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Beef & Broccoli Noodles
A freezer-assisted slice, a quick velvet, and a glossy sauce turn beef and broccoli into a noodle dinner with serious takeout appeal.
- Prep
- 15 minutes
- Cook
- 30 minutes
- Total
- 45 minutes
- Yield
- Serves 6
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Velveting is the move that gives this beef its exceptionally tender, juicy, silky texture. Firming the steak before slicing makes it easier to cut thinly against the grain, while the cornstarch and oil coating helps seal in moisture and protect the beef when it meets high heat.
When you've had a chinese great grandma, you don't even realize that you're learning cooking technique as a little helper. The technique comes from traditional Chinese cooking, and here it delivers the soft, silky texture associated with Chinese takeout. Paired with beef and broccoli—and noodles, which the kids already love—it turns a familiar favorite into a generous family match.
Blanching the carrots and broccoli, then cooling them in an ice bath, keeps the vegetables from overcooking and preserves the broccoli’s bright green hue. Serve with chopped green onions for a fresh finish, and use lo mein, yakisoba, spaghetti or a protein noodle, if that is what you have.
What you need
Ingredients
Measurements
Metric converts only measures that are mathematically safe. Density-dependent cups stay as Nicole wrote them.
Scaling this one
This recipe is written to fill Serves 6, so there is no batch slider: doubling the quantities would not give you a deeper pan, it would give you two of them — and the bake time and temperature below would no longer be right. To make more, run the recipe twice in separate tins rather than crowding one.
- 4 cups broccoli florets
- 1 cup of carrots cut into 1/4 thick match sticks
- 1 lb noodles, I used Chinese Lo Mein Noodles cooked al dente
- 1 lb flank steak or skirt steak
- 6 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 medium onion
- 2 tsp fresh finely cut ginger
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp lite soy sauce
- 1 tsp chicken bouillon
- 1/2 tsp black or white pepper
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp Cooking oil
- Optional: 1 tsp sesame oil
Sauce
- 1 cup low sodium chicken/beef broth
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tbsp shaoxing wine
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp lite soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
How it goes
Method
Read the whole thing once before you start. Nothing here is difficult, but the timing is unforgiving at the end.
Trust the process and Velvet
Firm up your steak in the freezer for 25-30 mins prior to slicing it against the grain about 1/8 in thick. In a deep mixing bowl, add beef, cornstarch, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, lite soy sauce, chicken bouillon, pepper, and baking soda. Mix well then set aside to marinate for 15 minutes.
Be sauce ready
In a small mixing bowl, combine broth, shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, lite soy sauce, dark soy sauce, water and sugar. Mix well and set aside.
Prep the vegetables
Chop carrots into 1/4in thick match sticks, cut onion into 1/4in thick slivers and cut broccoli into bite sized pieces. Blanch carrots and broccoli in boiling water for 45seconds and 30 seconds respectively. Remove with a skimmer and immediately soak in an ice bath to stop the cooking and allow the broccoli to have a nice bright green hue. Strain dry in a colander.
Stir Fry
In a large wok, heat oil and sesame oil on high heat then add onion, ginger and garlic and sauté for 10-15 seconds until aromatic. Don’t color the garlic. Add marinated beef. Spread it around the pan evenly and let it sear and caramelize about 2-3 minutes on each side.
Sauce it up
Pour in the sauce, combine with the meat and watch the sauce magically thicken because of the cornstarch. This should take another minute or two.
Come in for the finish
Add carrots, broccoli and noodles, gently mix until everything is combined. Drizzle optional sesame oil and give it one last toss. Serve immediately. Bon Apetite!
On the bench
Equipment
3 of these change the result. The rest are conveniences, with a workaround given. Nothing here is a brand recommendation — the spec is what matters.
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Colander
Drains the blanched carrots and broccoli before the stir-fry.
- What matters
- Kitchen colander.
- Search for
- “kitchen colander” (paid link)
Skimmer
OptionalRemoves the blanched carrots and broccoli before they go into the ice bath.
- What matters
- Kitchen skimmer.
- If you skip it
- Use a colander to drain well
- Search for
- “kitchen skimmer” (paid link)
Small mixing bowl
Holds the broth, sauces, wine, water, and sugar mixed before stir-frying.
- What matters
- Small mixing bowl.
- Search for
- “small mixing bowl” (paid link)
Deep mixing bowl
Holds the beef and velveting ingredients while they are mixed and marinated.
- What matters
- Deep mixing bowl.
- Search for
- “deep mixing bowl” (paid link)
Large wok
OptionalGreat when used for high-heat stir-fry and even beef sear.
- What matters
- Large wok.
- If you skip it
- Use a heavy-bottom, wide, deep skillet.
- Search for
- “large wok” (paid link)
The list
What to buy
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Cook's notes
What we would tell a friend
- Freeze the steak for 25–30 minutes before slicing—it firms up the beef so you can easily cut thin ⅛-inch slices against the grain. Cheat code: Do this before dinner starts; freezer time doesn’t count toward your 45 minutes.
- Let the beef marinate for 15 minutes after coating it with cornstarch, oyster sauce, soy sauces, bouillon, pepper, and baking soda.
- Move the blanched carrots and broccoli straight into an ice bath, then drain them well before the stir-fry for crisp, bright veg. No mushy vegetables.
- Keep the wok hot, avoid coloring the garlic, spread the beef evenly, and let it sear for about 2–3 minutes per side.
From the kitchen
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