Cantonese Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry — Martin Yan-Inspired

About This Recipe

This recipe is inspired by Chef Martin Yan's lifelong career teaching Cantonese home cooking on PBS — over 30 years of patient, technique-driven episodes that brought wok mastery to American audiences. Beef and broccoli is the canonical Cantonese-American stir-fry. Done well it requires three things: velveting the beef (a marinade with cornflour and soda that produces tender meat), a screaming-hot wok, and split-second timing. With practice, the dish is on the table 10 minutes after you walk into the kitchen — exactly Yan's promise: 'If Yan can cook, so can you!'

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 500 gbeef sirloin or flank steak(very thinly sliced against the grain)
• 1 tbspsoy sauce(for the marinade)
• 1 tbspShaoxing wine(or dry sherry)
• 1 tbspcornflour
• 0.5 tspbaking soda(for velveting)
• 0.5 tspwhite pepper
• 1 headbroccoli(cut into small florets, stems peeled and sliced)
• 3 tbspneutral oil(high smoke point)
• 4 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 1 tbspfresh ginger(minced)
• 2 tbspoyster sauce
• 1 tbspsoy sauce(for the sauce)
• 1 tspsugar
• 1 tsptoasted sesame oil
• 120 mlchicken stock or water
• 1 tspcornflour(for the slurry)
• 2spring onions(cut into 4cm lengths)

Instructions

1. 1

   Velvet the beef

   Toss the sliced beef with soy sauce, Shaoxing, cornflour, baking soda and white pepper. Massage well. Rest 15 minutes — the baking soda tenderises, the cornflour creates the velvet coating.

   Slice beef against the grain at a 45° angle for maximum tenderness.

2. 2

   Blanch the broccoli

   Drop the broccoli into a pot of boiling salted water for 60 seconds. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop cooking. This pre-cook means the broccoli won't slow down the stir-fry.

3. 3

   Mix the sauce

   Whisk the oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, stock and cornflour slurry until smooth.

4. 4

   Get the wok smoking

   Heat the wok over the highest heat your stove can produce until it smokes. Add 2 tablespoons oil and swirl. The pan must be RIPPING hot or the beef will steam.

5. 5

   Stir-fry the beef

   Add the marinated beef in a single layer. Don't move for 30 seconds. Then stir-fry for 60 seconds until just browned at the edges but still pink in the middle. Transfer to a plate.

6. 6

   Cook aromatics and combine

   Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Throw in the garlic and ginger and stir-fry 15 seconds until fragrant. Add the broccoli and stir-fry 60 seconds. Pour in the sauce and bring to a quick boil. Return the beef and toss for 30 seconds until everything is glossy and coated. Add the spring onions, toss once. Serve immediately over jasmine rice.

Variations

• •

  Beef and Snow Peas: substitute snow peas for broccoli — even quicker.

• •

  Black Bean Beef: add 1 tablespoon fermented black beans (douchi) with the garlic.

• •

  Chicken Version: substitute chicken thighs cut the same way; same velveting works.

Storage

Best eaten immediately. The stir-fry loses texture as it cools.

Frequently Asked Questions