Luna's Broccoli Beef

Excerpted from The Pepper Thai Cookbook

As soon as Luna was old enough to chew solid food, I was making her this very basic but very delicious stir-fry, which delivers a shocking amount of rich beefy flavor despite its short ingredient list. The secret is the oyster sauce, which adds serious umami, so much so that you won’t even miss the beef if you leave it out. Sometimes I’ll make stir-fried broccoli for the kids and it disappears just as fast.

I call this Luna’s Broccoli Beef because it’s one of her favorite foods, but that is a gene she obviously inherited from John, who might love broccoli more than she does. No matter what age you are, there’s a lesson here. Boiled broccoli? Nobody wants seconds. Stir-fried broccoli? You can’t make enough of it. A little garlic, oyster sauce, and a hot wok go a long way.

Ingredients

1 pound skirt, hanger, or flank steak, sliced against the grain into ½ by 2-inch strips
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
Ground white pepper
1 pound broccoli (about 2 heads), florets cut into bite-size pieces and stems peeled and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon cornstarch (optional—it helps make the sauce thicker)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
Cooked jasmine rice, for serving

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the steak, soy sauce, and a pinch of white pepper and toss to coat. Let marinate at room temperature for 20 minutes while you blanch the broccoli.
Fill another large bowl with ice water and set it next to the stove. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the broccoli and cook until it turns bright green, about 1 minute. Transfer to the bowl of ice water to cool, then drain.
If using the cornstarch, in a small bowl stir it together with 1 tablespoon water to make a slurry and set aside.
In a wok or large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until shimmering-hot. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the steak and stir-fry until it is mostly cooked, about 3 minutes. Add the drained broccoli, oyster sauce, and cornstarch slurry (if using) and toss to coat. Continue to cook, stirring, until a sauce forms and the broccoli is warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve with the cooked rice.

Excerpted from The Pepper Thai Cookbook by Pepper Teigen.
Copyright © 2021 by Pepper Teigen.
Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.