Beef and Broccoli is one of the most popular dishes on Chinese restaurant menus. It also happens to be one of our family’s favorite takeout dishes.
When my parents owned a Chinese takeout restaurant years ago, we had to crank out beef and broccoli orders every single day, so I’ve had plenty of practice making this dish, and making it taste great.
I hope that caught your attention!
There are many beef and broccoli recipes on the Internet, with variations made in slow cookers, in Instant Pots, and on sheet pans. Our recipe, however, will show you exactly how to easily achieve restaurant results at home.
This recipe was originally published in September 2014; It has been re-tested, re-photographed, and re-published with new metric measurements and a video!
How Do Chinese Restaurants Make Beef and Broccoli?
If you have a local Chinese takeout joint with an open kitchen, pay attention to the wok station while you’re waiting at the counter for your food. You’ll see that the beef, broccoli, and sauce are cooked separately and combined at the end.
Here are the basic steps to making an authentic beef broccoli stir-fry:
- Tenderize & marinate the beef
- Blanch the broccoli & sear the beef
- Cook the sauce & stir-fry everything together
This simple method yields tender beef, still crisp, healthy broccoli, and a rich sauce, combined into a restaurant-style dish that you can make at home!
How Do They Make the Beef So Tender?
A little secret to tenderizing the beef is hydrating the meat with a bit of water and adding a small amount of baking soda. You need a good 30 minutes for the beef to sit and tenderize.
After tenderizing the meat, marinating it in some oil, oyster sauce, and cornstarch gives the beef that extra soft and velvety texture you find in Chinese restaurant versions. For more detailed information on preparing beef for stir fry just like restaurants do it, see our post on How to Prepare Beef for Stir Fry.
What Kind of Soy Sauce Should I Use?
Many readers ask us what kind of soy sauce we buy. The answer is: use any good quality brewed soy sauce, like Kikkoman, Pearl River Bridge or Lee Kum Kee brands. We have used Pearl River Bridge for years.
For this recipe, you’ll need both light/regular soy sauce and dark soy sauce. A good dark soy sauce adds flavor and provides that rich dark color to your beef and broccoli.
Just as important as the soy sauce is the oyster sauce, which is full of umami goodness and key to producing an authentic restaurant flavor.
Read more about light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and oyster sauce on the Chinese Sauces page of our Ingredients Glossary.
How Is the Sauce Thickened?
A mixture of cornstarch and water is the thickening agent for any good beef and broccoli dish. Our beef and broccoli recipe has plenty of sauce to soak into your steamed rice.
Be sure to add this mixture right at the end. Then simmer the sauce for at least 20 seconds after adding it. This ensures that you cook the cornstarch mixture thoroughly and that the sauce has enough time to thicken.
Ok, now that we’ve gone through all the restaurant secrets you need to know, it’s time to show you how this easy beef and broccoli comes together. On to the recipe!
Beef and Broccoli Recipe: Instructions
In a bowl, add the sliced beef, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, and 3 tablespoons water. (If you don’t want your beef tenderized too much, omit the baking soda). Massage the beef with your hands until it has absorbed all the liquid.
Mix in 1½ teaspoons cornstarch, 2 teaspoons oil, and 1 teaspoon oyster sauce. Set aside to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
Make the sauce mixture by mixing together the chicken stock, sugar, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and white pepper. Set aside.
Bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Blanch your broccoli for 30 to 60 seconds. (Depending on whether you like your broccoli crunchy or a little soft.) Drain and set aside.
Heat your wok over high heat until smoking. Add 2 tablespoons oil and sear the beef on both sides until browned (this should only take 2-3 minutes). Turn off the heat, remove the beef from the wok, and set aside.
Set the wok over medium heat and add another tablespoon of oil to the along with the garlic and ginger (if using). Stir the garlic and ginger for 5 seconds and then pour the Shaoxing wine around the perimeter of the wok.
Next, add in the sauce mixture you made earlier. Stir the sauce around the sides of the wok to deglaze it (all those nice bits from stir-frying the beef should be absorbed into the sauce). Bring the sauce to a simmer. Stir the cornstarch and water into a slurry to ensure it’s well combined, and drizzle the mixture into sauce while stirring constantly. Allow it to simmer and thicken for 20 seconds.
For more detailed information on the many ways to use cornstarch to get authentic results at home with our recipes, see our post on How to Use Cornstarch in Chinese Cooking.
Toss in the seared beef (along with any juices)…
And the blanched broccoli.
Mix everything together over medium heat until the sauce coats the beef and broccoli. If the sauce seems thin, turn up the heat and reduce it further, or add a bit more cornstarch slurry. If the sauce is too thick, add a splash of chicken stock or water.
Serve with plenty of steamed rice!
For more takeout dishes, check out our other restaurant-style Chinese Takeout recipes.
If you like this recipe, try our Beef and Chinese Broccoli stir fry. If you prefer chicken, try our recipe for Chicken and broccoli with brown sauce.
Watch Video!
Beef and Broccoli
Ingredients
For the beef and marinade:
- 1 pound flank steak (sliced 1/4-inch or 0.6cm thick)
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda (optional)
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
For the sauce:
- 2/3 cup low sodium chicken stock (warmed)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar (or brown sugar)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce (or double black dark soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
For the rest of the dish:
- 4 cups broccoli florets
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil (divided)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger (grated/minced, optional)
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch (mixed with 3 tablespoons/45ml water)
Instructions
- In a bowl, add the sliced beef, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, and 3 tablespoons water (if you don’t want your beef tenderized too much, omit the baking soda). Massage the beef with your hands until all the liquid is absorbed. Mix in 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch, 2 teaspoons oil, and 1 teaspoon oyster sauce, and set aside to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
- Make the sauce mixture by mixing together the chicken stock, sugar, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and white pepper. Set aside.
- Bring 6 cups of water to a boil and blanch your broccoli for 30 to 60 seconds (depending on whether you like your broccoli crunchy or a little soft). Drain and set aside.
- Heat your wok over high heat until smoking. Add 2 tablespoons oil and sear the beef on both sides until browned (this should only take 2-3 minutes). Turn off the heat, remove the beef from the wok, and set aside.
- Set the wok over medium heat and add another tablespoon of oil to the along with the garlic and ginger (if using). Stir the garlic and ginger for 5 seconds and then pour the Shaoxing wine around the perimeter of the wok.
- Next, add in the sauce mixture you made earlier. Stir the sauce around the sides of the wok to deglaze it (all those nice bits from stir-frying the beef should be absorbed into the sauce). Bring the sauce to a simmer. Stir the cornstarch and water into a slurry to ensure it’s well combined, and drizzle the mixture into sauce while stirring constantly. Allow it to simmer and thicken for 20 seconds.
- Toss in the blanched broccoli and seared beef (along with any juices). Mix everything together over medium heat until the sauce coats the beef and broccoli. If the sauce seems thin, turn up the heat and reduce it further, or add a bit more cornstarch slurry. If the sauce is too thick, add a splash of chicken stock or water. Serve with plenty of steamed rice!
I made this following your recipe and instructions. The food came out delicious. Thank you
You’re welcome Pao!
Just made this! Absolutely delicious!
Hi Felice, enjoy and happy cooking!
This recipe scales up really well. It’s in regular rotation in my house. The only thing I changed is steaming the broccoli in the microwave.
Hi Cathy, steaming the broccoli in the microwave is also an alternatove. Happy cooking!
Great recipe! I did not have chicken stock on me so I used water and doubled the amount of garlic. Tired of buying the boxed stuff and not being able to use it all.
Thanks Maggie and glad you liked it. Using water instead of chicken stock is fine if you don’t have it.
This may sound silly but I never saw “flank steaks” in super markets here in Canada. Could this cut be called a different name?
Hi Bernice, I am not sure, but flank steak could be labeled as London Broil, which is a dish made from a flank steak. These cuts come from the rear abdominal section of the cow. I have seen both in the supermarket, and in my experience the “london broil” cut is thicker and tougher, so the labeling may depend on the part of that flank portion is used. Hope that helps!
Made this for Dinner tonite. So easy, so Delicious. The key is. Have everything ready to add before you start the steps. It’s important in Asian Cooking I think.
Hi Denny, you are quite right about the importance of the preparation of all ingredients before firing up the wok. It is one of the keys to successful wok cooking!
Hi. You mentioned the cornstarch slurry but you seem to have overlooked how to make it (for this particular recipe). Can you please amend your instructions? Thanks
Hi Janine, the instructions simply say stir the cornstarch and water into a slurry. I made a small adjustment in grammar so it makes more sense now ;-)
I made it tonight – good recipe for tenderizing the beef. I added some snap peas to the recipe and also found that a bit of worcestshire sauce added just the right amount of zing to the falvour. Thanks again for this recipe.
You’re welcome Harvey!
Way too much corn starch in the sauce. 2.5 tablespoons made my sauce immediately seize up into jello. Had to add a cup or two of water to make it not be pure slime. Next time I will be using maybe 2.5 TEAspoons instead.
Hi brian, we should be a bit more specific when adding cornstarch slurry to say add a little at a time until it thickens to your preference. Given the variations in cooking times and heat, the amount of liquid in the wok can also vary greatly.
We just finished dinner and it was a huge hit! Well… Except my picky 16 month old. I didn’t have oyster sauce on hand, or dark soy, but I mixed soy with mirin and Worcestershire sauce with a little sugar and it was a pretty good substitute. I will now tenderize all my steak with the baking soda and water, thank you!
You’re welcome Destini – enjoy!