Brown Sauce
Beef and Broccoli is an (American) Chinese favorite and a dish that my wife adores. Why, you ask? Brown sauce, that umami laden, slightly sweet elixir, that accompanies many Americanized version of Asian style offerings that come in little white pails. Recently, I have had more than one request to come up with a recipe for brown sauce. More specifically brown sauce similar to the one offered by a long gone local Chinese restaurant called Mitsuyan. It was a favorite of many of my friends, as it was located in close proximity to couple of the local high schools. One day I will get up the nerve to ask the former owner for the recipe and to taste my version, although I have sneaking suspicion theirs came from a bottle.
Keeping It Kosher
Brown sauce calls for oyster sauce as one of its ingredients. I have included a recipe for my oyster-less sauce as a substitute to keep everything kosher, but if that is not concern of yours then go ahead and use the real thing.
Velveting Beef
While brown sauce may be what draws people to beef and broccoli, it is nothing without a the beef. The question is how does your local take out joint get their meat tender while cooking it hot and fast in a wok? Usually to tenderize meat you either need low temperature and a lot of time or extremely high quality beef. The answer is a processes called velveting, where you change the pH of the meat preventing the proteins from binding. (Sorry for giving you flashbacks from chemistry class). There are a few methods for velveting, but Cooks Illustrated came up with the simplest by far, coating the meat with a mixture of baking soda and water and letting it sit for a mere 5 minutes.
Taking Beef and Broccoli Up a Notch
One thing I like to do to put my own spin on a dish, is to pick one ingredient elevate it. For this recipe I substituted regular broccoli for its thinner and more elegant cousin, broccolini. If you can’t find broccolini, regular broccoli will work just fine. You can even frozen broccoli if you must. If don’t like broccoli you can use other vegetables such as mushrooms, snow peas, and baby corn.
An elevated take on take out Chinese Beef and Broccoli
- 1 lb Sliced Pepper Steak Meat
- 1 lb Broccolini Cut in to pieces and stems trimmed to a manageable size. Regular broccoli will also work. (Even frozen if need be).
- 1 Large Red Onion Sliced thinly
- 2 Cups Basic Brown Sauce See recipe below
- 1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tbsp Water
- 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
- 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Rice Vinegar
- 3 tbsp Corn Starch
- 2 Scallions Sliced thinly for garnish
- 2 Cups Cooked White Rice
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Put the pepper steak in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the baking soda and water and then add to the meat. Stir to coat. Allow the meat to sit for 5 minutes.
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Make a marinade/coating for the beef by mixing the soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar in another mixing bowl. Add the corn starch to the mixture, stirring until completely dissolved. Pour the marinade over the meat and stir to coat. Allow the meat to marinate for 15 minutes.
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Add 2 tablespoons of oil to your wok or frying pan and put over the highest heat your stove can muster. Once the oil is hot, add half of the beef, making sure there is space between each piece. If the pan is too small to fit half the meat without pieces touching, then work in smaller batches. Cook the beef on each side until browned, and repeat with the other half of the meat. Add more oil between batches if necessary.
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Once all of the meat is cooked remove it from the pan. Add 2 more tablespoons of oil and the onions, stirring constantly. Once the onions begin to soften add the broccoli(ni). Keep the onions and broccoli moving until the broccoli begins to soften and get some color.
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Add the meat back into the pan along with the brown sauce and cook until the sauce reaches your desired consistency.
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Serve over rice and garnish with the scallions.
If you liked this recipe, check out some of our other Asian recipes: