Beef and Broccoli

Chinese-American stir-fried beef with broccoli in oyster sauce, born in California

Origin: California, United States

From the journey of Broccoli.

Beef and broccoli is the archetypal Chinese-American restaurant dish, a hybrid born from the intersection of Chinese cooking techniques and American ingredients available in California from the late 19th century. Chinese cooks originally used gai lan (Chinese broccoli) for this dish; as the D'Arrigo brothers' commercial Calabrese broccoli became widely available from the late 1920s, it gradually replaced gai lan in Chinese-American kitchens across the country. The result, velvet-textured beef, crisp broccoli, and a glossy oyster-soy sauce: became one of the most ordered dishes in Chinese-American restaurants, a true cultural hybrid that belongs to both traditions.

Ingredients

Beef & Marinade

450 g beef sirloin or flank steak, thinly sliced against the grain
0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)

Ingredients

500 g broccoli, cut into florets
3 tbsp vegetable oil

Aromatics

3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced

Sauce

3 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)
120 ml beef stock or water

Method

Velvet the beef: combine the sliced beef with bicarbonate of soda, soy sauce, and cornflour. Toss well, then rest for 20 minutes. Rinse thoroughly under cold water and pat completely dry.
Mix all sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
Blanch the broccoli florets in well-salted boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Heat a wok or large heavy pan over the highest heat until smoking. Add 2 tbsp vegetable oil. Add the beef in a single layer: do not stir for 1 minute to allow it to sear. Stir-fry until just browned, about 1–2 minutes total. Remove from wok.
Add remaining oil to the wok. Stir-fry the garlic and ginger for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the broccoli and toss over high heat for 1 minute.
Return the beef to the wok. Pour the sauce over everything and toss until the sauce is glossy, thickened, and coats the beef and broccoli evenly, about 1 minute. Serve immediately over steamed rice.

Notes

The wok must be screaming hot: this is the key to wok hei (breath of the wok), the slightly smoky, caramelised quality that defines restaurant-quality Chinese stir-fry. A domestic stovetop can achieve this with a carbon steel wok preheated for at least 3 minutes.

The Gastrographer

Name: Beef and Broccoli
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: United States
Ingredients: 450 g beef sirloin or flank steak, thinly sliced against the grain; 0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda); 1 tbsp soy sauce; 1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch); 500 g broccoli, cut into florets; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced; 3 tbsp vegetable oil; 3 tbsp oyster sauce; 2 tbsp soy sauce; 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine or dry sherry; 1 tsp sesame oil; 1 tsp sugar; 1 tsp cornflour (cornstarch); 120 ml beef stock or water

Mapping Culinary History

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control