Beef and Broccoli
Thin slices of velveted flank steak seared in a smoking-hot wok, tossed with blanched broccoli florets, garlic and ginger in a glossy brown sauce of chicken stock, oyster sauce, soy sauce and a little sugar.
Beef and broccoli started as a Chinese dish made with gai lan, Chinese broccoli, and Wikipedia says broccoli replaced the gai lan in America, where it was "likely" developed by the Chinese immigrant community in the 19th century (citing Cook's Illustrated) and where restaurants had it by the 1920s; by the 1950s it was everywhere on Chinese-American menus. The vegetable itself, Wikipedia adds, was first popularized in the US by Italian immigrants.
This recipe is from The Woks of Life, the Leung family's food site, and Bill Leung writes from the other side of the takeout counter: when his parents owned a Chinese takeout restaurant, "we had to crank out beef and broccoli orders every single day." The method is the restaurant one. The beef gets a little baking soda to tenderize it, the broccoli is blanched for under a minute, and everything meets in the wok for only the last minute.
Why it works the kitchen science
Baking soda and a cornstarch coat
The soda raises the meat's pH so it holds onto moisture and stays tender, and the starch and oil protect the slices from the wok's high heat, the restaurant technique called velveting.
Separate cooking
Searing the beef, blanching the broccoli and building the sauce on its own means each part is cooked exactly right before they meet for the last minute.
Step by step
- Step 1
Work the baking soda and water into the beef with your hands until the liquid is absorbed, then mix in the cornstarch, oil and oyster sauce. Marinate at least 30 minutes.
- Step 2
Stir the sauce ingredients together.
- Step 3
Bring a pot of water to a boil and blanch the broccoli 30 to 60 seconds, depending on how crisp you like it. Drain.
- Step 4
Heat a wok over high heat until it smokes. Add 2 tbsp oil and sear the beef in a single layer 2 to 3 minutes, turning once, until browned on both sides and cooked through. Take it out and turn off the heat.
- Step 5
Return the wok to medium heat with the last 1 tbsp oil, the garlic and the ginger and stir 5 seconds. Pour the Shaoxing wine around the edge of the wok.
- Step 6
Add the sauce, scrape up the browned bits and bring to a simmer. Stir the slurry and drizzle it in while stirring constantly; simmer about 20 seconds, until thick.
- Step 7
Add the broccoli and the beef with its juices and toss over medium heat about 1 minute, until coated. Thin with a splash of stock if too thick, or reduce if too thin. Serve with rice.
Beef and Broccoli
Serves 4 · 1 platter · 50 min total
Beef and marinade
- 1 lb flank steak, sliced 1/4 inch thick across the grain
- 1/4 tsp baking soda (optional)
- 3 tbsp water
- 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
- 2 tsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp oyster sauce
Sauce
- 2/3 cup low-sodium chicken stock, warmed
- 1 1/2 tsp sugar (granulated or brown)
- 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1/8 tsp white pepper
Stir-fry
- 4 cups broccoli florets
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 tsp grated fresh ginger (optional)
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 3 tbsp water
Method
- Work the baking soda and water into the beef with your hands until the liquid is absorbed, then mix in the cornstarch, oil and oyster sauce. Marinate at least 30 minutes.
- Stir the sauce ingredients together.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and blanch the broccoli 30 to 60 seconds, depending on how crisp you like it. Drain.
- Heat a wok over high heat until it smokes. Add 2 tbsp oil and sear the beef in a single layer 2 to 3 minutes, turning once, until browned on both sides and cooked through. Take it out and turn off the heat.
- Return the wok to medium heat with the last 1 tbsp oil, the garlic and the ginger and stir 5 seconds. Pour the Shaoxing wine around the edge of the wok.
- Add the sauce, scrape up the browned bits and bring to a simmer. Stir the slurry and drizzle it in while stirring constantly; simmer about 20 seconds, until thick.
- Add the broccoli and the beef with its juices and toss over medium heat about 1 minute, until coated. Thin with a splash of stock if too thick, or reduce if too thin. Serve with rice.
Adapted from The Woks of Life (Bill Leung), "Beef and Broccoli" (first published September 2014, updated April 16, 2025): (recipe card:). We follow it as written: 1 lb flank steak sliced 1/4 inch thick with 1/4 tsp baking soda (optional), water, cornstarch, oil and oyster sauce for at least 30 minutes; a sauce of 2/3 cup warm low-sodium chicken stock, 1 1/2 tsp sugar, 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, sesame oil and white pepper; 4 cups broccoli blanched 30 to 60 seconds; the beef seared 2 to 3 minutes; garlic and ginger 5 seconds; a slurry of 2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch and 3 tbsp water simmered about 20 seconds. The Woks of Life lists 6 servings; we count 4 main-dish servings, and that choice is ours. The Woks of Life. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (3)
Tips
- Slice the flank steak against the grain; partly freezing it for 20 minutes makes thin slices easier.
- Skip the baking soda for a firmer, meatier texture, as The Woks of Life allows.
- The Woks of Life also makes the dish with gai lan; see their Beef with Chinese Broccoli.
- Keep the broccoli brief in the boil; it keeps cooking in the sauce.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Beef and broccoli is an American invention. Disputed: Wikipedia says it derives from a Chinese gai lan dish, with broccoli swapped in by Chinese immigrants in America.
- It dates to the 19th century. Disputed: Wikipedia says "likely" (citing Cook's Illustrated) and that restaurants had established it by the 1920s; we found no primary record.
- Broccoli came to America with Italian immigrants. Documented as Wikipedia's account that they first popularized it.
- Restaurant beef is tenderized with baking soda. Documented as The Woks of Life's method from its family restaurant.
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