Beef with Broccoli

You know what really bites?  Writing posts ahead of time, then falling behind on your blogging and the season changing.  There is no way I can say "it's a great time to grill" right now.  Well, put it in the can for next summer.

But it is a great time to stir fry!  Honestly, when isn't?  Need a quick meal on a weeknight?  Boom, stir fry.  Unexpected guests?  Boom, stir fry.  See where I'm going with this?  I'm sure a few of these recipes are going to be coming down the pipe as I'm into giving my wok a workout (wokout?).

Strangely enough, this recipe came to me via an email newsletter from my favorite local kitchen store, KitchenArt.  I modified it a bit for some spice, but it's a rather simple and extremely delicious recipe.  Besides Chicken with Almonds, it's the most frequent stir fry around my house.

Beef with Broccoli

1 pound flank steak, sliced thin against the grain
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry (or rice wine)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
1 large bunch broccoli, trimmed and cut into bite size pieces (you can peel and use the stems too)
1/4 cup water
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 slices fresh ginger
3 dried arbol chiles (or other small spicy variety)
4 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon + 1 tablespoon peanut oil
Cooked white rice

In a bowl combine the soy sauce, sherry, sugar, cornstarch.  Add flank steak and marinate 10-15 minutes.

Heat a wok or large skillet over medium high heat.  Add 1 teaspoon oil and heat until shimmering.  Add broccoli and cook until starting to brown, about 1 minute.  Add water, cover, and cook for 4 minutes or until broccoli is cooked.  Remove broccoli from pan and spread out in a single layer to cool (this is important as you want to stop the cooking process).

To the now empty wok add the remaining tablespoon oil.  Heat until shimmering and add the garlic, ginger, and chiles.  Cook until browned to infuse the oil.  Remove the seasonings (discard them) and add steak, breaking it up and cooking while stirring constantly until browned and cooked through, about 4-5 minutes.  Add broccoli and oyster sauce to combine, cook for 1 minute or until everything is hot.  Serve with white rice.