Sliced Beef with Broccoli (玉蘭炒牛肉)

Other than last week's braised spare ribs (a loose adaptation at best), it's been nearly 3 months since I've directly taken on a Pei Mei recipe. Today's dish is sliced beef with broccoli. The Chinese name is yulan chao niurou. This translates to "magnolia stir fried beef," yet another reference to a flower in the name of a dish. I assume this is a poetic flourish, but yu also means jade, which might refer to the green broccoli. Everything in this dish is pretty much classic Chinese, but it's notably one (like egg drop soup) that became a staple of American Chinese takeout. Ariel noted this was very similar to what she grew up eating.

Pei Mei's original recipe calls for gailan, a Chinese broccoli that has leaves at the ends. It's commonly found at Chinese stores, but as we have very limited access during the pandemic, I used regular "western" broccoli instead. Either way works, but if you do have access to gailan, it is delicious. For the beef, she calls for tenderloin (the Chinese just says tender beef), which I think is an odd choice. Since we are using the baking soda tenderizing technique and slicing it very thin, a tougher, more flavorful cut makes more sense. I use flank steak, which is widely available. I previously used the exact same tenderizing (sometimes called "velveting") in the beef chow fun recipe. My recipe roughly doubles Pei Mei's.

The sauce consists mostly of oyster sauce, which is an ingredient I haven't discussed before on the blog. It's another of the many umami-rich Chinese sauces and pastes, but instead of fermented beans, it's made from oysters. This makes it a relative of Hong Kong's famous XO sauce, which is made from scallops. I don't use it all that often, but it's good to have on hand for when it does come up. The sauce in this recipe is enough to coat everything, but is not meant to dominate the dish. The takeout style is definitely saucier, so take that into account if you want to go that route. Overall, this one comes together reasonably easily, and is a very satisfying meal. Additionally, swapping out the gailan for regular broccoli means everything can be found at an average Midwestern grocery store.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. flank steak
• 2 lb. broccoli (gailan or western broccoli)
• 2 scallions
• 1/2 oz. chunk ginger
• Vegetable oil

Marinade

• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1 Tbs. light soy sauce
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 4 tsp. corn starch
• 2 Tbs. water
• 2 Tbs. vegetable oil

Sauce

• 1 Tbs. light soy sauce
• 4 Tbs. oyster sauce
• 1 Tbs. Shaoxing wine or amontillado
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. corn starch

Instructions

Cut the flank steak with the grain into 2-3 chunks. Thinly slice each piece across the grain. If you want smaller beef pieces, cut these in half. Put the beef in a bowl with all the marinade ingredients. Toss to coat and let marinate 30 minutes to an hour. 

While the beef marinates, mix all the sauce ingredients together in a small dish. To prepare the broccoli, make a cut just below the florets and separate them. Use a potato peeler to remove the tough outer layer from the stem. Cut the stems into 2-3 pieces, then quarter each piece lengthwise into sticks. If using gailan, just cut into 1 inch segments. Mince the ginger. Chop scallions and separate into white and green parts.

Fill a wok or other large pot with water and bring to a boil. Drop in broccoli, cook 30-60 seconds, and remove with a strainer and set aside. I did this in two batches. 

Heat a little oil in a wok over high heat. Stir fry the beef in batches, until well browned, then set aside. I did this in three batches. This can be done while the water comes to a boil, if two woks are available.

Remove any gunk from the pan. Add more oil if needed. Add ginger and white parts of scallions and stir fry a few seconds. Add the broccoli, toss to combine, and stir fry another minute. 

Stir the sauce and add to the pan. Toss to combine. Add the beef and green parts of scallions. Toss to coat everything in the sauce and serve with rice.