Best Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry Recipe
Making a classic Chinese beef and broccoli stir-fry at home is easy! Tender beef and fresh broccoli florets are stir fried together with a savory sauce. With this recipe, you will have a quick and healthy dinner in 15 minutes. It’s better than any Chinese restaurant takeout.
I had a chunk of very good beef sirloin and a head of farm-picked fresh broccoli in hand. What would I do with them? Beef and broccoli stir-fry, of course!
Although this the most common beef stir-fry dish that people order at Chinese takeout restaurants, it is actually very easy to prepare at home with ingredients you might already have in your pantry. It is one of the affordable Asian dinner recipes that you can make within your budget.
This is one of the quick and easy Chinese recipes you can make. Give yourself 15 minutes in the kitchen and you got a healthy beef broccoli stir fry dinner ready for you and your family on a busy weeknight.
Tips for making Best Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry
- Make sure the beef is thinly sliced and marinated with soy sauce, a little brown sugar, and corn starch for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile cut up the broccoli and onion. Prepare the stir-fry sauce in a separate bowl by combining soy sauce, oyster sauce, chicken stock, garlic, ginger, sugar, and corn starch.
- When ready to stir-fry, stir-fry beef first, then add the broccoli and cook until soft. Pour the sauce and voila! Within a few seconds, your dinner is ready to serve.
For a successful stir-fry: It is important to get all the ingredients prepared. Preseason the meat (if needed), vegetables are cut up, and sauce is made before you start a stir-fry. Make sure everything is ready to go and standby next to you so that you can stir-fry quickly without pausing.
Now I think I just gave you full instructions on how to make the dish and I feel like this post should end right here! Just kidding! Here is the recipe tutorial in case you need it.
How to make Beef and Broccoli Stir-fry
Slice beef. Slice thinly against the grain. Use a tender cut of beef, such as sirloin, ribeye, or striploin .
Season beef. Put beef slices in a bowl and add soy sauce, brown sugar, corn starch, and rice wine (if you happened to have any). Toss well together and set aside for 5 minutes.
Cut up broccoli into florets. I don’t throw away the stem part. Remove the outer fibrous layer and you will get the tender core inside. It is delicious!
Also slice one small onion and set aside with broccoli.
Make beef and broccoli stir fry sauce. In a bowl, mix beef stock (or chicken stock), soy sauce, oyster sauce, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, and cornstarch; set aside.
Stir fry beef. Heat oil in your wok or skillet very hot over high heat. It is important to stir-fry with a very high temperature.
Throw the beef slices in and stir-fry just until they are just browned, about 2-3 minutes. Consider that you are cooking the beef about 75% done. Transfer the beef to a plate and set aside.
Drizzle more oil in a wok and add the broccoli and onion. Stir-fry for a minute. Make sure you are retaining the high heat.
Add about 2 tablespoons of water to create the steam. Cook the broccoli until they are tender but retain its crispness; about 1-2 minutes. Add more water if needed.
Pour the stir fry sauce. Return the beef to the skillet and pour the sauce over everything. The sauce will thicken in no time. Continue to stir-fry until the sauce gets thickened; about 30-60 seconds.
You can serve this beef and broccoli stir-fry over rice or noodles. I chose rice because it is a staple in my household.
You will love the tender beef, and the crisp tender broccoli florets. It is juicy and delicious. Look how broccoli retained its beautiful greenness!
A great meal doesn’t have to be so labor intensive, right? The handy-dandy printable recipe is below. Enjoy!
More Beef Stir-fry Recipes
- Chinese Crispy Beef Under 30 Minutes
- Quick Cumin Beef Stir-Fry
- Beef and Cucumber Stir-Fry
- Thai Beef and Basil Stir-Fry (Under 20 Minutes)
- Beef and Peppers Stir-fry in Black Bean Sauce
Best Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry
Ingredients
Beef Marinade
- 1 1/4 lb beef sirloin, or ribeye or striploin, thinly sliced against grain
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp sweet rice wine (mirim), optional
Sauce
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 2 tsp ginger paste
- 1 cup beef stock , or chicken stock
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- dashes black pepper
Stir-fry
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
- 1 lb broccoli , cut into florets
- 1 small onion , sliced
- 2-3 tbsp water
Instructions
- For the beef marinade, combine beef slices with brown sugar, cornstarch, soy sauce, and rice wine in a bowl. Toss well and let it sit for 5 minutes.
- For the sauce, mix all the sauce ingredient in another bowl; set aside.
- To stir-fry, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok or skillet over high heat until very hot. Add the beef and let it sear for few seconds, then stir-fry until they are just browned, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Heat the remaining oil in a wok until hot, add broccoli and onion, and stir-fry for 1 minute. Make sure to maintain the high heat. Add 2 tablespoon of water to create the steam so that can cook the broccoli florets to a tender crisp.; about 2 minutes. Add more water if needed.
- When the broccoli florets are tender yet crisp, return the beef and pour the sauce over. Continue to stir-fry until the sauce gets thickened, about 30-60 seconds. Serve warm with rice or noodles
is it possible to have the nutritional info included so those on medically restricted diets can join the fun?
Hi Barbara
Yes, I understand the needs. I am planning to provide the nutritional info in my recipe card soon. Thanks for your comment.
Do you think this would be a good recipe for a beginning chef? I haven’t cooked with meat before because I grew up vegetarian but I’m diversifying my skills.
Surely! It is a wondeful recipe for a beginner chef to try. Hope you will like it. Good luck!
I made this tonight and my husband said, loudly, “this is goooood sweetheart!” Tks for the recipe!
What a great recipe. Tastes just like at the Chinese restaurants. I made it for my MIL and she loved it. I’ve made several of your other recipes too and they’ve all been great. Thanks a bunch Holly~!!
I’ve tried to find the right recipe for this for a long time. I tried yours and knew I had found the right recipe. Thank you so much. I love your cookbook too!
Thanks Kim, I am glad that this recipe was right one for you.
Heeeey Holly! I HAVE been here before! As soon as I opened your page, I recognised it. I had to pop by to check this one out because I shared one last week – our recipes are very similar! Excited to see you have a cookbook too! Do you have an affiliate program for it? 🙂
Thanks Nagi. I better check on your beef and broccoli recipe, too. I am thinking of an affiliate program as well. Will see.
Thank you for sharing such a delicious recipe! I made it for dinner tonight and it’s definitely going in my recipe file!
Great! I am so happy to hear that you liked it. Thanks for the comment.
I love the sauce so much! Holly. And I agree that the stem is also a good part which should be discarded directly
Beef combines so well with broccoli in a stir-fry, doesn’t it? One of my favorite combos! Yours looks excellent — thanks.