Beef and Broccoli Rice Bowl

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This beef and broccoli rice bowl is what I make when it is already 5:45 and I have not thought about dinner. The beef and broccoli cook in about 12 minutes total, so as long as I remembered to start the rice, we are eating before anyone starts complaining. Flank steak sliced thin, broccoli with a little char on the edges, and a sauce that comes together in one bowl before anything hits the pan.

The sauce is soy sauce, oyster sauce, a little brown sugar, garlic, and ginger, thickened with cornstarch. It sounds involved but it takes maybe three minutes to whisk together. The one thing I will say: get the pan genuinely hot before the beef goes in. The first time I made this I was nervous about the smoke and turned the heat down, and the beef steamed instead of seared. High heat is the whole point.

It feeds four, and the leftovers actually hold up. I pack the rice and beef separately when I can, but even stored together it reheats fine with a splash of water in the pan.

Why you will love this

• Total time is 27 minutes, and 12 of those are active cooking. The rice runs in the background.
• Flank steak sliced thin at high heat stays tender instead of chewy, no marinating required.
• The sauce uses soy sauce, oyster sauce, and brown sugar, things most households already have.
• One skillet or wok does all the work. The broccoli and beef cook in the same pan back to back.
• Leftovers keep for three days and reheat without the beef turning rubbery.

Tips for success

• Slice the beef against the grain and aim for about 1/8 inch thick. If that feels hard to do, put the steak in the freezer for 20 minutes first. Partially frozen meat slices much more cleanly.
• Cook the broccoli first and get some color on it. Two minutes without stirring over high heat gives you those slightly charred edges. If you skip this and just steam it, the whole dish tastes flat.
• Do not crowd the beef. If your skillet is not large enough to hold all the slices in a single layer with space between them, cook in two batches. Crowding drops the pan temperature and you get gray, steamed beef instead of a sear.
• Watch the sauce once it hits the pan. It goes from thin to thick fast, usually about 60 seconds. Pull it off the heat as soon as it looks glossy and coats the back of a spoon, or it can get sticky and clumped.

If the sauce turns out too salty or thin

• Too salty: use low-sodium soy sauce next time, or add a pinch more brown sugar to balance it in the moment.
• Too thin: the cornstarch needs a full minute of heat to activate. Give the sauce another 30 to 60 seconds in the pan before adding more thickener.
• Too thick or sticky: add a tablespoon of water to the skillet and toss everything together. It loosens quickly.
• Bland overall: ginger does a lot of the work here. If yours has been in the spice cabinet for more than a year, use fresh grated instead.

Substitutions

Skirt steak works exactly like flank steak here. For a gluten-free version, swap the soy sauce for tamari and check that your oyster sauce is certified gluten-free, since some brands contain wheat. If you do not have oyster sauce, hoisin works as a substitute though it is sweeter, so you may want to reduce the brown sugar by half. Frozen broccoli florets are fine, just thaw them completely and pat them dry before they go into the pan, otherwise they release too much water and the broccoli steams instead of getting any color.

For picky eaters who avoid broccoli, this sauce works just as well over thinly sliced beef alone, or with thinly sliced bell peppers cooked the same way as the broccoli.

Make-ahead and storage

You can slice the beef and whisk the sauce up to 24 hours ahead. Store them separately in the fridge and the actual cooking still takes about 12 minutes when you are ready. This is the move on busy weeknights when I know the afternoon will be chaotic.

Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, use a skillet over medium heat with a tablespoon of water or broth to loosen the sauce, or microwave covered in 60-second intervals. The beef and broccoli can be frozen for up to 2 months, though the broccoli will soften after thawing. I usually freeze just the beef and sauce and cook fresh broccoli when I reheat it.

Brittany Stage

Beef and Broccoli Rice Bowl

Thin-sliced flank steak and tender broccoli florets cooked in a savory soy and oyster sauce, served over steamed rice. A high protein dinner that tastes like takeout and cooks faster than delivery.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

Total Time 27 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Asian-American

Calories: 490

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 1/4 lb flank steak or sirloin sliced very thin against the grain
• 4 cups broccoli florets fresh or thawed frozen, patted dry
• 2 cups long-grain white rice dry, cooked according to package directions
• 3 tbsp soy sauce low sodium preferred
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp brown sugar packed
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tsp fresh ginger grated, or 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil divided
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil for finishing, optional
• 2 green onions sliced, for serving

Equipment

• large skillet or wok
• cutting board
• small mixing bowl
• sharp knife

Method

 

1. Start your rice cooking first so it is ready when the beef and broccoli are done. Cook according to the package directions and keep it covered and warm.
2. Slice the beef as thin as you can manage, cutting against the grain. Against the grain means perpendicular to the long lines of muscle fiber running through the meat. Thinner slices, about 1/8 inch, cook in 60 to 90 seconds and stay tender. Thicker slices take longer and can get chewy. If the beef is slightly frozen, about 20 minutes in the freezer, it is much easier to slice thin.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, cornstarch, and water until the cornstarch is fully dissolved and no lumps remain. Set the sauce aside.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat until it just begins to smoke. Add the broccoli in a single layer and cook without stirring for 2 minutes so it gets a little char on the edges. Stir and cook 1 to 2 more minutes until the broccoli is bright green and just tender but still has some crunch. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
5. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the same skillet over high heat. Add the sliced beef in a single layer, working in two batches if needed to avoid crowding the pan. Crowding causes the beef to steam rather than sear. Cook without moving for 60 seconds, then stir and cook 30 to 60 seconds more until just cooked through. The beef will lose its pink color quickly at this heat.
6. Return the broccoli to the skillet with the beef and pour the sauce over everything. Toss and stir for about 1 minute as the sauce thickens and coats the beef and broccoli. Once the sauce has gone from thin and watery to glossy and clingy, it is ready. Drizzle with sesame oil if using.
7. Divide the rice among four bowls. Spoon the beef and broccoli over the rice and top with sliced green onions. Serve immediately.

Notes

For the best texture, do not skip drying the broccoli before it hits the hot pan. Excess moisture creates steam and leaves you with soggy florets instead of nicely charred ones. The sauce and sliced beef can be prepped a day ahead for a very fast weeknight cook.

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