Sunday night, I made “Beef and Broccoli” – for one of the toughest audiences: a real Chinese guy measuring you up against his mother’s home Chinese cooking. My boyfriend is half Chinese and the Chinese half of him… comes from his mother. So, the person who has been making him his food his whole childhood, happens to make the best Chinese food ever [to him]. For our whole relationship, it’s been tough to ‘simply get take out’, go out for Chinese, etc… because of this: if it’s not comparable to his moms home cooking, then its really not good enough.
Sadly- and you know how sad this is f you are from the DC area—he doesn’t think that the Peking Duck Inn, in Falls Church, VA, is that good at all. He said it’s all just fried food and it doesn’t taste like much. – yes, George bush and all the other decorated people on their restaurant walls… you are wrong, Peking Duck in is not that great. Well, I still love it, I don’t care what he says. 
But… we never eat there. 
So, when he asked *me* to make ‘Beef and Broccoli’, in his casual ‘hey, how about beef and broccoli for dinner’ sort of way… I did not overlook the importance of getting this right the first time. I hesitated though- “I’ve never made it before!” I said. He said- that’s alright, he will look up a recipe for me. So he did. I used this recipe below. He had two helpings, and there were no left-overs.
A couple hints for this recipe:
• Using the microwave to steam the broccoli turned out perfect- he actually said that the beef was just as good as the broccoli and he usually isn’t that enthusiastic about vegetables.
• I did the steps backwards- you should prep all the veggies and garlic first
• I doubled the amount of sauce ingredients and halved the corn starch- 2 tablespoons of each just wasn’t enough, and corn starch leaves a weird aftertaste in my opinion. Corn starch thickens with just a little amount.
• I seasoned the steak ahead of time, after slicing into 2-inch pieces. Let it sit in a regular seasoning mix (i.e. salt, pepper, etc.) for about 20 mins before putting it in the pan.
• Don’t use too much vegetable oil, really unnecessary.
Beef and Broccoli With Rice Noodles
The Washington Post, May 18, 2011
Dinner in 30 Minutes
• Course: Main Course
• Features: Fast
Summary:
If you’re old enough, the taste of this dish might transport you back to a time when American-style Cantonese was the most prevalent Chinese food around. The flavors here are simple, and the success of the recipe depends upon the freshness of its ingredients. For a little deep heat, add a small red bird’s-eye chili pepper to the oil as it heats up, or sprinkle crushed red pepper flakes into the sauce just before you add the broccoli and cooked rice noodles.
Serve with eggrolls or a first course of hot-and-sour soup.
4 servings
Ingredients:
• Salt, for the noodles’ cooking water
• 8 ounces dried rice stick noodles
• 1 pound broccoli
• 1 pound sirloin steak
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 medium cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water
Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add a generous pinch of salt, then add the noodles. Cook for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they have softened. Drain; keep warm.
Meanwhile, trim off the broccoli florets; discard the thick stems or reserve for another use. Place the florets in a microwave-safe bowl and add just enough water to cover the bottom of the bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap; cook on HIGH for 4 minutes or until the florets are crisp-tender. Drain.
Trim all excess fat from the sirloin steak, then cut the meat into thin slices about 2 inches long.
Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers. Add half of the meat and cook for 3 minutes without stirring, then cook for 2 minutes, stirring, until no trace of pink remains. Transfer to a plate; repeat with the remaining meat, leaving the second batch in the skillet.
Peel and finely chop the garlic; add to the skillet or wok and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, then return the first batch of meat to the skillet.
Whisk together the oyster sauce, soy sauce, cornstarch and water in a liquid measuring cup. Pour into the skillet or wok; cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, to form a slightly thickened sauce.
Add the broccoli and the noodles, stirring to incorporate and coat them evenly.
Divide among individual wide shallow bowls. Serve immediately.
