Broccoli Beef

WITH A SIDE OF asparagus

[ prep 10 min | cook 15 min ]

“Every day, Mom would head to the grocery store in the late morning to cook lunch for the store workers. Then, she’d head back home around 5pm to cook dinner for the five of us kids. She’d eat dinner with us, and when Dad came home from the store, she’d reheat his meal.

Dad never ate with us — he always had leftovers that were heated back up. Since he got home late, he’d sleep in and head to the grocery store around 10am the next morning, and they’d repeat the process.”

Recipe from: Marian Wong

As prepared and shared by: Lester Wong

All quantities are approximate.

WHAT YOU NEED

  • 1 lb flank steak (alternative: skirt steak for a richer taste)

  • 2 heads of broccoli

  • 2 large tomatoes

  • 1 1/2 inch ginger

  • 4-5 garlic cloves

  • oyster sauce

  • soy sauce

  • sherry (not pictured, alternative: water)

  • corn starch (not pictured)

  • peanut oil (not pictured)

Step 1: PREPARE THE meat & veggies

Slice beef, cutting across the grain. Drizzle with corn starch and soy sauce. Mix together and set aside to marinate. (The corn starch will help thicken the sauce in step 3.)

Peel and chop ginger and garlic. Aim for a 1:1 ratio of ginger to garlic.

Cut broccoli into florets. Cut tomatoes into chunks.

Step 2: COOK THE MEAT

Heat oil in wok. When hot, add in beef slices. Stir fry until you barely see any red left. (Don’t worry if it is a little undercooked, the beef will finish cooking in the last step.)

Remove meat from wok and set aside.

Cook time: 3-4 minutes

STEP 3: STIR FRY THE VEGGIEs & COMBINE

Add more oil to wok. When hot, add in ginger and garlic.

Sauté until ginger and garlic start to brown, then add in tomatoes and broccoli. Stir fry and cover.

Add the sauces, continuing to stir fry and cover in between each sauce:

  • A splash of sherry (alternative: water)

  • A few shakes of oyster sauce (2-3 T)

  • A splash of soy sauce (1-2 T)

Add cooked beef. Stir fry until incorporated.

Taste test the broccoli for doneness. Remove from heat.

Cook time: 5-6 minutes

Asparagus

WHAT YOU NEED

  • 1 bunch asparagus

  • 1 1/2 inch ginger

  • 2-3 garlic cloves

  • sherry

  • black bean sauce

  • soy sauce

  • peanut oil (not pictured)

Step 1: PREPARE THE VEGGIES

Trim ends of asparagus and discard. Cut diagonally into pieces 2-3 inches in length.

Peel and chop ginger and garlic. Aim for a 2:1 ratio of ginger to garlic.

asparagus

Step 2: STIR FRY

Heat oil in wok. When hot, add in ginger and garlic.

Sauté until ginger and garlic start to brown, then add in asparagus. Stir fry.

Add the sauces, continuing to stir fry in between each sauce:

  • A splash of sherry (alternative: water)

  • 1-2 spoonfuls of black bean sauce

  • A small splash of soy sauce

Taste test the asparagus for doneness. Remove from heat.

Cook time: 4-5 minutes

DINNER’S READY!

MORE FROM THE WONG WOK

SAUCE TIP #1. The saltiness of your dish depends primarily on the amount of soy sauce and oyster sauce that you add. You can always add more, but you can’t take the salty away if you add too much, so be generous but not too generous.

SAUCE TIP #2. For a thicker sauce, mix 1 T cornstarch with a little water together in a small bowl. When the dish is just about done cooking, add the cornstarch mixture to the sauce that’s boiling at the bottom of the wok and stir to incorporate. The sauce will start to thicken up — perfect for pouring over your bowl of white rice!

TO-MAY-TO, TO-MAH-TO. This dish is best in summer when you can get fresh, ripe heirloom tomatoes from your local farmers market. Other than that, you don’t have to be too picky about your tomatoes — they’re gonna fall apart in the dish when you cook them. So somewhere right in the middle is good to start, not too firm and not too ripe.