Description
This easy Umami Beef with Broccoli tastes like restaurant takeout but cooks in minutes at home. The secret is a balanced umami sauce made with tamari, mirin, rice vinegar, miso, and garlic instead of a flood of soy sauce. Serve it over rice for a quick, satisfying weeknight dinner.
A note on time: This dish cooks fast (the beef cooks in 5-10 minutes and the broccoli steams in 10-15 minutes), but the rice takes the longest. If you’re making your rice fresh, add time to cook the rice.
Ingredients
For the umami sauce:
- 1 tablespoon tamari or low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon white miso
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1 clove garlic, minced, grated or pressed
- 1 tablespoon honey or sugar
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon water
- Optional: 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
For the main dish:
- 1 pound very thinly sliced beef (sukiyaki or shabu-shabu style)
- 1 bunch broccolini (or about 3-4 cups broccoli florets), cut into florets and stems sliced
- 3 green onions, whites and greens separated and chopped
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or other high-heat oil
- Cooked rice, for serving
Instructions
- Start your rice. Get your rice going in a rice cooker or on the stovetop so it is ready when the beef is done. My rice cooker takes 60 minutes. Also remove the beef from the fridge 30-60 minutes before cooking if you remember.
- Make the sauce. Whisk all of the sauce ingredients together in a measuring cup or small bowl and set aside. Taste and adjust to your liking.
- Cook the broccolini. Discard the tough ends of the stems, then cut the florets and stems into bite-sized pieces. Steam the broccolini until bright green and crisp-tender, then set aside. You can also saute it separately. Cooking it on its own keeps the sauce from getting watered down. If you don’t have a steaming basket, cook in 1 inch of simmering water and turn frequently. Drain excess water after cooking.
- Heat the pan. Heat a large 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high until very hot. Add the avocado oil, then saute the chopped green onion whites for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Brown the beef. Add the beef in an even layer and let it sit for about 2 minutes so some of it browns. Do not overcook it.
- Add the sauce. Pour in the sauce and stir-fry, moving the beef around, until it is just cooked through and the sauce reduces to a glaze, about 3 to 5 minutes total.
- Add the broccolini. Turn off the heat. Add the steamed broccolini and stir to coat everything in the sauce.
- Serve. Garnish with the green onion greens and serve over rice.
Notes
If you remember, take the beef out of the fridge 30-60 minutes before cooking to take the chill off so it cooks more evenly.
Use tamari (wheat-free soy sauce) to keep this gluten-free if that’s important to you.
No pre-sliced beef? Freeze a steak (flank, sirloin, or ribeye) for about 30 minutes until firm (but not frozen solid), then slice it as thinly as possible against the grain.
Add a pinch of red pepper flakes or chili crisp for heat.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat gently so the thin beef does not overcook.
If you like your beef with broccoli extra saucy, double the sauce recipe.Â