Beef and Broccoli

I have a serious thing for broccoli. This serious thing makes it tough for me to eat any type of Chinese or Asian or Japanese or Thai food that doesn't contain broccoli.

For a long time, we made a beef and broccoli recipe from the back of a soup can. The flavor was great, but the meat always turned out really tough - almost inedible.

Enter a beef and broccoli recipe from Steamy Kitchen.

Beef and Broccoli
Taken from Steamy Kitchen

Makes 3 generous servings (or 4 normal-sized servings)
Takes less than 30 minutes to make

 

3/4 lb flank steak, sliced thinly across the grain

3/4 lb broccoli florets, blanced

2 Tbsp high-heat cooking oil

2 cloves garlic, very finely minced

1 tsp cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

 

For the beef marinade
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
1 tsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce
2 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 C chicken broth

Marinate the beef: Stir together the beef marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the beef slices and stir until coated. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Prepare the sauce: Stir together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.

Heat a large frying pan or wok over high heat until a bead of water sizzles and instantly evaporates upon contact. Add the cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add the beef and immediately spread the beef out all over the surface of the wok or pan in a single layer (preferably not touching). Let the beef fry undisturbed for 1 minute. Flip the beef slices over, add the garlic to the pan and fry for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute until no longer pink, Pour in the sauce, add the blanched broccoli, and bring to a boil. Pour in the dissolved cornstarch and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils and thickens, 30 seconds.

My Notes:
This is totally delicious - totally delicious. Resist the temptation to double to sauce. It is necessary.

Week 24: Southeast Asian Fried Rice

Thought I'd continue with the Asian cooking theme this week. . .

I get sucked into magazines while I wait in line at the grocery store. I browsed Cooking Light last time, found this recipe, and decided to take it home.

from Cooking Light January / February 2010 (p. 176)

Makes 4 servings (1 1/2 C each)
Prep and Cook time: 60 minutes

1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 Tsp sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste), divided
1/4 tsp salt, divided
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 bunch green onions
2 Tbsp peanut oil, divided
2 1/2 C cooked and cooled brown rice
1/4 C vertically sliced shallots
14 oz skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/2" pieces
2 C broccoli florets
1 C julienne-cut red bell pepper
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
Cooking spray
2 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
4 lime wedges



Combine first four ingredients, 1/2 tsp sambal oelek, and 1/8 tsp salt in a small bowl. Combine eggs and remaining 1/2 tsp sambal oelek in a bowl; set aside. Separate green tops from green onions, and diagonally chop; set aside.Cut green onion bottoms into 1" pieces; set aside.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tsp oil to pan, swirling pan to coat evenly. Add rice; stir-fry 1 1/2 minutes stirring constantly. Transfer rice mixture to a large bowl.

Heat 2 tsp oil in pan. Add shallots to pan; stir-fry 30 seconds or until tender.

Add chicken; stir-fry 1 1/2 minutes or until lightly browned.

Add brown sugar mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 minute or until liquid thickens slightly, stirring occasionally.

Add chicken mixture to rice.

Wipe pan clean with a paper towel; return pan to medium-high heat. Add remaining 2 tsp oil to pan, swirling to coat. Add broccoli and bell pepper; stir-fry 3 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Add the remaining 1/8 tsp salt, green onion bottoms,a nd garlic; stir-fry 1 minute or until fragrant. Add the chicken mixture to pan, cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heat; return chicken mixture to large bowl.

Return pan to medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add egg mixture to pan, swirling to coat pan; cook 30 seconds or until egg is set. Transfer egg to a cutting board; chop. Stir egg and bacon into rice mixture. Top with green onion tops; garnish with lime wedges.



Notes:
I made some changes to the ingredients. The original recipe called for 8 oz skinless, boneless chicken thighs and 6 oz skinless, boneless chicken breast. I just used 14 oz of skinless, boneless chicken breast. I also used more than 2 cups of broccoli. I love broccoli. And, I didn't garnish with the green onion tops. Oh, I should also confess that I used 4 bacon slices instead of 2. I love bacon.

I won't lie. . . this was time-intensive. I didn't make the rice ahead of time, so it took about an hour for this dish to make it from my countertop to the table. There were times when I thought, "Ugh. This is so not worth it!" But, the finished product was a-m-a-z-i-n-g. We garnished with lime juice, soy sauce, and some more chile paste. Really, really good. Two thumbs up.

Week 24: Thai-Style Chicken with Basil

There is a great little Thai place in the super-adorable downtown of my city. (It's called Cy's Asian Bistro. They don't have a website but do have a menu online.) I love to get take-out from there when Brad is out of town. Thai basil chicken is my dish of choice. (And, I like to supplement it with a different appetizer each time.) It's not that Brad doesn't like Thai; he does. It's just sort of become this thing I do by myself.

I found this recipe in Cook's Illustrated and decided to experiment. The end result isn't quite the same as the take-out - me, in pajamas, eating take-out on the couch, watching TV on DVD - but it made for a really great dinner.

Thai-style Chicken with Basil
Taken from Cook's Illustrated February 2010
Servings: about 3 (or 2 hungry adults)
Prep and Cooking Time: about 40 minutes



2 C fresh basil leaves, tightly packed
3 medium garlic cloves, peeled
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded
1 serrano pepper, seeded
2 Tbsp fish sauce, plus extra for serving
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp white vinegar, plus extra for serving
1 Tbsp sugar, plus extra for serving
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 2-inch pieces
3 medium shallots, peeled and thinly sliced (about 3/4 C)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
Red pepper flakes, for serving

Process 1 C basil leaves, garlic, and peppers in food processor until finely chopped, 6 to 10 one-second pulses, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula once during processing.

Transfer 1 tablespoon basil mixture to small bowl and stir in 1 tablespoon fish sauce, oyster sauce, vinegar, and sugar; set aside.

Transfer remaining basil mixture to 12-inch nonstick skillet. Do not wash food processor bowl.

Pulse chicken and 1 tablespoon fish sauce in food processor until meat is chopped into approximately 1/4" pieces, six to eight 1-second pulses. Transfer to medium bowl and refrigerate 15 minutes.

Stir shallots and oil into basil mixture in skillet. Heat over medium-low heat. Mixture should start to sizzle after about 90 seconds; adjust heat accordingly. Stir constantly, until garlic and shallots are golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes.

Add chicken, increase heat to medium, and cook, stirring and breaking up chicken until only traces of pink remain, 2 to 4 minutes. Add reserved basil-fish sauce mixture and continue to cook, stirring constantly until chicken is no longer pink, about 1 minute. Stir in remaining cup basil leaves and cook, stirring constantly, until basil is wilted, 30 to 60 seconds.

Serve immediately, passing extra fish sauce, sugar, red pepper flakes, and vinegar separately.

The original recipe called for six green or red Thai chiles, stemmed. I checked two stores and could not find even one - much less six - Thai chiles. Upon reading the recipe closer, I learned I could substitute two serranos or one medium jalapeno. I'm indecisive like that, so I opted for a small jalapeno and one serrano. It worked.

Also, I didn't wilt the full cup of basil leaves called for in the final steps. Finding two entire cups of basil that actually looks edible in Wisconsin in January is quite a feat, and I fell a little short of the goal. I wilted only 1/2 C in the final step. The basil flavor was still strong enough. The whole cup might have been too over-powering.

I was a huge fan of the condiments (sugar, vinegar, fish sauce, and hot sauce) with the dish. It was fun to experiment at the table with ways to change the flavor.

We served the chicken with brown rice and broccoli. I'm super glad we added the vegetable. I like vegetables with my stir fry.

We will make this again. It will (like the Spaghetti Puttanesca and the Stroganoff Hamburger Helper) become part of our regular rotation.