Beef with broccoli

This recipe is a slightly tweaked version of the one on the magnificent Chinese food blog Woks of Life.

Ingredients

500 g of beef steak
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
50 ml water

for the marinade
2 teaspoons of cornflour
2 teaspoons of vegetable oil
2 teaspoons of oyster sauce

for the sauce
100 ml chicken stock
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 tablespoon of light soy sauce
1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
a few grinds of pepper

500g of tenderstem broccoli or broccoli florets
vegetable oil for frying
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 inch of garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of Shaoxing wine (or use dry white wine)
1 tablespoon of cornflour, mixed with 2 tablespoons of cold water

Method

1. Slice the beef into fine strips (use a very sharp knife and chill the meat for 30 minutes in the freezer beforehand - or just buy beef that has already been cut for stir-frying).
2. Put the beef in a large bowl, add the baking soda and water, massage the mix into the beef, mix the marinade ingredients, add to the beef, and leave to tenderize for at least 30 minutes.
3. Combine all the sauce ingredients.
4. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, blanch the broccoli quickly - no more than 1 minute - strain and set aside.
5. Once the beef has tenderized, fry it in batches in a very hot wok for two to three minutes. (You'll probably need to do at least four batches.) Set aside.
6. Heat a little oil in the wok, add the garlic and ginger, fry for a few seconds, add the Shaoxing wine, then add the sauce ingredients and bring to a simmer.
7. Next, add the cornflour and water mixture, and cook briefly to thicken the sauce.
8. Turn the heat up to full, add the beef, stir well to coat and cook for a minute or so, before adding the broccoli.