Beef and broccoli, also sometimes called broccoli beef, is a Westernised Chinese dish.
Origins
Beef and broccoli was likely developed in the diaspora of Chinese immigrants in 19th century America. It became an established feature of American Chinese restaurants during the 1920s. By the 1950s, it had become ubiquitous and it is one of the most popular American Chinese dishes in the 21st century. It is based on a Chinese dish that used gai lan but this was replaced with broccoli, a vegetable which was originally popularized in the United States by Italian immigrants.
Preparation
The dish is prepared by stir-frying sliced steak and broccoli florets with oyster or soy sauce and aromatics such as garlic and ginger. Sugar or honey may be used to sweeten the sauce. Corn starch is commonly used to tenderize the beef and thicken the sauce.
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