This Chinese-inspired beef and broccoli stir-fry features tender steak, crisp broccoli, and a bold, garlicky sauce — all ready in just 30 minutes.
This beef and broccoli stir-fry has been on repeat in our kitchen for years. ♡
It’s fast, easy, and packed with bold, savory flavors that always hit the spot. The stir-fry sauce is anything but boring — perfectly balanced with rich, garlicky, gingery, slightly sweet notes. The steak turns out perfectly tender, and the broccoli stays just the right amount of crisp. Best of all, everything comes together in one pan in about 30 minutes, making it perfect for busy weeknights.
We love serving it over rice (or my favorite fried rice), noodles, or tucked into lettuce wraps for a lighter twist. However you dish it up, this beef and broccoli recipe is always a winner!
Recipe Tips
Step-by-step instructions are included in the recipe below, but here are a few extra tips to keep in mind:
- Slice the beef against the grain. This is an essential step to make each bite of steak more tender.
- Partially freeze your flank steak before slicing. If you have the time, popping the steak in the freezer for 20–30 minutes before slicing will make it much easier to cut.
- Don’t skip the baking soda in the marinade. It helps tenderize the beef and gives it that signature silky texture.
- Use high heat for the stir-fry. A hot pan will ensure a good sear on the beef and help keep the broccoli nice and crisp.
- Stir-fry in batches if needed. If your pan is small, cook the beef in two rounds to avoid overcrowding and steaming
Recipe Variations
Here are a few variations that you’re welcome to try with this recipe:
- Swap the beef. Try thinly sliced chicken, pork, tofu or shrimp for a different protein.
- Add more veggies. Bell peppers, snap peas, mushrooms, or carrots would all work well here.
- Make it spicy. Stir in some chili garlic sauce or a pinch of red pepper flakes to amp up the heat.
- Make it gluten-free. Use tamari or coconut aminos instead of soy sauce and double-check that your oyster sauce is gf.
- Add noodles. Serve the stir-fry over lo mein, udon, or rice noodles instead of rice.
More Favorite Stir-Fry Recipes To Try!
Looking for more simple Chinese-inspired stir-fry recipes to try? Here are a few of our favorites:
Beef and Broccoli
Ingredients
Marinade:
- 1 pound flank steak
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Sauce:
- 1/2 cup beef stock
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine*
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
Stir-Fry:
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil
- 1 (12-ounce) bag broccoli florets
- 4 scallions, sliced into 2-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon grated or minced fresh ginger
- 4 cloves garlic, grated or minced
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- Marinate the steak. Thinly slice the steak against the grain into bite-sized pieces. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, oil, soy sauce and baking soda until combined. Add the steak and toss to coat. Set the bowl aside and let the steak marinate for at least 10 minutes (or up to 30 minutes).
- Prepare the sauce. In a separate bowl, whisk all of the sauce ingredients together until combined.
- Stir-fry the broccoli. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil to a large sauté pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add the broccoli and sauté, stirring occasionally, for 6 to 8 minutes or until crisp tender. Transfer the broccoli to a clean plate and set aside.
- Stir-fry the beef. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add the beef in as even a layer as possible. Cook undisturbed for about 1 minute or until the bottom side has caramelized. Flip the beef, add in the ginger and garlic, and cook for 1-2 more minutes, stirring and flipping the mixture as needed, until the beef is nearly cooked through to your liking. (It will continue to cook slightly more in the sauce.)
- Combine. Carefully add the broccoli, scallions and sauce to the pan (be careful, the liquid may sputter!) and toss everything until evenly combined. Continue cooking for 30-60 seconds or until the sauce has thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the sesame oil until combined.
- Season. Taste and season with additional soy sauce if needed.
- Serve. Serve warm over rice (or fried rice) and enjoy!
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
I made this excellent recipe today. The sauce is simply WONDERFUL- with one substitution and slight twist: I substituted 1/2 C. beef bone broth plus 1/4 C. water for the 3/4 C. water called for. And- I did NOT add the 1 T. Cornstarch to the mix. I dissolved the cornstarch and 2 T. COLD water in a separate little bowl. AFTER adding the sauce to the meat and broccoli, I brought it to a low boil, stirred in the cornstarch mixture, and – stirring constantly – let the entire dish simmer for TWO minutes, removed from heat, stirred before serving over JASMINE rice. EXCELLENT!
This is better than any Chinese restaurant in our area!
Thank you!
This was amazing! I used brown rice, and beef tenderloin instead. Easy directions, my husband said the best he’s had ever (and he’s 68!)
Let’s just say we won’t be ordering Chinese take-out anymore. This recipe was so good, my boyfriend finally agreed to leftovers!
FINALLY found a keeper recipe for what would seem to be a very simple dish! Thank you so much! No leftovers! Got a great “chop suey” gravy? Thanks again!
Best beef and broccoli ever! My friends thought so, too. It is so easy to make. I didn’t have any oyster sauce so I doubled the soy sauce. I also used 1 and 1/2 cups broccoli. I will be making often. Thank you for a great recipe.
This is a fantastic recipe. The whole family loves it. Easy and very tasty. Thank you
I plan on making this recipe in a couple of days. I bought the flank steak today. My neighbour use to make an excellent beef and broccoli too, but just like the restaurants, she use to tenderize her flank steak with a meat tenderizer. If I do this with flank steak, will it alter the texture in anyway? Meaning will it turn out tough? I am hoping for a nice piece of meat that is tender and easy to chew, plus I like it thin as possible. . Feb 01/18 please reply,
Excellent! I made this tonight and everyone loved it. I did double the sauce except for the oyster sauce and the sesame oil, steamed my broccoli first, and added an onion cut in large chunks, sauted in the oil before the meat. Thank you!
Very tasty! The sauce is delicious. Made it 5 or 6 times. Only change after first time was doubling the sauce because we usually have more than 1.5lb of flank steak.