Recipe Review: Beef with Broccoli

Beef With Broccoli 

Want to try the recipe? You can find it here: http://www.iwashyoudry.com/2014/03/03/beef-broccoli/

For Valentine’s Day this year Chris and I decided to forgo a big fancy meal out, and instead stay in to cook together. We chose to recreate our second date, Chinese food and Pan’s Labyrinth. I know, not the most romantic of movies, but it’s one Chris and I really like. I loved this idea and was incredibly excited about it at first, but as the day drew nearer I realized we had a problem… what were we going to make that we’d both want to eat?

Just like with everything else, Chris and I have different tastes in Chinese food. Chris always orders sesame chicken whilst my go-to dish is General Tso’s. Neither of those fried syrupy sauced dishes seemed like a good idea to try at home, so I began searching for an appropriate option for our Valentine’s meal.

broccoli and wine, always good 🙂

We decided to try beef with broccoli because it’s a very popular take out dish and; it has one of Chris’s favorite ingredients (steak), one of his preferred vegetables (broccoli), and not much else. After looking at several recipes, I settled on one from Shawn at the blog I Wash… You Dry. It’s quick, streamlined, and simple, which is perfect for my picky eater. We adapted the recipe slightly by omitting the fresh ginger and sriracha sauce, and substituting a Sauvignon Blanc for the Chinese rice wine.

Frying the steak

The total time from chilling the steak to sitting down to dinner is a little more than an hour, perfect for a dinner & movie date. I also liked that this recipe gave us each tasks to do while not getting in the other person’s way. While Chris sliced the beef into thin strips, I mixed together the marinade. While he cooked the broccoli, I minced up the garlic. While I cooked the beef, Chris stood around… and took pictures. Valentine’s Dinner Bonus: Yummy Asian take out style dinner with a side of relationship building! 🙂

Chris cooking the broccoli

All the components, awaiting to be assembled

Pouring the yummy sauce

                I liked the flavors of beef and broccoli a great deal, even without the ginger and hot sauce. It tasted very meaty with a good amount of salt (perfectly mimicking that MSG flavor). I’d like to add back the sriracha for a little kick of heat and I might try using ground ginger instead of fresh. Chris also really like the recipe, though he thought there was too much garlic…*sigh* He always thinks there’s too much garlic.  Dinner was rounded out with some sticky white rice and very good champagne, it was a lovely meal.

The finished product

                Overall, I believe our Valentine’s dinner was a success. I found it really satisfying to be able to create my own take-out dish with such ease, and I think Chris enjoyed it too. I think we’ll be trying it again really soon.

 I hope your Valentine ’s Day was filled with love, good food, and (possibly) a fantastic foreign film like ours!

Bubbly. Happy Valentines Day!