broccoli | Bewitching Kitchen

This classic Chinese dish is often abused beyond belief. It is easy to overcook the broccoli, turning the florets into a mushy version of their beautiful self, and at the same time producing beef that has the wrong texture. The real thing is like velvet in your mouth, with a crisp, bright green broccoli giving the perfect counterpoint to the beef. No excessive, cloyingly sweet sauce. When properly prepared, this is a fantastic recipe that will please everyone – except the broccoli haters out there – but they might make an exception in this case. 😉

BEEF AND BROCCOLI STIR-FRY
(adapted from Jaden Hair’s guest post at Simply Recipes)

1 pound flank steak or sirloin, sliced thinly across the grain
1 pound broccoli florets
2 tablespoons grape seed oil
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded, cut in slices
1 clove garlic, very finely minced
1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

For the beef marinade
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
freshly ground black pepper

for the sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup chicken broth (or water)

Start by marinating the beef: mix all ingredients in a bowl, add the pieces of beef and stir to coat the slices. Let it stand for 10 minutes, while you prepare the sauce and blanch the broccoli.

Make the sauce by mixing the oyster sauce, rice wine (or sherry), soy sauce, and chicken stock (or water) in a small bowl. Reserve. Place the broccoli in boiling salted water for 2 minutes. Drain very well and reserve.

Now, the fun begins: heat a large frying pan or wok over high heat until a bead of water sizzles and instantly evaporates upon contact. Add the cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add the yellow bell pepper and cook it for a couple of minutes until it begins to soften. Remove and reserve. Make sure the pan is again very hot, and add the slices of beef, spreading them out all over the surface of the wok or pan in a single layer (preferably not touching). Let the beef fry undisturbed for 1 minute. Flip the beef slices over, add the garlic and reserved bell pepper to the pan and fry for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute until the beef is cooked through.

Pour in the sauce, add the blanched broccoli and bring to a boil. Pour in the dissolved cornstarch and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils and thickens, 30 seconds.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

This dish highlights well how a couple of extra-steps that might seem like a waste of time and energy make a world of difference in the final product. If you skip the beef marinade and blanching the broccoli, it simply won’t be the same. The original recipe does not call for yellow bell pepper, but I wanted to add a bit more color. You can certainly omit it. This is a great dish for weeknights, all you’ll need is some steamed white rice. Meat, veggies, carbs, all there in perfect harmony: the omnivore’s dream!

If you are fond of Asian recipes, make sure to stop by Jaden’s blog, The Steamy Kitchen, and consider getting her cookbook, I have it and love it!

ONE YEAR AGO: Wheat Germ and Sage Sourdough Bread

TWO YEARS AGO: Popeye-Pleasing Salad

THREE YEARS AGO: Summer’s Finale (Watermelon Granita)

I love roasted vegetables, whether it’s cauliflower or butternut squash, carrots or mushrooms, and especially broccoli. For reasons that I can’t explain, when broccoli is being roasted it’s become fashionable to call it “blasted broccoli“.

I recently encountered a method for ‘blasted broccoli‘ that literally only took minutes to prepare. We enjoyed it so much that I made it twice in the same week! The strangest thing happened, though: now that I want to write about it, the link is gone. I tried and tried to retrieve it, but without success. All I can find are the usual recipes that call for roasting in a high oven. So, my apologies for failing to give proper credit, but here’s the method that we liked.

BLASTED BROCCOLI
(adapted from unknown source)

broccoli florets (enough for you and a lucky guest)
1 T olive oil
salt to taste
red pepper flakes
freshly squeezed lemon juice

Heat the olive oil until very hot, almost smoking, in a large skillet that will hold the broccoli in a single layer, with little or no overlapping. Add the broccoli florets, sprinkle with salt, add red pepper flakes, shake the pan, and immediately cover it.

Leave it covered for exactly two minutes.

Open the pan and spritz lemon juice all over. Check the broccoli to see if it’s cooked to your taste (I like mine with a lot of bite). If you want it softer, then cover the pan and cook again for another 30 seconds.

Serve immediately…

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This recipe won me over because it’s lightening-quick, and leaves the broccoli exactly as I like it: firm with a fresh and smoky flavor, from its intensely seared florets. My stainless steel skillet was not in great shape afterward, but I suspect I over-heated the oil a bit. The secret lies in closing the pan and allowing the broccoli to cook undisturbed, to create a little char at the bottom, and enough steam to begin cooking the florets. I’m 99% sure that the original recipe asked to finish it with butter, but I opted for fresh lemon juice instead. Feel free to improvise, as broccoli matches with balsamic vinegar, or grated parmiggiano cheese, or a little nutmeg…. just use your imagination.

When prepared this way the broccoli has the quality of a classic roasted veggie, but with a “brighter” flavor; I couldn’t stop nibbling on it. This one goes into my regular repertoire!

On a side note, this method reminded me of a recipe for Brussels sprouts that I made long ago from 101 Cookbooks. It’s delicious, producing the same kind of flavor in a veggie that’s a little challenging for lots of folks. Give it a try even if you’re Brussels-sprouts-challenged.