Oyster Sauce Beef with Broccoli (蠔油西蘭花牛肉, Hou4 Jau4 Sai1 Laan4 Faa1 Ngau4 Juk6)

This dish is a Chinese-American standard, with the basic ingredients being beef, broccoli, and oyster sauce. The oyster sauce gives the dish its signature taste and can be the only element used in the sauce. You can buy broccoli florets instead of a whole broccoli head. I use the microwave to pre-cook the broccoli before stir frying to reduce the cooking time. Microwaved broccoli is wet, which helps with the heat transfer and browning (you’ll still have to add some liquid to help the cooking), so the stir frying will go much quicker.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

¾ lb.	375 g.	Beef flank or flap meat (ngau4 juk6, 牛肉) sliced thinly against the grain
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (goeng1, 薑), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (syun3, 蒜), crushed in a garlic press
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Corn starch (suk1 fan2, 粟粉)
1 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (si6 jau4, 豉油)
½ Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (hoi2 sin1 zoeng3, 海鮮醬)
1 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (siu6 hing1 zau2, 紹興酒) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (baak6 wu4 ziu1, 白胡椒)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (maa4 jau4, 麻油)
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (goeng1, 薑), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (syun3, 蒜), crushed in a garlic press
1 lb.	500 g.	Broccoli florets (sai1 laan4 faa1, 西蘭花)
8 oz.	227 g.	Fried tofu (jyu4 dau6 fu6, 魚豆腐) – 1 package
		Oil for cooking

 

Sauce Ingredients

2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Oyster sauce (hou4 jau4, 蠔油)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (si6 jau4, 豉油)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (hoi2 sin1 zoeng3, 海鮮醬)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (siu6 hing1 zau2, 紹興酒) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (baak6 wu4 ziu1, 白胡椒)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (maa4 jau4, 麻油)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Corn starch (suk1 fan2, 粟粉)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Water

 

Equipment

		Microwave-safe covered bowl for the broccoli
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

 

Preparation Instructions

1. Cut the beef flank or flap meat thinly against the grain and put into a bowl. Cutting the beef against the grain makes it easier to eat (if cut with the grain, the beef would be stringy and difficult to eat). Add the baking soda to the beef, allow to tenderize for 10 minutes, and then wash the baking soda from the meat. The baking soda can be omitted but results in the tender meat experienced in restaurant dishes.
2. Marinate the beef for at least one hour or overnight in the refrigerator with the ginger and garlic crushed in a garlic press, corn starch, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. If marinating the beef overnight, take it out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
3. Crush more ginger and garlic in a garlic press, which will be stir fried with the broccoli.
4. Wash and cut the broccoli into individual florets and place into a microwave-safe covered container.
5. Open the fried tofu package and discard any liquid.
6. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: oyster sauce, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. In another small bowl, prepare the corn starch slurry by mixing the corn starch and water together.

Cooking Instructions

1. Pre-cook the broccoli in a microwave-safe covered container. You want the broccoli to be mostly cooked in the microwave, but still crisp and not mushy. Depending upon the strength of your microwave, this will take 2-3 minutes on the high setting. Set aside the container with the pre-cooked broccoli.
2. Heat a wok or pan over high heat and before adding oil. Add the beef to the wok in a single layer on the bottom and brown the outside. You may have to cook the beef in batches, so be sure to reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil. Set the beef aside in a bowl.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the fried tofu. Stir fry the fried tofu and then remove them to the bowl with the beef.
4. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the crushed ginger and garlic. Stir fry the ginger and garlic until aromatic. Add the pre-cooked broccoli and some liquid (water or Shaoxing rice wine) to facilitate heat transfer while browning the broccoli. Add the contents of the bowl with the beef back into the wok and stir fry all the ingredients together.
5. Add the sauce ingredients to the wok and stir fry the ingredients together. Add the corn starch slurry to thicken the sauce and mix all the ingredients together. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish and serve with steamed rice.