Chinese Beef and Broccoli

Chinese Beef and Broccoli. Tender juicy beef stir fried with broccoli in a delicious rich brown sauce with umami flavor! Great for dinner or lunch. Ready in 30 minutes!

What is Chinese Beef and Broccoli?

This easy Chinese beef and broccoli stir fry recipe is a staple in many Asian households. We also love making a pot of rice with it so we have lots to enjoy!

This is one of the most popular Chinese takeout dishes at most Chinese restaurants, like Panda Express, for good reason.

This traditional Chinese dish is usually served with steamed rice. Furthermore, it's a Chinese style broccoli stir-fry with tender beef with a savory sauce. This Chinese food is a great recipe made with simple ingredients that serves a wholesome meal proving to be a crowd pleaser. Surely, it's one of my favorite dishes.

Easy Recipe

This Chinese beef broccoli stir fry recipe is super fast and easy to make as everything is cooked in one wok or pan! In fact, once you make it the first time, you won’t even want to get takeout anymore! An easy dinner consisting of simple steps with a cooking time of just 30 minutes or less! That's the great thing about stir fries.

You'll also notice the prep work is longer than the cooking time, which is true. In most Chinese recipes, that is the case. Usually, the cooking time is less than 10 minutes in a hot wok!

Tender beef!

The beef is also so tender, pairing deliciously with the crunchy broccoli. The secret ingredient to making the tender strips of beef so juicy is the cornstarch and baking soda! Corn starch is a common meat tenderizing technique used in Chinese cooking. Baking soda is also used to velvet the beef, breaking down the protein bonds in each thin slice of meat. Thanks to these techniques, this will be the best Chinese beef and broccoli recipe you’ve ever tried!

Ingredients

The below ingredients are required in this authentic Chinese beef and broccoli recipe. Please scroll down to the below Recipe card for full measurements.

Note: Most Asian markets will carry these ingredients. You may find them at your select grocery store or online, like on Amazon.  

• Flank steak, skirt steak or flat iron steak: Each cut of beef is based on your own preference. I typically prefer flank steak for broccoli beef dish. Cheaper cuts with a lot of fat running through the meat are not recommended. The fat will make the beef curled up and become overly chewy.
• Broccoli: Crisp broccoli florets that are bright green are important for this dish. You can buy them in crown form and remove the fresh broccoli florets from the crown by slicing them off and breaking them into smaller pieces. Look for healthy broccoli at your grocery store and avoid yellowish, limp broccoli.
  • You may also sub with Chinese broccoli, snap peas, snow peas, bok choy, yu choy, or choy sum.

• Ginger
• Garlic
• Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil. Avoid olive oil or coconut oil as it carries a heavy scent and taste.
• Water

Stir Fry Sauce:

• Oyster sauce
• Cornstarch
• Chicken stock or beef stock, vegetable stock or water.

Beef Marinade:

• Sesame oil
• Regular soy sauce: not light soy sauce or dark soy sauce
• Shaoxing wine or Chinese rice wine: or Dry sherry wine. For a non alcoholic substitute, replace with any broth of your choice or omit completely.
• White granulated sugar or brown sugar
• Cornstarch
• Baking soda
• White pepper

How to Make Chinese Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

Below are visuals to show you how to make the best beef and broccoli stir fry. Please scroll down to the recipe card below to find full instructions and details.

Slice beef against the grain of the meat. Tip: freeze your meat for 45-60 minutes (in a reusable bag) and slice when the meat is slightly frozen as this is your best bet to making those thin slices.

Marinate thinly sliced beef with Marinade ingredients (as listed above) for 10-15 minutes.

In a bowl, mix Stir-Fry Sauce ingredients (as listed above) until well combined and set aside.

In a hot wok or large skillet on medium heat, add neutral oil. Once oil is hot, fry beef in a single layer until 95% cooked. Remove beef from pan.

Into the pan, add ginger, garlic, and broccoli. Pour water into pan and mix with broccoli. Cook until broccoli becomes vibrant green, about 1 minute.

Once broccoli is vibrant green, pour in stir fry sauce and mix together. Let sauce thicken. If it's not thickening, raise to medium-high heat.

Once sauce is thick, add back in cooked beef and toss everything together. Remove off heat. Serve and enjoy.

Storage

This dish will keep up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat, reheat on the stove top in a large sauté pan or microwave it until hot.

FAQ

Below are frequently asked questions about this dish:

Can I use any cut of beef for this dish?

Yes, but please keep in mind that depending on the cut, how lean or how fatty it is, yields different results. This recipe is aimed for cuts like flank steak, skirt steak or flat iron steak.

You may use sirloin steak but avoid cuts with a thick strips of fat running through it or it'll be very chewy after being stir fried in a hot wok. The heat will make the beef curl up and taste less tender. So I suggest, remove those strips of fat.

Is there a substitute for oyster sauce?

Yes, feel free to use vegetarian stir fry sauce. Both of these ingredients can be found at most Asian grocers or online, like on Amazon.

Why do you add sugar to your sauce?

This helps to balance out the saltiness from the soy sauce and oyster sauce. Sugar is a very common ingredient used in Chinese cooking for this reason.

How do I make enough sauce?

This easy one-pot meal is pretty saucy as is but if you want more sauce, next time double the quantity for the Stir Fry Sauce ingredients.

Is there a substitute for sesame oil? I'm allergic.

Unfortunately, not in this case I would recommend omitting completely.

Is there a gluten-free substitute for soy sauce?

Yes! Tamari sauce, coconut aminos or gluten free soy sauce are all great substitutes.

Other Stir-Fry recipes you may like!

If you enjoyed this beef and broccoli recipe, you may enjoy these other stir fry recipes:

• Shrimp and Broccoli Stir Fry
• Chinese Tomato Egg Stir Fry
• Asian Tofu Vegetable Stir Fry
• Spicy Korean Chicken Stir Fry
• Chinese Hoisin Eggplant Stir Fry