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Chinese Beef and Broccoli Soup from The Food Charlatan
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5 from 1 vote

Chinese Broccoli Beef Soup

It's your favorite Chinese beef and broccoli dish, turned into soup! Strips of super tender beef, paired with broccoli in a rich broth. It is spicy, flavorful, and perfectly beefy. Totally hits the spot on cold winter nights!
 
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese
Servings: 6 Servings
Calories: 256kcal
Author: The Food Charlatan

Ingredients

  • 1 & 1/2 pounds flank or skirt steak
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper fresh, more to taste
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce reduced sodium or regular
  • 1 medium yellow onion very thinly sliced (about 1 and 1/2 cups)
  • 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon ginger minced
  • 2-3 tablespoons olive oil divided (for browning the meat)
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 8 cups beef broth *
  • 2 large heads broccoli cut into florets
  • 1/4 cup oyster sauce
  • 1-4 tablespoons Sambal Oelek chili paste **

Instructions

  • Start by slicing the steak as thin as you can. Make sure you slice against the grain (see photos). Ideally you want 1/8 inch slices that are about 2-3 inches long.
  • Place the sliced meat in a bowl and mix in cornstarch, pepper, and soy sauce. Let sit for 10 minutes while you chop up the veggies.
  • Thinly slice the onions. Mince the garlic. Mince the ginger.
  • Place a bowl or dish with a lid next to the stove to hold the meat once it's cooked.
  • Heat a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil.
  • When the oil is shimmering, add half (or a third) of the marinated meat in a single layer over the bottom of the pot. Don't crowd the meat! You want it to brown, not steam. Cook without stirring for 1 minute.
  • Stir and flip the meat. Cook for another 30 to 60 seconds, until the meat is barely cooked and very tender.
  • Transfer the meat to the dish with a lid. Drain any liquid into the dish.
  • Heat the next tablespoon of olive oil. Repeat process with the remaining meat, in another couple batches if you can't fit it in one. Transfer meat and juices to dish and cover.
  • With the burner still on medium high heat, add the onion, garlic, and ginger to the pot. Add 1/2 cup of beef broth and salt. Scrape up those delicious brown bits on the bottom of the pot.
  • Let onion mixture cook for 3 minutes until slightly softened and very fragrant.
  • Add broccoli and remaining 7 and 1/2 cups beef broth. Turn the heat up to high.
  • When the soup boils, stir in the oyster sauce and chili paste.
  • Simmer broccoli for 2 minutes, until barely softened and still crisp.
  • Adjust the salt, pepper, and chili paste as desired.
  • Remove from heat and add the cooked meat and any juices. Stir and serve right away.

Notes

*I use Better Than Bouillon, beef flavor. Use 8 cups of water and 8 teaspoons of the bouillon.
**Sambal Oelek chili paste (as well as oyster sauce) can be found in the Asian section at the grocery store. The chili paste is pretty spicy, I would start with 1 tablespoon and add more from there.
To substitute ground beef, cook and crumble the ground beef in the soup pot over medium heat. Sprinkle with cornstarch and pepper as it cooks. Stir soy sauce into the beef as it finishes cooking. Leave beef in the pot and continue with the rest of the recipe.
Source: this is a recipe from Mary Younkin's (Barefeet in the Kitchen) new book, The Weeknight Dinner Cookbook.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bowl | Calories: 256kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 68mg | Potassium: 642mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 9IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 3mg