Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry

I have no idea how long I've had this recipe. (I really need to start dating them when I add them to my treasure chest of recipes.)  Beef and Broccoli is one of my favorite dishes to order when I'm at a Chinese restaurant. All too often, though, they use MSG to help the flavor along.  Trying to avoid MSG, I avoid this dish.

Then I discovered the little packets of Beef and Broccoli sauce that you can buy in the grocery store. Just add water and soy sauce and you're good to go.  Turns out those packets are a bit too salty for me (and I use low sodium soy sauce).

So I've been on the hunt for a good, easy and tasty been and broccoli.

This recipe was all of the above. Easy, flavorful and had a nice balance of flavors in it. I only made one small modification and that was I didn't put my broccoli in until very last because I like crisp broccoli not soggy, gross, not quite green broccoli. BLECH!

Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry
Courtesy of  - I have no idea where I got this recipe
Serves 6

• 1/2 c soy sauce (I used low sodium)
• 2 T lemon juice
• 1 T cornstarch
• 1 T firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 T vegetable oil
• 2 lbs top sirloin steak, thinly sliced
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 2 medium heads of broccoli
• 2 tsp grated fresh ginger

In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, lemon juice, cornstarch, brown sugar, garlic and pepper. Set aside.

Heat 1 T oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add beef and stir-fry (I tend to pat my beef dry before stir frying since moisture will cause it to boil at times). Cook for about 2 minutes and transfer to a plate.

Heat remaining oil, add onion and stir fry for 5 minutes. Cut broccoli into florets and add to skillet with 1/2 c water. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes. (I didn't add the water and simmer. I just skipped this step because I knew the sauce I'd be adding would cook the broccoli enough.)

Return beef to skillet and add soy sauce mixture; add ginger. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring constantly until sauce thickens, about 2 minutes.