Beef and Broccoli

I can't make or eat this dish without thinking of my friend and old roomie Melena.  I think one night my parents came to visit our apartment during our junior year of college and my mom had made some of this, or brought it from home for me and the roomies.  Melena fell in love instantly and whenever my parents were talking about visiting after that she would automatically burst out loudly, "Broccoli Beef!!" in sort of a TV announcer voice.  I don't really know where this response came from, but she liked it that much!  Ha ha!

 I wouldn't say that this dish is knock your socks off amazing, but it's pretty good.  It's one of those lick your plate clean, feel totally satisfied, get all your veggies in kind of dish. 

I think this dish is a pretty common standard on most Chinese restaurant menus, but it tastes so much better and REAL when it's homemade.  It comes together pretty quickly with a little bit of prep, so it makes a great weeknight meal.  Try it out!

I tried to blog about it last night when I made it, but when my mom photocopied the recipe out of her book for me it didn't have the book info with it, so now that I'm hanging out at mom's house I can blog about it!

Beef and Vegetable Stir-fry
adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Oriental Cookbook

Ingredients
1lb beef top round steak (or any beef for stir-fry) sliced thinly (*Tip: partially freeze beef before slicing to make thin slicing easier)
1 1/2 cups broccoli cut into pieces
3 medium carrots bias sliced
2tsp cornstarch
1tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
2tbsp sherry
1/4c soy sauce
2 tbsp sunflower oil or other oil that can handle high heat
1 medium onion sliced
1c frozen peas


Method
1.  Blanch broccoli and carrots in boiling water for a minute then drain.

2.  Mix cornstarch, salt, sugar, soy sauce and sherry and set aside.

3.  Preheat a wok to high heat and quickly stir fry broccoli, onion, and carrots and set aside.

4.  Add beef to wok and stir fry for a few minutes until everything is browned.  You may have to work in batches.

5.  Add all the veggies back into the wok with the beef.   Stir the liquid mixture then add it to the wok and turn down the heat to low/medium.  Cook and stir until the sauce is thick and bubbly and all the meat and veggies are coated with sauce.

Serve on top of rice or noodles!

Here you go Melena!  Now you can make the magical Broccoli Beef whenever you please!!


In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Dear God,
thank you for great friends and hilarious memories from college.  Please bless all my friends wherever they are and in the dreams they are pursuing.  Amen.