Beef and Broccoli Velveting Egg White
I could not be more excited to share this recipe with you! I've been a huge fan of restaurant-style beef and broccoli stir fry for years now.
Since I was a little kid eating Chinese food at our favorite little restaurant.
How to make restaurant-style beef & broccoli stir fry
Growing up, my mom would take my sister and I to a Chinese restaurant called House of Hunan. They had this amazing lunch buffet with all homemade Chinese dishes, and we would totally pig out on egg drop soup, beef & broccoli, steamed rice and egg rolls.
Sadly, this restaurant no longer exists (literally), and I have never found egg drop soup, egg rolls or beef & broccoli as good as theirs. I tried for years to make restaurant-quality beef & broccoli, but it just never really satisfied me.
It always seemed like the beef wasn't tender enough, and the sauce just wasn't quite right. But I just had to keep trying.
And after digging through the deepest darkest pages of Google, I found a combination of techniques and ingredients that make the recipe I'm sharing with you today ALMOST perfect.
I say almost because I think the ambiance and memories of House of Hunan are what make it really perfect, so I am going with almost.
You get what I mean.
What ingredients and cooking techniques do you need?
So here is what makes this restaurant-quality, and why I slowly devoured a bowl of this goodness last night in a state of pure bliss. The beef is tender.
The broccoli is perfect cooked. The sauce is spot-on.
And the house literally smelled like a Chinese restaurant. I wouldn't share this recipe with you if I didn't feel it was worthy. Follow these simple tricks and you could be in a pure state of bliss, too.
Let's start with how to make the beef super tender:
1) Choose a high-quality cut of beef, either flank steak or top round steak.
2) Slice it VERY thin against the grain. The grains in a cut of beef run one way, and you want to slice the opposite way, not parallel. If you cut with the grain, the beef will come out chewy like jerky.
I love jerky and all, but not in my beef and broccoli. Also, some people find it helpful to throw the steak in the freezer for 15 minutes before slicing because it's easier to handle.
3) Marinate the beef strips in a mixture of egg white, Chinese rice wine (not vinegar) and cornstarch. This is a spin-off of the technique called velveting (which I learned about in the deepest darkest pages of Google).
From what I read, velveting is marinating the beef in the egg white mixture, then frying the strips in oil and water. I just sauteed them in a little oil to keep things simple. And let me tell you... it worked.
The beef is so tender and juicy.... actually soft and velvety. Sounds weird, but trust me on this one.
For the broccoli...
1) Cut the heads into equal-sized florets. We want them to cook evenly and not have some crunchy and some mushy.
2) Keep the skillet or wok nice and hot and toss or stir the broccoli until just fork-tender. This gives it a nice texture and keeps that bright green color.
Some people blanch the florets in boiling water for a minute, then shock them in ice water, but I find sauteing them for just a few minutes in a hot wok does the trick.
How to make the best beef broccoli sauce
And lastly, for the sauce:
1) It may be difficult to locate in some grocery stores, but it's important to use Chinese rice wine (not rice wine vinegar). I ordered a bottle on Amazon. Mirin is a close relative (just a bit sweeter), and could work in this recipe.
2) And the rest of the sauce ingredients are items I keep in the house because they can be used in so many yummy dishes: sesame oil, soy sauce and oyster sauce.
Plus a little beef stock, brown sugar and cornstarch for body, sweetness and thickness. Don't feel bad about making extra if you like things saucy.
Annnnnd I like to serve the beef & broccoli over a bed of fluffy Jasmine rice or brown rice if I want that extra fiber (which I make in a rice cooker for that fluff...), with a handful of green onions and a pinch of sesame seeds on top. This. Is. Life.
Also, please share your best recipes for egg drop soup and egg rolls so we can complete this meal. K, thanks!
Restaurant-Style Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Better-than-takeout Restaurant-Style Beef & Broccoli served with rice, sesame seeds and green onion.
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 25 min
- Total Time: 40 min
- Yield: Serves 4
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stove-Top
- Cuisine: Chinese
- 1 egg white
- 1 tablespoon rice wine (or mirin)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch, divided
- ¼ teaspoon coarse salt
- 1-pound beef top loin or flank steak, thinly sliced against the grain
- ¼ cup unsalted beef stock
- 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice wine (or mirin)
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1 medium head broccoli, cut into florets (about 3-4 cups)
- 2-inch piece ginger, peeled and minced
- 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- Cooked rice, sesame seeds and sliced green onion, for serving
- In a medium glass mixing bowl, whisk together egg white, rice wine, 1 tablespoon cornstarch and salt until thoroughly combined. Add strips of beef and toss to combine. Marinate for about 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together beef stock, oyster sauce, rice wine, soy sauce, brown sugar and sesame oil. Vigorously whisk in remaining 1 tablespoon cornstarch until smooth. Set aside.
- Heat oil to medium-high in a large skillet or wok. In batches, sauté marinated beef strips for 1-2 minutes, flipping once, until browned and crispy on all edges. Remove cooked beef and place on a paper towel-lined plate. Add broccoli florets to the hot skillet or wok and sauté 3-4 minutes, until just tender, stirring frequently. Stir in ginger and garlic and sauté an additional 30-60 seconds.
- Pour sauce into the wok or skillet and simmer 1-2 minutes, until thickened.
- Serve beef & broccoli over cooked rice and top with sesame seeds and green onion.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¼ of recipe
- Calories: 453
- Sugar: 7g
- Sodium: 1008mg
- Fat: 19g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 37g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 29g
- Cholesterol: 54mg
Keywords: easy, healthier, takeout, healthy, easy, sauce, quick
Source: https://thehealthyepicurean.com/restaurant-style-beef-broccoli/