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Beef and Chinese broccoli stir-fry (芥蓝牛肉)

Tasty, succulent and easy to cook, beef & Chinese broccoli is a classic Cantonese stir-fry. Follow my tips and tutorial video to cook it to perfection.

Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
15 mins
Servings: 2 servings
Calories: 475 kcal
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese

Ingredients

For the beef
  • 200 g beef, preferably flank or skirt 7oz, see note 1
  • 1 teaspoon ginger, julienned
  • 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Shaoxing rice wine
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 teaspoon cooking oil
For the vegetable
  • 300 g Chinese broccoli (Gai lan/Kai-lan) about 6-7 stems
For the sauce
  • 2 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoon water/stock
  • ½ teaspoon dark soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
You also need
  • 2 tablespoon cooking oil
  • 4 clove garlic, sliced

Instructions

Marinate the beef
    Cup of Yum
  1. Cut the beef into thin slices across the grain. To make cutting easier, you may freeze the beef for 1-2 hours until it becomes semi-frozen.
  2. Put the beef slices into a bowl. Add ginger, cornstarch, light soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine and water. Rub with hands or mix with a pair of chopsticks until no more liquid can be seen. Pour in the oil then mix to coat.
Prepare the vegetable & sauce
  1. Separate the stem and leafy parts of the Chinese broccoli. Cut the stems into 3 cm/ 1 inch sections.
  2. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce. Set aside.
Stir-fry the dish
  1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok over high heat. Add the garlic then the stem part of the broccoli. Fry for about 1 min.
  2. Stir in the leaves. As soon as they wilt, transfer everything to a plate (keep the heat on).
  3. Pour the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil into the empty wok. Add the marinated beef. Fry until the meat loses its pinkness.
  4. Stir in the broccoli. Then pour in the sauce (stir well beforehand as the starch tends to sink to the bottom).
  5. Turn off the heat as soon as the sauce becomes thick. Dish out and serve immediately.

Notes

  • Flank steak and skirt steak are the best cuts of beef for quick stir-fries. If using other tougher cuts of beef, you need to tenderise it before marinating. Please check out the method in the post content above.
  •  Substitution ideas: Although beef and Chinese broccoli is a classic combination, please feel free to use suitable substitutes to improvise.
  • Tender-stem broccoli (aka broccolini/baby broccoli), celery and celtuce (aka stem lettuce) work fine for this recipe too. Follow the same instructions to cook.
  • You may replace the beef with other meat, such as chicken, pork or shrimp (Reduce the cornstarch by half and omit water in the marinade if using shrimp).

Nutrition Information

Serving 1serving Calories 475kcal (24%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 2servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 475

% Daily Value*

Serving 1serving
Calories 475kcal 24%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.