Beef and Broccoli Noodle Bowls ~ these lightning fast stir fry bowls are so vibrant and full of flavor you’d never guess it’s a 30-minute meal!
beef and broccoli noodle bowls
30 minute meals are great, but they don’t exactly inspire a stampede to the dinner table. No worries, though, my authentic beef and broccoli noodle bowls are here to breathe new life into your quick workday meal plan. And for all this speed and convenience you aren’t sacrificing flavor or nutrition! That flash cooking is the very thing that makes stir frys so wonderful. The veggies stay bright and crisp, and the meat, which is sliced wafer thin, only has to dance across a blazing hot wok to cook through.
tips for easy stir frying
If you could only master one type of cooking in your life, I’d vote for stir frying…there are so many ways you can mix and match the protein and vegetables to keep in step with the seasons. I’m rediscovering them this year and we’re eating better because of it. I’d say a stir fry of some sort deserves a weekly spot on your menu ~ try my shrimp pad Thai for a completely different flavor profile.
TIP: Keep it simple and choose just one or two vegetables to star in your stir fry, then prep them along with your meat, chicken, shrimp, or tofu and sauce the night before, or in the morning before work.
As you can probably tell from the blog, I don’t eat a ton of red meat, and I tend to be picky about it when I do. Top sirloin steak is the perfect cut for this dish, it slices easily, and when you cut it across the grain it becomes super tender. A pound serves 4 people, which makes it economical, and a healthy portion, too.
TIP: Put the package of meat in the freezer for an hour before cutting ~ that firms up the meat and makes it easy to get extra thin slices. Do this for stir fry, Philly cheese steak, steak salad, etc.
TIP: It takes just a minute to flash cook steak when it’s cut this way. The key is to get your pan (preferably a wok) really smoking hot. I let the meat sit on one side without moving it for about a minute, then stir it around just to where there’s no more pink in the meat.
the sauce is a key component in a beef and broccoli recipe
Have you ever noticed there never seems to be enough sauce in Asian recipes? I made sure there’s plenty to go around (and coat those noodles) in this one.
The sauce has lots of flavor, but isn’t too complicated, and, with the exception of fresh ginger, it’s stuff I always have around. One of the key flavors in the sauce comes from fortified wine. Fortified wines are wines that have a distilled spirit added to them, so their alcohol content is higher and their flavor is more concentrated. They’re used in all sorts of recipes from all around the globe, and I always have one or two types around (I use them pretty much interchangeably.) Fortified wines can take a recipe from good to great, and they add that restaurant flair to the flavor that can sometimes be hard to achieve. They’ll keep in a cupboard for a very long time, even after opening, so stock up!
Fortified wines:
Sherry
Port
Madeira
Marsala
Vermouth
Of course you can serve this stir fried Beef and Broccoli over rice, but I thought noodles would make a nice change. I love the texture, and Asian noodles are super easy to cook. There are tons of varieties, and honestly you can use any of them, just follow the package instructions to prepare, some don’t even need to be cooked, just soaked!
which kind of noodle is best for this recipe?
I tested this recipe twice, once with ramen noodles and again with udon noodles, and both worked well. I like the Hakubaku brand, they’re an authentic Japanese noodle company based in Australia! The noodles come in handy bundles, and lots of varieties. If you can’t find them in the Asian section of your store, you can check them out on Amazon, here. (In this case Amazon has a much better price than my grocery store!)
invest in a wok if you love to stir fry
If you want to stir fry, you have to invest in a wok, and luckily these beautiful pans aren’t expensive…but don’t be tempted by non-stick surfaces, they’ll eventually corrode. I like steel, cast iron, or hard anodized aluminum.
Reader Rave ~
“I stop by your site regularly and invariably get inspired for my nightly supper!
Again, I made this tonight and it was a big hit. I liked the idea of making the sauce with all ingredients added together – turned out really well…thanks.” ~ Frances
Beef Broccoli Noodle Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 lb top sirloin steak
- 1 lb broccoli
- 2 bunches green onions, about 10
- 8 ounce can of water chestnuts, either whole or sliced (I like to slice them myself)
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil, possibly a little more
sauce
- 3 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1 1/2 cups beef broth
- 1/2 cup sherry
- 6 Tbsp Tamari soy sauce
- 3 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp Sriracha or chili sauce, optional
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp fresh minced ginger
noodles
- 9.5 oz package of udon or ramen noodles
Instructions
- Put the steak in the freezer for an hour so it will be easier to slice very thinly.
- Whisk together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
- Trim the ends of the stems from the broccoli. Cut it into bite sized pieces. I chop the stems, too. Trim and slice the green onions into 1 inch pieces, white and green parts.
- Slice the cold steak into 1/8 inch slices, cutting against the grain.
- Heat a tablespoon of the oil in a wok or large saute pan over high heat. When the oil is very hot, brown the beef, working in batches. I let the first side cook, undisturbed, for about a minute, then flip and cook just until there is no more pink. That way you'll get some nice color for extra flavor. Note: don't do all the meat at once, or it won't brown. Add more oil as needed. Remove the beef to a plate.
- In the same pan heat the remaining oil and stir fry the broccoli for about 5 minutes until it is bright green and crisp tender. I will sometimes add a splash of water and cover the wok for a minute or so to get the broccoli a little more tender. Stir in the green onions and remove all to a plate.
- Whisk the sauce well, and add to the same pan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until it darkens and turns glossy and thick.
- Add the meat and veggies back into the sauce and combine well. Heat everything through.
- Cook the noodles according to the package instructions. Divide the noodles between 4 bowls. Top with the stir fry, and garnish with sesame seeds.
Nutrition
Make it Your Own ~
- Use rice noodles for a gluten free dish.
Don’t forget to pin these beef and broccoli noodle bowls!
I love your site, and have one suggestion for consideration. I wonder if you could add a “1/2” calculator button to the 1x, 2x, and 3x buttons? I know it’s not rocket science to divide by two, but it would be a huge time saver. It would also acknowledge those of us who are now cooking for only one or two people, not the entire clan. I’m off to do the math because this looks great. Thank you for all the wonderful recipes!
Good idea, Beth, I’ll pass it along to the developer of the recipe plugin, they are always receptive to new ideas.
Ah, I see that I can do that through the print function. That is a workaround that I can try to remember.