Beef with Broccoli

Over the past few months I have been totally swamped with work. As a freelance writer and translator, sometimes things are busy and sometimes they are slow, but when they are busy I have to take advantage of the opportunity to earn a little bit of extra money. So, even though I have been cooking and photographing some delicious meals, I haven't spent very much time posting them on the blog. Fortunately (or unfortunately - depending on your point of view), things have slowed down a little bit lately so I have time to share a few more recipes. This is a beef with broccoli that I made sometime last month. It was just another step in my plan to become an expert chinese food chef, which hasn't really worked out very well for me so far. But I still really liked the meal and, interestingly, I felt like the leftovers were even better than the original dinner. I have the source recipe that I used, which I think might have come from about.com (sorry - it has been so long I just don't remember).

1 lb thin flank steaks, cut into strips

Marinade:

1 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp low-sodium soy sauce

1 Tbsp water

1 Tbsp cornstarch

Sauce:

2 Tbsp oyster sauce

2 Tbsp dark soy sauce

2 tsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp water

Other:

1 cup peanut oil

1 Tbsp cornstarch mixed with 1 Tbsp water

Combine the beef and marinade ingredients in a ziplock bag. Make sure that the beef is thoroughly coated and marinate for at least 30 minutes. If you marinate it for any longer than that, put it in the refrigerator. Prepare the sauce in a separate bowl and set aside. Steam the broccoli. Preheat the oil in a wok or large skillet on medium-high. When the oil is hot, add the beef. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 1-2 minutes, or until the beef is almost entirely cooked. Remove the beef from the wok and drain on paper towels. Pour excess oil out of the wok. If necessary, add 1-2 Tbsp more oil. Add broccoli and beef to the wok. Stir in sauce and the cornstarch mixture and continue stirring until it has thickened. Serve over rice.