Sesame Beef and Broccoli Recipe

This sesame beef and broccoli recipe has quickly become a family favorite, It’s super easy to make, as good left over as it is fresh, and ridiculously delicious.

Prep time: 10 mins, Cook time: 20 mins

Main Ingredients

2-3# Beef Flank Steak (very thinly sliced) (depending on how much left-over you want) (sub sliced tempeh if you want to make this vegan. If you opt for this, marinate in some of the sauce for a short while before cooking)
1 to 1.5 heads of broccoli – (sub sugar snap peas or broccolini)
6 Tablespoons olive oil (your preferred cooking oil is fine here)
6 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 2-to-3 inch piece of ginger, minced or sliced (I used ginger from a tube)
Rice of choice and/or riced cauliflower or noodles

Sauce Ingredients

½ cup soy sauce
½ cup water
2/3 cup brown sugar (sub coconut sugar, or whatever you prefer)
2 to 3 Tablespoons sambai oelek (aka ground fresh chili paste – you’ll find it in your grocery store in the Asian food section)
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar (sub white vinegar)
2 Tablespoons sesame oil
2 Tablespoons cornstarch

Prep Instructions

Beef – Thinly slice your flank steak against the grain. I’ll note here that I buy my flank steak at Costco because I like making a lot of this, and it’s much cheaper by the pound there than at my neighborhood store).

I like my strips really, really thin (leads to crispier finished product), so slice yours according to your family’s preferences. Note that thinner = crispier, which is partly the reason my kids like this so much. Put sliced steak it to the side on a plate and generously season with kosher salt.

Broccoli — cut into florets

Sauce — Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl, set aside.

Rice, noodles or cauliflower rice — Don’t forget to get this going, especially if what you’re doing takes a bit to cook. Mentioning this because I almost always do.

Cooking Instructions

Beef — Heat heavy pan over medium heat, add some oil. Cook your beef by laying in single layers, letting it cook, turning, then removing from pan. Work in batches and don’t lay the beef on top of itself – you’ll be glad you didn’t. Flip when browned, then remove from pan and start another batch, adding more oil each time as needed.

Broccoli — When beef is done, set aside and add a little more oil to the pan. Toss your broccoli in there and cook, adding some water along the way to help it “steam.” When it’s bright green in color, it’s done, remove from pan and set aside. Slide pan off the heat and let it cool for a couple of minutes.

Sauce — Add another bit of oil, toss in your garlic and ginger. Cook for about two minutes until lightly browned and aromatic, then pour in sauce. Stir continuously and it will quickly thicken. Add all your beef and broccoli back into the pan and toss to coat. Serve with rice, noodles, or cauliflower rice.