Colder weather gets me craving Chinese takeout-style meat and rice meals and this one definitely fits the bill. Thinly sliced steak (or use chicken) gets seared until deeply browned and cooked with broccoli in a simple garlicky soy sauce that’s spiked with some grated pear for a touch of sweetness. Serve it over a bed of warm rice and make sure to scoop up and drizzle that pan sauce over top.
Ingredient Highlight
Beef! Is an extremely nutrient-dense meat with lots of iron, vitamin B12, zinc, and selenium to name a few. Try to buy grass-fed organic (and local if that’s an option) beef when possible.
This is a great article to help you understand what to look for when buying grass-fed beef.
Servings 4 People
Prep Time 20 minutes 
Cook Time 10 minutes Ingredients
- 1-2 cups jasmine rice
- 1 lb sirloin or flank steak, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp cornstarch (or use tapioca or arrowroot)
- ⅓ cup soy sauce or tamari
- ¼ cup water
- 1 ripe pear, grated (about ½ cup)
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 4 cups chopped broccoli
- Thinly slice scallions or chopped cilantro
- Sesame seeds
- *Or skip and sub with 1 tbsp maple syrup for sweetness.
Stovetop instructions for jasmine white rice:
- Add the rice to a fine mesh strainer and rinse, using your hands to agitate the grains, until the water runs clear. This gets rid of the extra starch so your rice isn’t mushy. Add rice to a medium pot along with 1 ½ cups water over high heat. Once the water starts to simmer rapidly, reduce the heat to low and simmer gently, covered, for about 12-15 minutes, or until the water is evaporated and rice is cooked.
Instant pot instructions for jasmine white rice:
- Add the rice to a fine mesh strainer and rinse, using your hands to agitate the grains, until the water runs clear. This gets rid of the extra starch so your rice isn’t mushy.
- Add 2 cups rice + 2 cups water + ½ tsp kosher salt to a 6-qt Instant Pot. Set the vent to “sealing”, then pressure cook on high for 4 minutes. Let it naturally release for 10 minutes, then manually release the remaining pressure by moving the valve to “venting”.
Instructions
- Cook rice according to instructions (see below).
- Toss the steak strips with the cornstarch to coat.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, water, pear, ginger, and rice vinegar. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, warm the oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the steak strips in an even layer and let cook for 3-4 minutes, or until nicely browned. If your skillet isn’t large enough, you can cook the steak in batches, but you should be able to fit it all snuggly!
- Use a spatula to flip and mix the steak around. Reduce the heat to medium, add the garlic, chili flakes, and black pepper, and cook for 30 seconds, stirring often. Add the broccoli and cook for 1 more minute, stirring often.
- Pour the sauce into the skillet, stir everything around, and let cook/simmer in the sauce for about 3-4 minutes or until the liquid reduces, stirring occasionally and scraping any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.
- Serve over warm rice and top with plenty of herbs and sesame seeds.
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Cook 1-2 cups rice
- Thinly sliced 1 lb sirloin steak (or use flank or skirt)
- Chop 3 cloves garlic
- Chop 4 cups broccoli
- Mix together the sauce (grate pear and ginger)
- Thinly slice scallions or chop cilantro
Substitutions:
- To make vegan/vegetarian, substitute beef with drained and pressed tofu pieces (tear the tofu into bite-sized pieces, enough to snuggly fit in the skillet). Follow the recipe as is (toss tofu in cornstarch, etc…).
- Easily sub thinly sliced chicken breast for the steak.
Storage:
-
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer:
- Beef and broccoli: in fridge for up to 4 days
- Rice: in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
Leftovers + Repurposing:
- Warm up leftover rice and beef/broccoli until warmed through. Make sure to drizzle any leftover sauce at the bottom of the container over top. Top with plenty of herbs and sesame seeds.
- Top with a fried egg.
- Add kimchi or sriracha.
