First of all, I am honored to have been invited by Chris at SugarHead to write a review on his blog. You may still remember Engadiner Nut Tart that Chris made which was featured on my blog a while ago. Once again, thanks to Chris for the opportunity!
Just last weekend, I cooked so much that I had amazed myself! I cook almost everyday, but I prefer to cook during weekends as I get more time to take pictures of the dishes after that. I never like to rush during shooting, which is one of the most important tips in food photography!
One of the dishes that I made over the weekend was Broccoli Beef Stir Fry. In my family, we rarely eat beef (I should actually say, we never eat beef! It’s not due to religion though). Well, I was wondering and did ask my mom why. She told me that my grandma never made beef or lamb dishes when she was young, so she is not used to eating them. It’s true that my grandma cooked mostly chicken, pork, fish, seafood, and vegetables.
Broccoli beef is probably one of the most popular dishes that you can find at any Chinese restaurants. I like the simplicity of this dish. I have chosen to use tenderstem broccoli. Tenderstem broccoli is so tender from floret to the stem! Unlike ordinary broccoli where the stem tends to be thicker and chewier.
Apart from tenderstem broccoli, purple sprouting broccoli may be a great substitute! (But, you may want to boil/steam purple broccoli first because of its colour!) I have bought purple sprouting broccoli a few times and I absolutely love it! It’s so much sweeter than the ordinary broccoli! Same goes to tenderstem broccoli!! Did you know that broccoli is actually cabbage that has gone wild and formed flowers that have started to bud?? (I didn’t know it until now!)
You may want to try out tenderstem broccoli in this recipe than the ordinary one and let me know your thoughts! 
Recipe: Broccoli Beef Stir Fry
Ingredients:
Sunflower oil, 1-2 tbsp
Beef stir-fry strips, 200g
Tenderstem broccoli, 200g
Garlic (chopped), 1-2 cloves
Oyster Sauce, 2 tbsp
White pepper, a dash
Shaoxing Wine, 1 tbsp
Method:
1. Marinate the beef with 1 tbsp of oyster sauce, white pepper and shaoxing wine for about 30 minutes.
2. Heat a wok until smoking, pour in the oil then add beef. Stir-fry for 2 mins, then tip onto a plate. Add broccoli with a splash of water then cook until broccoli turns bright green.
3. Add the garlic and cook for 1 min more. Pour in the rest of the oyster sauce and 125ml water. Bring to the boil and cook until reduced to a sticky sauce. Stir in the beef, along with any juices from the plate, then serve straight away.
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May 6th, 2009 at 11:13 pm
I love the tender stem broccoli and the purple sprouting broccoli too – I’ve been eating so much of it lately! This looks delicious. My mother cooks beef for special occasions only – she grew up in Korea and I think it was just so hard to come by and expensive when she was growing up that its considered a real treat!
May 6th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
The old time memory is coming back through this dish. Lovely!
May 7th, 2009 at 12:59 am
My mother never cook beef either. I guess years ago is not easy to find beef from the wet market and also expensive compared to chicken or fish. Beef and broccoli. Classic combinations.
May 7th, 2009 at 7:50 am
A healthy red meat recipes is always welcome in this house!!!Looks delicious!!
May 7th, 2009 at 8:05 am
YUM YUM YUM as always
May 7th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Thank you for the recipe. It seems so tasty! and thank you introducing “sugar head”, beautiful blog!
May 7th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
gastroanthropologist,
Yeah, I noticed that you made pasta with tenderstem broccoli and asparagus.. yum…
Pepy,
hehe, thank you!
Gertrude,
I think so… that it wasn’t probably not easy to get beef.. and agree that it could be expensive.. Even I don’t buy it so often… kind of expensive compared to other kinds of meats.
nina,
Thanks! I think you will enjoy this!
Kristin,
hehe.. thanks!
Dominique,
Not a problem!!
May 8th, 2009 at 5:17 am
Oh, I always like a simple beef cook this way. I like the brocollini in there too. Simply delicious!
May 8th, 2009 at 6:01 am
I’ve never tried this type of longish stem broccoli b4 (the round type is more common here). This is such a great classic and your shots are so beautiful.
May 8th, 2009 at 8:15 am
you’re right!! I recalled my grandma and mom doesn’t cook beef alot,only beef rendang..I love broccoli ,any broccoli.Nowaday I cook broccoli for our diet,actually Mishu diet! lol! This dish is a famous chinese restaurant dish!!
May 8th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
We loves broccoli but the tenderstem broccoli available in Spore comes from China and is not really tasty. Your broccoli looks so tender!! I still haven’t found purple sprouting broccoli here.
May 8th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
Elra,
Thanks for dropping by! This can be prepared in less than 15 minutes, real simple but delicious!
noobcook,
Yeah.. I have never come across tenderstem broccoli and the purple sprouting broccoli before I came here! In the UK, these are in season!!
Lesley,
I guess back then it wasn’t easy and quite expensive to get beef. Broccoli is good!! It’s a good source of iron. It’s great that Mishu loves it
lk,
Usually, I just steam and sprinkle with a bit of sea salt.
My mom is a great fan of broccoli. These ones that I bought are really sweet. Do you think you can get those not from China, maybe from Australia?
As for purple sprouting broccoli, I really love the colour.
May 8th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
A classic…yummy with rice!
May 9th, 2009 at 7:47 am
I’ve tried it with the usual broccoli and love it.
May 25th, 2009 at 9:37 am
pigpigscorner,
Indeed!
tigerfish,
It’s a simple and great dish!