Restaurant Style Beef Broccoli (©Rainy Day Gal 2009-2013)

Beef broccoli is probably my favorite dish at a Chinese restaurant.  I make sure to order it whether we're eating at the restaurant or if we're doing take out.  The first beef broccoli pin I ever tried was a disaster.  I didn't have high hopes for this one, although I figured it had to turn out better than the last since it wasn't in a slow cooker.

Reading through the ingredients as I prepared to go on a grocery run, I was a bit shocked when I read that it uses cooking sherry.  Sherry in a Chinese dish?  This made it even more interesting.  I think my husband and I have cooked with sherry maybe once before.  I quickly did some research on cooking sherry before we looked for some and a lot of the feedback I read was to skip the "cooking" sherry and head to the wine aisle and go with something you'd drink.  We aren't fans of dessert wines and sherry is no exception. 


This homemade beef broccoli version comes from the lovely Jenny's blog, The Rainy Day Gal.  Jenny is a supermom; SAHM, writer, blogger, and cook who used to teach!  She lives in Seattle with her adorable family and she posts about food, her family, and her novel!  Yes, she's a published author!  Go check her out!

Her pictures are so detailed that there is no way that you could possibly mess this recipe up! Ingredients and directions as posted on her blog:

This easy version of the Chinese takeout classic requires only a short marinade to

make the beef fork tender. Serve over white or brown rice. Serves 4.
©Rainy Day Gal 2009-2013

Prep Time: 10 minutes + 1 hour for marinade

Cook Time: 8 minutes

First, marinate the meat:

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

1 tbsp water

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 1/2 lbs flank steak, sliced into thin strips

1. Whisk together the baking soda, sugar, cornstarch, soy sauce, water, and vegetable oil in 

a large bowl. Toss the steak with the marinade to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour, 

then proceed below.

1/2 c low sodium soy sauce (Do NOT use regular.  The final product will be way too salty)

2 tbsp brown sugar

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp flour

1 tbsp sherry

3 tbsp vegetable oil

2 heads broccoli, crowns only

1. In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, flour and sherry until smooth. Set aside.

2. In a large wok or saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil over high heat 

until shimmering. Add broccoli and saute 3 minutes, stirring often. Transfer broccoli to a plate.

3. Reduce heat to medium high. Carefully add the remaining tablespoon of oil to

the hot pan. Add the marinated meat and half of the sauce mixture and saute for 3-4 minutes, 

stirring often, until the meat is cooked through and no longer pink. Stir in the broccoli and remaining 

sauce. Saute 1 minute more. Serve.

This is the sherry that we used and yes, I tried it.  Definitely not a fan.  The husband

describes it as "sweet whiskey".  Blech.

The one thing we did different from her instructions is marinading it for an hour.  We already had dinner planned the night we bought the steak, so we let it marinade over night.

As you can see, we did have quite a bit of beef (but we're not complaining) and it soaked up all of the marinade. 

We followed the instructions and before we could even plate it, we tasted a piece of beef because it was too tempted after smelling all of the aromas from the pan!

You  may notice that our sauce isn't quite as dark as on the blog.  We couldn't quite figure it out but didn't make a big deal of it.  This plate was actually put together by our oldest; she wanted "more beef than broccoli" but after eating it, she went back for more broccoli!

 

The verdict:  Beef? Tender.  Sauce?  Perfect (the low-sodium soy sauce was a great call by Jenny).  Dare I say it?  It was the best homemade beef broccoli.  Our daughter thought it was good enough to be from a restaurant!  Husband loved it and it is going into our recipe book!  Definitely try this one out!

Cheers!

Crock Pot Beef Broccoli

Who doesn't like a little Chinese food?  I know our family loves it!  My only wish is that we lived in a place like New York where they delivered!  I usually opt for ordering from the restaurant because after the few times I've tried at home, none were successful.  I couldn't get the flavor to be close to the real thing.  After seeing a crock pot beef broccoli recipe on Pinterest, I figured, why not give this version a try?

                                                                                        Source: bsrecipe.blogspot.com via G on Pinterest

That's the pin I pinned to my food board last week and that I attempted to make tonight.  The instructions are very easy and simple.  I will caution that if you don't want too much salt, use a soy sauce with lower sodium.  Here's the recipe from BS Recipes:

Ingredients
1 pound boneless beef chuck roast, sliced into thin strips
1 cup beef consomme
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cooled sauce from the crock pot after being cooked
Fresh broccoli florets (as many as desired)
Hot cooked rice

Directions
1. Place beef in a crock pot.
2. In a small bowl, combine consomme, soy sauce, brown sugar, oil, and garlic. Pour over beef. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
3. In a cup, stir cornstarch and sauce form the crock pot until smooth. Add to crock pot. Stir well to combine. (If your sauce is not thickening, try bringing your sauce to a boil on the stove top with the corn starch mixture. Boil until your desired consistency is reached).
4. Add broccoli to the crock pot. Stir to combine.
5. Cover and cook an additional 30 minutes on high (the sauce has to boil for it to thicken).
6. Serve over hot cooked rice.

If you've never used beef consomme before, be prepared.  It's nothing scary or gross, but the scent is strong!  You'll be tempted to just use the entire can, but it is a little over 1 cup, maybe a cup and a few tablespoons worth.  When I was ready to set the crock pot, I set it for 7 hours, which made the beef so tender you don't need a knife to cut it into smaller pieces!!

                                          

The 7 hour time frame on low was perfect!  The beef was so tender that whenever I'd stir it around especially after adding the cornstarch and broccoli, some pieces would start to break apart!  Definitely a plus for the kids, meaning they wouldn't struggle trying to bite into the beef.  Before I did the cornstarch/broccoli steps, I did set my rice cooker so the rice would be done once the broccoli was done cooking.  :)

Verdict?  This recipe did yield a good amount of sauce!  Does it taste like actual beef broccoli, or maybe better as the original blogger posted?  To my family, not at all.  The soy sauce did make the sauce saltier than the original (which is why I suggested using a lower sodium soy sauce).  Don't get me wrong, it is a good dish, but since it tasted nothing like what you get from a Chinese restaurant.  I'll still be on the hunt for a good, ohmygod-didthiscomefromarestaurant type recipe!

Cheers!