. It didn’t turn out as I hoped because the meat was not cut properly. I went to the butcher counter at my local high-end grocery store to get the meat sliced exactly as written in the recipe. I wrote down the instructions and handed it to the young lad working the counter. He was a new guy and I was skeptical. So when I get home and open the brown paper, all he had done was cut the flank steak into full-length pieces with the grain. I chopped it up into smaller pieces after that with my less-than-chef-worthy knife. But I didn’t do a good job and the meat turned out tough. That’s nothing on this recipe. The flavor was as good as or better than a Chinese restaurant. We ate all the broccoli, but couldn’t finish the meat. My jaw was getting sore from chewing. I’m mad at that butcher for ruining this exquisite recipe. The way the meat is cut is SO important in stir fry. I’m discouraged from trying my hand at stir fry beef again, but if I did, I’d use this scrumptious recipe.
What brand of oyster sauce do you use? I want one without MSG and caramel color. All the ones I look at at least have caramel color. Thanks!
You might have to try an authentic Asian market to get oyster sauce without caramel color. I usually use the Dynasty brand.
Dumbest question ever … Do you include the soya marinate when cooking the beef? Thanks!
No dumb questions! Just lift the beef out of the bowl with the soy sauce mixture. You don’t need to pour the marinade in the pan but you don’t need to pat the beef dry either. Does that help?
There are lots of recipes for beef and broccoli in slow cooker . Have oyu adapted this before?
I tried once and it was a disaster (the beef was pretty much mush – gross). So I don’t have a tried-and-true yet.
What can I do for the sauce to replace the brown sugar? My family needs to cut out all sugar right now. We can have honey and agave.. Any ideas?
You could experiment with honey or other alternative sugars. Good luck.
This was to die for! You’re the best Mel.
So i had takin out a London Broil for dinner (yuk) but since it is only 7 degrees here i didnt want to put on BBQ, so i was looking for a Beef and Broccoli recipe. Dear Lord Have Mercy lol it was Delish!!!! I am a avid cook, always home made and never boxed or canned, and had so many Asian ingredients in pantry figured this would work out great I sliced the meat so paper thin and marinated it for about a hr omg my house smelled so wonderful. so thank you this will be a keeper for sure. I wish i new how to post some great recipes i have would love to share them. 🙂 Good Job, Great Dinner ps for your readers, when you have some extra cash at food store and love Asian Cuisine get some sauces Oyster, Soy, Tamari, chili, ect.and always sesame oil (my fav) this was you will always have it for last minute meals.
Can you substitute something for the oyster sauce; don’t normally have this on hand? Thank you.
You might try googling for substitutions and see what comes up – I’ve never tried subbing anything for the oyster sauce and don’t want to lead you astray.
Oh, PS. Since I hate garlic, and since I don’t want to be offensive in public with garlic breath, I substituted shallots . It was amazingly delicious as I said before , YUMMY!!
Mel
This was AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS, just like you said !!! So, so very yummy !!! Thank you!!!
I had everything purchased to make this last night but then wasn’t feeling so great -my husband and six year old son worked together in the kitchen to make this (keep in mind our little boy is not the best eater and very picky). They both gobbled this up!!! I have never seen my husband so excited about a meal -just wish I would have made it 🙂 Thank you for your wonderful site (and I LOVE the “what to serve” ideas -so incredibly helpful to me).
To die for! Excellent!
Looks and sounds great, what can I sub for oyster sauce, went to store today, before I saw this, have everything but oyster sauce, hate to go to store more than once a week.
By the way love all your recipes, have tried a lot and love everyone, your my go when I want to make something new
I’ve never subbed out the oyster sauce so I’m not sure – any sub will change the flavor. Could try more soy sauce; reading through the comments may help, too, since others may have varied it. Good luck!
Love the web site and your recipes. My husband has CHF and I need the nutritional info. Do you have that for your recipes anywhere?
Keren – I don’t currently provide the nutritional info but hope to in the future. Meanwhile there are several online nutritional calculators you could plug the recipe into if you need the info on it.
Dynamite! Awesome meal! All the great comments are right on target. Better than what you are served at your favorite Chinese restaurant! Thanks for the recipe!
P.S. My husband had a work lunch today at PF Chang’s (I didn’t know that – or I’d have planned a different meal for tonight!) and he said your Beef and Broccoli was far superior to his lunch meal!
That’s awesome, Holly!
Mel, I finally tried this after having it on my “to try” list for over two years. My husband DEVOURED it! It was fun to watch. He and my oldest son loved it. What a great meal! I served it with your Asian Noodle Salad (I left out the noodles and told my son it was Asian Coleslaw!) and jasmine rice. Thanks for another outstanding recipe!
Oops just noticed the previous post, will try it!
Would fish sauce be an ok sub for the oyster sauce? I have all the ingredients but that one until next shopping day. I LOVE LOVE LOVE your website! almost all of our meals are from your recipes and my hubby loves you to!
I just made this last night and it was sooo good! My whole family (4 kids) enjoyed it. We eat gluten free at home and I thought I would share my substitution for the oyster sauce since oyster sauce is not gluten free. I looked at the ingredients of the sauce in the grocery store and the main ingredients are water and sugar. So, instead, I put in:
2 TBSP of honey
1 tsp. fish sauce
3 TBSP of Tamari (wheat free soy sauce)
This worked very well but the sauce did not thicken up enough (still tasted great). So, next time I will add at least another tsp. or 2 of corn starch.
Thanks for the great recipe, I will definitely make this again.