kitchen domesticity: beef with broccoli

Chinese food is my one of my absolute favorite foods, right up there with chocolate, ice cream, Coke, and macaroni & cheese. I've yet to meet a Chinese dish I do not like. Sadly, this is another one of those areas where my husband's taste and mine diverge: he's much more of a Tex-Mex kind of guy and does not care for most Chinese dishes, save the occasional Sesame Chicken dish. I would like Tex-Mex more, I think, given that it has a lot of my favorite food elements in it (cheese, tortillas, marinated meat), but more often than not, I have a perfectly decent meal ruined by even the tiniest little sprig of cilantro. Food of the devil, I tell you. EVIL.

Okay, so I'm not about to make this post all about the Herb That Must Not Be Named. Back to the Chinese food...

I love it. But neither my waistline nor my wallet can afford to eat out every time I want takeout, so I've been on the hunt for some good Chinese food recipes. I've tried several so far, and while they've been acceptable in taste and texture, every single one has proved to taste wildly inauthentic, nothing like the takeout I really wanted.

(Yes, I'm quite aware that Chinese takeout is about as authentically Chinese as a Little Caesar's pizza is authentically Italian.)

Who knew the missing link was... fish sauce?

Yep, fish sauce. Some of you might have known this already, but for an inexperienced Chinese takeout replicator-cook like myself, this totally blew my mind. FISH sauce? All I could picture was stinky, slimy water with fish bones floating in it. I know, I know, overactive imagination here. But that image kept me from trying this recipe for several months, and oh, am I ever sad I let those months go by. Because, people, this stuff is the BOMB. Seriously. It's completely delicious, easy to make, and there's no fish bones involved. I also love that it calls for a head of fresh (not frozen) broccoli. There's something really redeeming about chopping all that green when many of your meals come from a hospital cafeteria line.

Buying said fish sauce was interesting: the recipe called for "good fish sauce". I went to the store, looked in the "ethnic" food aisle, and there was only one bottle of anything with the word "fish" on it. So I bought it. No idea if it's good fish sauce or garbage, but the end result was mighty tasty, so I'm thinking I did okay. If any of you know of a superior fish sauce, bring me into the light!

Oh, and be forewarned: this dish be FRAGRANT, peeps. I don't know if it's the fish sauce, the sesame oil, or a combination of both, but the entire kitchen smelled like this dish for about 24 hours. It's a totally fantastic smell, don't get me wrong, but it meant I woke up at 4 am, ravenous, because I could still smell the fantastic aroma.

Also, I tried to take some pictures, but it was dark outside, and the light in my kitchen isn't fantastic, so the pictures came out all wonky. So, with much gratitude, I am using the pictures I found on the original website with this recipe. Thank you, Jaime!

Enough of my rambling. Here it is, takeout fabulosity abounding.

Beef with Broccoli (adapted from this recipe)

1/2 - 3/4 pound thinly sliced beef, such as sirloin, cut into 1-2 inch pieces
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon good fish sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 clove garlic finely minced or grated with a microplane
2 tablespoons olive oil
florets from 1 large bunch of fresh broccoli
red pepper flakes

Deglazing liquid:

1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1/2 clove garlic, finely minced or grated

1. In a plastic zipper bag or small glass dish, marinate the beef in soy sauce, baking soda, fish sauce, vinegar, garlic, and olive oil. Let marinate in fridge for 20 minutes.

2. In a large skillet set over medium-high heat, and working in small batches, sear beef on both sides. Remove to a plate, and set aside.

3. Make up deglazing liquid by combining all ingredients, making sure cornstarch is well mixed with no lumps. Set aside. (Note: if you like a lot of sauce for both your main dish and the rice to accompany it, I would double the amounts for the deglazing liquid.)

4. Add broccoli florets to the pan, pour over deglazing liquid, and cover. Let steam for 2-3 minutes, or until the broccoli is bright green. Add the beef back in, heat through (another minute or so), and sprinkle with a pinch of red pepper flakes. Serve with steamed rice (my preference is jasmine rice - so fragrant and perfect for this dish).

Enjoy!