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This Beef and Broccoli was one of the most delicious ones that we have done. We had the leftovers last night, and they were even better with a healthy dose of sriracha.
Stir-frying is an easy, quick, and generally healthier way to prepare food which fits our current goal of trying to lose those extra pounds we picked up during the pandemic. I cooked this on one of our Big Green Eggs, but these tips apply to stir-frying in general.
Stir-Frying Reminders
- High heat - Chances are that you aren't cooking your stir fry hot enough. Commercial wok burners can run at 200,000 BTU while home ranges usually run from 15,000 to 20,000 BTU. Don't be bashful with the heat; it's almost impossible to stir-fry too hot at home.
- Velvet your meat - Don't skip this preparation. It takes 45 minutes, but it ensures your meat is silky and doesn't dry out. You coat your meat with a mix of corn starch, rice wine vinegar, and egg whites and let it rest. Then you partially cook the meat before the stir-frying begins.
- Parboil or steam hard vegetables - Firm vegetables, such as; broccoli, carrot, or daikon, benefit from being parboiled or pre-steamed and then shocking them with frigid water.
- Use dry ingredients - Wet ingredients will cause your stir fry to look dull/slimy and be mushy. Take a moment to pat any wet/damp ingredients with a paper towel.
- Don't crowd the wok. Like with any cooking vessel, overcrowding will cause the food to steam instead of roasting, stir-frying, etc.
Shaved Steak Beef and Broccoli
Ingredients
- 1 lb shaved steak (we used Bertolino's C.A.B.)
- 1/4 cup corn starch divided
- 2 egg whites
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar.
- 1/4 cup peanut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1/4" thick slice of fresh ginger, peeled
- 1/4 sweet onion, peeled and sliced thinly lengthwise
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 cup fresh broccoli florets, pre-steamed for 3 min and shocked
Instructions
- Velvet the shaved steak. Whisk together the rice wine vinegar, cornstarch, and egg whites. Place the meat in a plastic bag and pour the mixture over the meat. Shake and manipulate the bag to make sure the steak is thoroughly coated. Rest for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Preheat a wok to high heat. I used a 16" carbon steel wok on a spider rig on a Big Green Egg kamado grill running at 500f. When a drop of water dances on the wok surface, it's time to cook. Mix the peanut and sesame oils together and drizzle about half of this mixture around the edges of the wok.
- Cook the meat until almost done. Stir fry the meat, tossing continuously and breaking the pieces up, until almost all of the pink is gone, about 3 minutes. Remove to a plate.
- Cook the onion. Add remaining oil and simmer the whole garlic and ginger until golden brown, about 1 minute. Remove these aromatics to a cutting board and finely mince. Add the onion to the oil and cook until slightly tender, about 3 minutes.
- Make the sauce. Add the minced garlic, minced ginger, stock, soy sauce, and brown sugar to the wok and frequently stir, letting it simmer for 2-3 minutes. Whisk together 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 1 -2 tablespoons of cold water. Whisk this into the sauce and let simmer until it thickens, another minute or so.
- Finish the dish. Fold the meat and broccoli into the sauce and let simmer for another minute. Remove from heat
- Serve over steamed rice or noodles.
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Pre-steaming or parboiling your harder vegetables results in brighter colors and firmer textures. I steamed the broccoli for 3 minutes, shocked it in ice water, and drained it on a paper towel to get it dry. |
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My set up for the Big Green Egg was a Kick Ash Basket full of quality lump charcoal, a spider rig (rack to hold the wok or a heat stone), and a 16" carbon-steel wok with 2 half-moon handles. |
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As always, I lit the party off with a JJ George Grill Torch. You can see I put the new coal on the bottom and put the re-cycled lump coal on top. The used stuff lights easier and pops less. |
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Simple ingredients make for excellent meals. |
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For stir-frying on the grill, I like to be running at least 500°f. The advantage of cooking outside is that you can cook at a high temperature without worrying about smoking up the house. |
| I have a big 16" wok, so it's tempting to dump the entire pound of steak into the wok, but that will do 2 negative things: First, it cools down your wok. Second, it crowds the beef, which will make it steam instead of fry, causing soggy beef. Small batches work better on both counts.
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It is generally a good idea to season your oil with aromatics before stir-frying. I start by adding a half teaspoon of sesame oil to my cooking oil. Then I stir-fry whole ginger and garlic clove for about 30 seconds. Bonus, I chop up the fried garlic and ginger for my sauce. Squeeze all of the flavors out of the ingredients, right? |
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Stir-frying the onions over the heat of natural lump charcoal. |
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Stir-fry the sauce until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Then it's time to add the meat. |
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Everybody back in the pool! Normally, I use some heat in every stir-fry. Some sambal olek, sriracha, gochujang, or at least red chile flake. But this time, I skipped the heat during the cook, and if desired, we added it at the table. |
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This was an absolute winner for us. |