Who knew homemade Chinese food was so simple and delicious? I’m a big fan of the little boxes take-out Chinese comes in, but I generally stick to chicken dishes when ordering out because the “steak” always looks a little off to me. I’ve had a hankerin’ for some broccoli beef for a while now and decided to give it a whirl. So. Easy. Mouthwateringly good too.

Just a few simple ingredients to get started. We got a Kindle Fire for Christmas – it’s my new go-to on-the-counter recipe book. Love it!

Start by slicing up a boneless round into thin strips. I totally felt like a Benihana chef while I was doing this. Sharp knife is a must, and be sure to cut across the grain.

I used real fresh ginger in this recipe because I think fresh is just so much better than dried. If you aren’t familiar with ginger, here’s what you’re looking for.

You peel off the outter (ugly) part with a paring knife and you’re left with something like this.

Then you grate it up over a microplane zester. It comes out almost like a paste.

Add the ginger to some soy sauce, brown sugar and garlic (and if you want, some red pepper flakes for heat). Then we get the meat soaking in a the marinade – just for a few minutes while you chop up the rest of your ingredients.

A whole load of broccoli and an onion, sliced into wedges.

Get a big pan hot with a little oil, and using tongs, drain as much liquid as you can from the meat before getting it all into the pan to cook. Keep the bag with the marinade liquid in it – we’re going to use it later. It’s very important that you don’t over do the meat. Just a little “hi there, how are ya’?” to the heat, and then off to a bowl covered in some foil to stay warm. Your steak is cut really thinly, so it doesn’t take more than a couple of minutes.

Put all the broccoli and the onion into the same pan (there will be some liquid left from the meat, leave it in there!). Cover and let it steam for about 4 minutes.

Add some cornstarch and water to the remaining marinade and dump it into the pan along with the warm meat. Stir it around until it’s all covered and the sauce has thickened slightly. Serve over rice.

Mmmmmmm. Better than any take-out ever! Full of flavor, tender steak and perfectly steamed veggies. Yum yum yum!

Broccoli Beef
adapted from Food.com

1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
1 lb boneless round steak or 1 lb charcoal chuck steaks, cut into thin 3-inch strips
1 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cups broccoli florets
1 medium onion, cut into wedges
2/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons grated ginger (about a 1 inch piece of fresh ginger)
2 cloves garlic, grated
hot cooked rice