
Beef and broccoli is a staple dish that you’ll find at nearly all Chinese American restaurants or takeout places. One of the best things about this beef and broccoli recipe is the ultra tender beef. You’ll love these juicy and flavorful bites of broccoli in between mouthfuls of meat and rice. Tender soft beef and perfect green broccoli swimming in the flavorful garlicky brown sauce, amazing. When you bite into this beef and broccoli dish, you will marvel how soft and tender the beef is, how perfectly cooked is the broccoli and how well they go with the brown sauce that ties the whole dish together.
Choosing the Right Beef
If the right cut of beef is not selected, then it can become dry very quickly. If you can, choose a cut of chuck roast that is well marbled. Marbling refers to the fat within the meat between the muscle fibers. High quality steaks have lots of evenly distributed marbling and lower quality ones with have very little or almost no visible marbling. Well marbled meat has sufficient fat to provide a juicier texture when cooked so that the meat isn’t dry and flavorless.
Instant Pot Beef And Broccoli Recipe
Ingredients:
Sauce
- 1/2 cup soy sauce (low sodium)
- 1 cup beef broth (low sodium)
- 1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
To Saute
- 2 tbsp peanut or canola oil
- 2 lbs chuck roast or flank steak (sliced thinly against the grain)
- 1 medium onion (sliced)
- 5 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- 1 1/2 lbs broccoli florets (fresh or frozen)
- 3 tbsp corn starch
- 1/4 cup cold water
Optional if you want to cook rice with the beef
- 2 cups long grain white rice (well rinsed)
- 2 cups water
For Garnish
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 2 green onions (sliced)
Preparation:
Gather all of your ingredients together and have everything chopped and ready to go and the sauce made before you start. Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a large measuring cup or a medium size bowl. Whisk it well. Set aside. Turn on the Saute setting and when hot, add the oil. Add half of the beef strips and brown them a couple minutes on both sides (don’t cook fully). Remove them to a plate and repeat with the second half. After the second batch has browned, add the first batch back into the pot and add the onion and garlic. Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring frequently. Pour in the sauce and stir.
Turn off the Saute setting. If you are making rice, set the tall trivet into the pot and set the pan of rice/water on the trivet. Then close the lid and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position. Press the Pressure Cook/Manual button or dial, then the +/- button or dial to select 10 minutes. After cooking cycle has ended, let the pot sit undisturbed for 5 minutes. Then do a Quick Release of the remaining pressure.
When the pin in the lid drops down, you can open the lid. Then carefully remove the pan of rice and the trivet and set aside. Add the broccoli to the pot, pour in the cornstarch slurry and pressure cook again, for 0 minutes. Then Quick Release as soon as the cooking cycle has finished. Meanwhile, fluff the rice with a fork and transfer to a serving bowl. After you open the pot again, stir well. Serve over hot rice. Garnish as desired.