Saturday, February 5, 2011

Beef Broccoli Stir Fry


Hi, my name is Chau, and I'm Asian. That means, I love rice and eat a lot of stir fry dishes. Beef and broccoli? It's one of my faves, but my recipe isn't like those I've seen on the internets. Unlike Martha Stewart's, it doesn't have apple juice and cider vinegar listed in the ingredients, and I disagree (am grossed out) by Emeril's use of orange blossom honey in his stir fry recipe. I think a stir fry should be simple, easy, and edible. That's pretty much it. 

Beef and broccoli stir fry (adapted from Wandering Chopsticks)

2 heads of broccoli, cut into florets (I also cut the stem into 2 in. pieces)
Optional: 3 carrots, sliced diagonally and 2 c. of mushrooms, cut in half
1/2 to 1 lb of beef sliced thinly into 2 in strips
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 of medium onion, sliced or diced as you prefer
2 tbs each of hoison and soy sauce
2 tbs veg oil (I prefer a light mist of Pam)
1 tbs fish sauce (optional)
2 tbs corn starch (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

1. After slicing the beef, marinate it with the soy and hoisin sauces. If you want a thick sauce, add corn starch to the marinade.
2. Place broc and carrots into a microwave safe bowl, cover, and microwave for 3-5 min. until the veggies are slightly cooked but still firm. 
3. Sautee onions in oil until soft, add minced garlic. Cook over med-high heat until fragrant.
4. Add the meat! Cook until meat is just about to lose all of it's pinkness, rather than fully cooked. I do this to prevent the beef from overcooking and become tough.
5. Add the slightly cooked broc and carrots. Allow it to soak in the juices/sauce a bit before stirring the pot to let the veggies and meat cook together.
6. Taste the sauce. If you like more flavor, add salt, pepper, fish sauce, soy sauce to suit your preference.
7. Just before the veggies and meat are at the point where they are cooked to your liking (I like my broccoli to still be a bit crisp), add the mushrooms, stir them all together, place a lid on it, and turn off the heat. (I like to let the residual heat finish the cooking, because there's less chance of the vegetables becoming too soggy that way.)
8. Serve with steamed rice, and love. Lots of love.


Any stir fry is cooked in basically the same way depending on your combination of meat and vegetables. If I'm cooking with pork, I like to add ginger and only use fish sauce. Chicken has no fish/soy sauce, but loads of extra garlic and ginger. I suggest you experiment to find what you enjoy best. Whatever you do, don't add apple juice or honey, because it makes babies cry and angels lose their wings.

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