Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry with Egg Noodles
Thin beef strips browned hard and tossed with crisp broccoli and egg noodles in a glossy oyster sauce. A fast, savory one-pan dinner with plenty of protein.
- Total
- 18 min
- Prep 6 · Cook 12
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Searing · Stir-frying
- Savory
- Quick
- Asian
- Stovetop
- One pan
Instructions
-
Bring 700 ml water to a boil in a large skillet. Meanwhile, slice 120 g broccoli into small 2 cm florets and peel and mince 2 cloves garlic. Pat 150 g beef strips dry with paper towels and season with 0.25 tsp salt and 0.25 tsp black pepper.
~6 min
Drying the beef prevents surface moisture from steaming the meat, allowing a proper hard sear and browning.
-
Add 100 g egg noodles to the boiling water and cook until just tender, about 4 minutes. Drain in a colander and set aside.
~4 min
Cooking noodles just until tender keeps them firm so they don't turn mushy when tossed in the hot pan.
If the noodles clump after draining, toss them with a few drops of vegetable oil before adding them back to the pan.
-
Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in the same skillet over high heat until shimmering. Add the beef strips in a single layer and cook without moving for 1 minute, then stir-fry until browned but still slightly pink inside, about 1 more minute. Transfer beef to a plate.
~1 min
A single layer and undisturbed first minute lets the beef develop a browned crust instead of steaming.
Pat the beef strips very dry before cooking; surface moisture steams the meat instead of browning it, and a hard sear is what gives the stir-fry its flavor.
Searing Pat meat dry, heat the pan until shimmering, and leave it untouched for the first minute. Moving it too early steams the surface and prevents browning.
-
Add the broccoli florets to the same skillet and stir-fry over high heat for 2 minutes. Add 2 tbsp water, cover, and steam until the broccoli is bright green and crisp-tender, about 2 minutes.
~4 min
Adding water and covering traps steam, which cooks broccoli quickly while keeping it bright and crisp.
Stir-frying Keep the heat high and keep food moving so it cooks fast without steaming. Overcrowding the pan drops the temperature and makes vegetables soggy.
-
Push the broccoli to the side, add the minced garlic to the center of the pan, and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add 2 tbsp oyster sauce and 2 tbsp water and stir to combine into a glossy sauce.
~1 min
Briefly frying garlic in the hot pan blooms its aroma without burning, which would turn it bitter.
Stir-frying Keep the heat high and keep food moving so it cooks fast without steaming. Overcrowding the pan drops the temperature and makes vegetables soggy.
-
Return the beef and any juices to the skillet along with the drained egg noodles. Toss everything together over high heat until the noodles are coated and the beef is heated through, about 1 minute. Serve immediately.
~1 min