Beef and Broccoli (西兰花炒牛肉)
A look at stir frying basics using Cantonese Beef and Broccoli.
The Beef Marinade
Ingredients:
Beef – loin, flank, round (牛外肌肉), 175g
Salt, ¼ tsp
Sugar, ½ tsp
Cornstarch (生粉), ½ tsp
Black pepper powder (黑胡椒粉), ¼ tsp
Baking soda (苏打粉), ¼ tsp
Soy sauce (生抽), ½ tsp
Dark soy sauce (老抽), ½ tsp
Liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), ½ tsp
Oyster sauce (耗油), ½ tsp
Water, 3 tbsp
Oil, ½ tbsp
Note that you can optionally swap the baking soda with papain or sodium carbonate – if so, use 1/8 tsp in the marinade in place of the 1/4 tsp of baking soda. Similarly, you can also add in egg white if you like – if so, add a half an egg white.
Process:
Thinly slice the beef into 2-3mm sheets. Add all the other ingredients except the oil – mix very well, 1-2 minutes, until the water is absorbed. Add the oil, mix well.
Marinate for at least 2 minutes and up to 60 minutes.
Beef and Broccoli
Ingredients:
Broccoli, one small head, ~250g post trimming
Marinated Beef from above
Oil for pre-frying:
If passing through oil in a skillet, ~0.75 cups, or enough to fill a skillet to 0.5cm-1cm depth
If ‘pre stir-frying’, 3-4 tbsp
If passing though oil in a wok, ~2 cups, or enough to submerge a skimmer or a spider
Oil for cooking: ~3 tbsp
Garlic, 3 cloves, minced
Ginger, ~1cm, minced
Liaojiu, a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), 1 tbsp
Soy sauce (生抽), 1 tsp
If you want a saucy stir fry, prepare:
Water, 5 tbsp
Oyster sauce (蚝油), 1 tbsp
Cornstarch (生粉), 1 tbsp
Sugar, 1 tsp
Salt, 1/8 tsp
MSG (味精), ¼ tsp
If you want a not-saucy stir fry, prepare:
Water, 1 tbsp
Oyster sauce, 1 tsp
Cornstarch, ½ tsp
Sugar, ½ tsp
Salt, 1/8 tsp
MSG, ¼ tsp
Oil, for sheen, ~1/2 tbsp of the pre-frying oil above.
Process:
Cut the broccoli into small florets. Blanch for 90 seconds, then strain and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking process.
If passing through oil in a skillet, heat the oil up to 190C, then add in the broccoli. Cook for 45 seconds, flipping a pieces here or there to help cook evenly. Strain, reserving the oil for stir frying.
If doing a simple pre-stir fry, fry the beef over a high flame for about 90 seconds, or until it looks obviously cooked.
If passing through oil in a wok, heat the oil up to 165C, then add in the beef. Cook for 30-45 seconds, strain.
If stir-frying in a wok, first longyau: get your wok piping hot, shut off the heat, add in your oil (3-4 tbsp) and give it a swirl to get a non-stick surface. Swap the flame to medium-low and immediately add in the garlic and ginger, fry until fragrant (~30 seconds). Swirl in the wine and give a quick mix.
If stir-frying in a skillet, add in the oil and swap the flame to medium-low. Immediately add in the garlic and the ginger, fry until fragrant (~60 seconds). Swap the flame to high. Scooch the aromatics and the oil to one side of the pan. Add the wine to the other side of the pan and cover. Cook for ~10 seconds covered, jiggling the skillet, then uncover.
Either way, add in the beef and give a brief fry, ~15 seconds. Then swirl in the soy sauce, and after a brief mix add in the broccoli. Swap the flame to medium-low add in the sauce. Once thickened, ~15-30 seconds, heat off and add the oil.