Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

Hello dear readers! Welcome back.

In our household, normally it's my husband who does the cooking. However, Sundays are usually reserved as my day to cook so that I can practice making edible food with minimal guidance and supervision. I wasn't entirely sure what to make, but it occurred to me to do a stir fry because we had some beef, broccoli, asparagus, and green onions that needed to be eaten.

In a fortuitous twist of fate, I told my husband to thaw the remaining flap meat so that I could finish it off in the stir fry, but he pulled out the tamale meat instead by mistake because he could barely see the grain of the meat through the ice. It was only after the meat was thawed that the mistake was realized, but I didn't mind because I could still use it.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the stir fry. However, I will find a similar-looking picture online because what is a recipe without a picture of the finished product?

Not quite the same, but it was the closest I could find to what I made. Pic found here

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

1-1 1/2 lbs of flap meat or tamale meat (beef chuck roast)
2 large heads of broccoli
1 bunch of asparagus
1 bunch of green onions
1 medium white onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 large chunk of ginger
2 large handfuls of spinach
3 stalks of celery, leaves included
1/2 tsp of Kitchen Bouquet flavor enhancer
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp molasses
canola oil
rice for serving

Slice the onion, mince the garlic, ginger, and chop the green onions, taking care to remove the roots and other wilted parts. Chop the celery into small pieces. Cut the asparagus, leaving about 3" from the tip and chopping the remaining stalks into 1/2" thick pieces. Cut the broccoli florets down to about 1" in height and chop the remaining stalks into smaller pieces. Place the asparagus and broccoli into a large microwave-safe bowl with about an inch of water at the bottom and microwave for six minutes to blanch the vegetables.

While the broccoli is blanching, chop the meat. If possible, try and cut against the grain of the meat and slice them into slivers no more than 2" long and 1/4" thick. Once finished, set a large nonstick skillet on the stove and pour a small amount of canola oil into the pan, swirling it around to cover the bottom.

Over medium heat, add the onions, garlic, ginger, and meat. Let simmer for a bit and once the meat is slightly browned, add in the Kitchen Bouquet, the soy sauce, and the molasses. Let simmer and stir for a bit longer until the meat is browned. Add the celery and after five minutes, add the spinach so that it covers the meat in a layer. Let sit for a few minutes until the spinach wilts and then add the broccoli and asparagus. Stir occasionally for a few minutes, then cover the skillet and turn the heat down to low to let it simmer for the next 20 minutes. Serve on top of a bed of rice and enjoy!

*Tips:

• To save time, use broccoli and asparagus that have already been cooked. Same goes for the rice
• Use frozen ginger. It's easier to peel and chop if there is still ice in it
• Any kind of boneless beef works for this stir fry. Use what you have available, even ground beef works as an acceptable substitute
• If you don't feel like chopping the vegetables, you can use a grater. I don't recommend doing this, however, because a grater is a pain in the ass to clean thoroughly.
• Mushrooms are a great addition to this stir fry. Add them in at the same time as the celery so that they absorb the flavor of the sauce.

I was quite pleased with how this stir fry turned out. It tasted just like the beef and broccoli I would order from Chinese restaurants. Give it a try. You may even find yourself going back for seconds!

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