Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry

Name: Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry
Prep time: 13 min
Cook time: 23 min
Total time: 36 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 1 tsp Soy Sauce; 1 tsp Dry sherry; 1/2 tsp Cornstarch; 1/8 teaspoon Black Pepper; 1 lb Sirloin steak; 2 tablespoons Oyster Sauce; 1 tsp Dry sherry; 1 tablespoon Soy Sauce; 1/4 cup Chicken Stock; 1 lb Broccoli; 2 tablespoons High Heat Cooking Oil; 2 cloves minced Garlic; 1 tsp Cornstarch; 1 tablespoon Water

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Beef recipe with Chinese flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 67 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 36 min total

1 tsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp Dry Sherry
1/2 tsp Cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon Black Pepper
1 lb Sirloin Steak
2 tablespoons Oyster Sauce
1 tsp Dry Sherry
1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Chicken Stock
1 lb Broccoli
2 tablespoons High Heat Cooking Oil
2 cloves minced Garlic
1 tsp Cornstarch
1 tablespoon Water

Step-by-step instructions

Marinate the beef: Stir together the beef marinade ingredients (1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine, 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper) 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 (2 tablespoons oyster sauce, 1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1/4 cup chicken broth) in a small bowl. Set aside.
Blanch or steam the broccoli: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the broccoli and cook until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain thoroughly.
Stir-fry the beef: 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 it 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.
Add the sauce, cornstarch, and broccoli: Pour in the sauce and the cornstarch slurry (1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon of water). Stir until the sauce boils and thickens, about 30 seconds. Stir in the broccoli.
Serve immediately, with steamed rice or on its own.

Why this works on a weeknight

Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry lands at about 36 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Stir-Fry collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🥢 Stir-Fry Beef Chinese