homemade beef & broccoli

tonight i made, for the very first time ever, chinese. i decided to start with stir-fry, and i choose beef & broccoli. mainly, because i found a fairly simple recipe, but who doesn't love beef & broccoli?!

anyway, i've been wanting to get into making chinese food because we have a wok & some great cookbooks by Martin Yan. the recipe i used today, however, is from a Great American Recipes card i ended up with sometime in the last couple years. the recipe was fantastic! i had a little trouble getting the sauce to thicken [took an extra minute & a half than what was called for], and we decided that next time we'll use more brown sugar [just our taste]. i made white rice to accompany the meal. mr. phipps loved it, and i was pretty stoked to have tried it out. it's a great introductory recipe. it was easy & did i mention delicious? i can't wait to venture more into asian cooking.
i'll share the recipe & some photos. enjoy!

Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry
serves: 6, prep time: 20mins, cook time: 15mins


ingredients:
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp. black pepper
2 tbsp. vegetable oil, divided
2 lb top sirloin, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 medium heads broccoli
2 tsp. grated fresh gingerroot

steps:
1. in a small bowl, combine soy sauce, lemon juice, cornstarch, brown sugar, garlic & pepper. set aside.
2. heat 1 tbsp. vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. add beef & stir-fry until almost cooked through, about 2 mins. transfer beef to a plate & cover to keep warm.
3. heat remaining oil in wok/skillet. add onion & stir-fry for 5 mins. cut broccoli into florets & add to wok/skillet with 1/2 cup water. bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat & simmer for 3 mins.
4. return beef to skillet with soy sauce mixture; add ginger. bring to a boil & cook stirring constantly, until sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. serve hot.