Real Chinese restaurant food can be yours at home—from your own pan on your own stove, made by you. The trick, as with all stir-fries worth their
salt, is to have all the ingredients ready and lined up near the stove, so you can work ultra-fast (and that means having the rice cooked, too—see
Chapter 7: Sides). Notice how short the cooking time is in this recipe: 30 seconds here, 1 minute there. Take that timing literally, as a few seconds
can make the difference between bright green, crisp, radiant broccoli with mouthwateringly tender, pink-in-the-middle beef…and depressing, faded
broccoli mush with beef jerky (and not in a good way). So be organized, swift, and attentive, and reap the benefits. Make sure you use seasoned,
not plain, rice vinegar.
2 tablespoons soy sauce
6 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
2 teaspoons (packed) light brown sugar
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1½ pounds flank, sirloin, rib-eye, skirt, or strip steak, about ¾-inch thick
3 tablespoons canola, soy, or peanut oil
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons minced garlic (about 6 good-sized cloves)
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 large head of broccoli (1½ pounds), tough stem ends discarded, cut on the diagonal into 2-inch spears
1. Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, and sesame oil in a small bowl and whisk to blend. Set aside.
2. Slice the steak into ¼-inch-thick strips, cutting crosswise, against the grain.
3. Place a large (10-to 12-inch) heavy skillet (or a medium-large wok) over medium heat. After about a minute, add about half of the oil
(approximately 1½ tablespoons) and swirl to coat the pan. Turn up the heat to medium-high, and wait another 30 seconds for the oil to get very hot,
then add the steak strips in a single layer. Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of the salt and 1 tablespoon each of the garlic and ginger.
4. Wait for 1 minute. Then, as quickly and deftly as possible, use tongs to turn over each strip of steak and cook for 1 minute on the second side.
(This will yield medium-rare strips. If you prefer your meat to be more thoroughly cooked, give them up to 2 minutes on the second side.)
5. Scoop up the cooked steak with tongs or a spoon, and transfer it to a bowl. Include all the cooking juices.
6. Keeping the pan over medium-high heat, add the remaining oil. Wait for 30 seconds, and then swirl to coat the pan. Toss in the broccoli, and
sprinkle with the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt. Turn the heat to high, and stir-fry the broccoli for 1 minute.
7. Sprinkle in the remaining garlic and ginger, and stir-fry for another minute.
8. Pour in the reserved soy sauce mixture, and keep the heat high as you stir-fry for 30 seconds. Toss in the cooked meat plus all its juices, and
toss briefly to combine. Remove from the heat, and serve right away.
Karala cooking 