This beef and broccoli is a popular Chinese take-out meal and it’s also easy enough to make at home. It’s also healthier than most take-out meal options. With juicy tender beef and crisp broccoli brought together in a rich brown sauce, this quick dinner is as colorful as it is delicious. Serve it over hot rice for an authentic Chinese take-out dinner. {Gluten-Free Adaptable}
Beef and broccoli is one of those dishes that should be on your fixed weekday dinner menu, because it’s so easy to make, healthier than takeout, and extremely delicious. If you’ve been ordering takeout, I highly encourage you to try making it at home once. This takeout-style Chinese beef and broccoli is extra saucy and quick to prepare. The recipe does not require a wok and you can still get that authentic taste.
I couldn’t wait to share this recipe with you because…
- You can cook everything in one pan. No extra blanching for the broccoli required!
- The dish is extra saucy and goes great with rice.
- No wok needed! You can use a flat skillet and still get that restaurant-style taste.
Ingredients
Which cut of beef to use
My personal favorite cut for beef and broccoli is flank steak, and the second best is skirt steak. I wouldn’t use a fancy cut such as a strip because it’s quite expensive and the result is not as good.
What if you need to use a cheaper but tougher cut of beef? Keep reading to learn the secret of extra tender and juicy beef.
How to create tender beef using a tough cut
If you have to use a tougher cut, for example, brisket, chuck, round roast etc., your best bet is to use the baking soda method. It is a common practice in Chinese restaurants to create extra juicy and tender beef. All you need to do is add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda (NOT baking powder) to the marinade, mix it in and let it marinate for at least 30 minutes before cooking.
Other vegetable alternatives
If you wish to add other types of vegetables to this dish, it’s totally OK!
You can use 1 cup of sliced carrots, sliced red peppers, snap peas, or snow peas to replace half of the broccoli.
If using carrots, add them at the same time you cook the broccoli, so they will be steamed together.
For vegetables that cook faster, you can add them halfway through steaming the broccoli, and steam them for about 20 to 30 seconds. Then return them to the pan at the end of cooking, at step 6.
Mise en place
Your table should have the ingredients below before you start cooking:
- Marinated beef
- Chopped broccoli florets
- Mixed sauce
- Ginger and garlic in a bowl
When you start cooking, you will need to move very quickly to avoid over-cooking the beef. So it’s important to have everything ready to go.
The wok vs. skillet debate
I always recommend home cooks use a flat skillet instead of a wok. This is because you can use a skillet to create very similar results, and sometimes even better results, if you’re cooking on an electric stove. (I wrote about 10 reasons not to use a wok and Wok vs. Stir Fry Pan – Which is the Right Tool for You?, if you’d like to read more on this topic.)
Chinese beef and broccoli uses a very flavorful sauce. It makes skillet cooking more tolerable. Plus, in the case of home cooking, you have a less powerful stove and might need to cook the food in more than one batch. So you will benefit from using a skillet on an electric stove because you will have a larger contact surface to sear the food properly.
Although you can use almost any nonstick skillet to make takeout-style beef and broccoli, a deeper pan such as this nonstick deep pan works best, because you will spill less when stirring the food. If you do want to use a wok on an electric stove, get one of those with a large bottom that can cover the biggest heating element on your stove.
How to cook beef and broccoli
Cooking beef and broccoli is super easy!
- Steam the broccoli in the skillet using a small amount of water
- Sear the beef
- Add the aromatics and give it a quick toss
- Add the sauce and the broccoli
- Stir everything together until the sauce thickens
That’s it!
Lastly, if you prefer a spicy beef and broccoli, add a splash of chili oil or sriracha to spice up your dish!
This beef and broccoli is very saucy so you’ll have enough sauce to douse your rice. When you prepare dinner, don’t forget to start the rice at the beginning. So the rice and main dish will be ready at the same time for a delicious Chinese dinner!
More takeout style stir fry recipes
- Sweet and Sour Chicken (Without Deep-Frying)
- Real-Deal Beef Chow Fun
- General Tso Tofu
- Takeout-Style Orange Chicken
- Stir Fried Chicken with Black Bean Sauce
Chinese Beef and Broccoli (牛肉炒西兰花)
Ingredients
Meat and Marinade
- 1 lb (454 g) boneless flank steak , skirt steak, or other cut (*see footnote 1)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (Optional) (*see footnote 1)
Sauce
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) chicken stock (or beef stock)
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce (*footnote 2)
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar (or white sugar)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Stir-fry
- 1 head (600 g) broccoli , cut to bite-size florets
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil (or vegetable oil) (*Footnote 3)
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 teaspoons ginger , minced
Instructions
- Slice the beef against the grain into 0.5 cm (1/4 inch) thick slices or 1-cm (1/2 inch) sticks. Transfer to a small bowl. Add soy sauce, peanut oil, and cornstarch (*Footnote 1). Gently mix well by hand until all the slices are coated with a thin layer of sauce. Marinate for 10 minutes while preparing the other ingredients.
- Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a medium-sized bowl. Mix well.
- Add 1/4 cup water into a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until the water begins to boil. Add the broccoli and cover. Steam until the broccoli just turns tender and the water evaporates,1 minute or so. Transfer broccoli to a plate. Wipe the pan with a paper towel held in a pair of tongs if there’s any water left.
- Add the oil and swirl to coat the bottom. Heat over medium high heat until hot. Spread the steak in a single layer. Allow to cook without touching for 30 seconds, or until the bottom side is browned. Flip to cook the other side for a few seconds. Stir and cook until the surface is lightly charred and the inside is still pink.
- Add the garlic and ginger. Stir a few times to release the flavor and fragrance.
- Return the broccoli to the pan. Stir the sauce again to dissolve the cornstarch completely and pour it into the skillet. Cook and stir until the sauce thickens, about 1 minute. Transfer everything to a plate immediately. Serve hot as a main dish.
Notes
- If you need to use a cheaper but toucher cut of beef, for example, chuck, brisket, or round roast, add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to the marinade and marinate the beef for 30 minutes before cooking. This method tenderizes the beef and will create a very juicy result.
- Dark soy sauce will add an appetizing dark color to the sauce with a hint of caramel taste, but you can skip it if you don’t have it. If you skip the dark soy sauce, you can add 1/2 teaspoon molasses to enhance the flavor.
- If you do not have peanut oil, you can drizzle 1/2 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil at the end of the cooking after turning off the heat and mix together. It will boost the flavor.
Video
Nutrition
This post was published in Nov. 3, 2017 and updated by May 10, 2022.
I reduced the amounts by 1/3 (which gave 2 meals for me) and added in a jalapeno pepper and half an onion. I was really happy with the result and especially the sauce, way better than take-out!
Made this for dinner yesterday and it was so delicious! Reminded me of Panda’s beef and broccoli. I also used top round steak and it was really tender.
Yet another great recipe and wayyyyyy better than the local restaurant. Thanks!
🤙🏽😋😋😋
This is the recipe I’ve been looking for! So fabulous and tasty. Also very easy to make. Thank you!
I loved it going to make several of your recipes thank you for many it easy
Excellent recipe! We truly enjoyed the flavor and the recipe was easy to follow. We will definitely be making this again! Thank you for sharing! 5 stars all the way!!
This is one of our favourites. I love your website and have been cooking your recipes for years. Love this one!
Made this using clot steak. turned out great, just like restaurant. used home grown ginger.
‘wife loved it. Third meal from Maggie’s crash cooking course. All easy ,great taste and turned out perfect. Made this in a wok,turned out perfect. Now just need what and where to get “authentic Chinese” serving and prep tools.
Great Job Maggie!!!
wanted beef and broccli as I had both in the house. Did a little search and found this. Looked straight forward and it was. Very tasty and relieved the craving for local take out…. I made subs for the dark soy and peanut oil. Added a little seseame at the end. Big hit… saved for next time!
I love this recipe. My new go to for garlic beef and broccoli!
Very nice stir fry recipe.
I had no broccoli, so used asparagus, celery, green peppers, mushrooms, onions.
Used beef tenderloin because I had it on hand. Used the ginger (fresh from my garden) and garlic. Very savory over brown rice. Thank you, Maggie.
This recipe was perfect! This is the best recipe for beef and broccoli I’ve ever come across. It’s better than what I get from local restaurants. It’s cheaper, faster, and healthier than take out in my area. I love that it can be made gluten free.
Very good recipe…appreciated the baking soda tip!! I used Gravy Master for the dark soy sauce. This was fun to make. Thank you!
Oh my goodness! As good as takeout, and we have amazing chinese takeouts in our area. Hoping to find one for boneless spare ribs!!! I guess i can use this recipe for Chicken or Shrimp too? Thank you very much!
Yes! You can use this for chicken and shrimp as well 🙂
Im totally new to cooking and even newer to Chinese/Japanese/Oriental styles of cooking, so I have a few questions, mainly bout ingredients!! You call for a sherry/Shaoxing wine?!?! I’ve never in me life heard of this an most certainly do not have any of it!! What may I readily use in place of it!! We are a dry home so have no stand by alcohol on hand,, but I’m not against buying some if needed for certain recipes, jus need to know which ones are best and where to possibly look for them, as I live in the southwest of the United States!!
In this post I showed some pictures of Shaoxing wine: https://omnivorescookbook.com/essential-chinese-ingredients
These are usually the good ones that I prefer to use.
If you plan to make Chinese food a lot, I would get a bottle of Shaoxing wine. It’s very important in Chinese cooking and almost every stir fried dishes contains it.
Sometimes I recommend my readers to replace the wine with chicken broth, if they have to make the dish non-alcoholic. It is not the most ideal approach since the flavor of the sauce changes.
This is so easy! It is better than takeout, my wife and kids cannot get enough. I made 12 servings for a family of five ( with 3 teenagers) and had enough for lunch the next day! Oh my god after sitting refrigerated overnight it was even better! The flavors melded further into each other. This is the best brown sauce ever made, it is not salty, but packed with flavor. I started to follow Maggie on LinkedIn because of this dish. Her recipes are easy, inexpensive and best of all family friendly. I will not use any other Asian recipes again.
Outstanding Recipe. My family loved it and was extremely quick dinner after a long work day.
Terrific recipe. Had it for dinner last night. Congratulations on becoming a mother!
II’m having a hard time finding the toasted sesame oil, I only have the regular one. how can I substitute that?
I think the “regular one” is the toasted kind. Sorry if my wording here is confusing. Because you can find raw sesame oil, I wanted to distinguish. But actually the raw type is harder to find.
Anyhow, if the sesame oil you have is in an amber color, it should be the correct type.