The secret to good beef and broccoli is to ensure tender beef, crisp and tender broccoli, use of a rich sauce and cooking the beef and broccoli over high heat.
The secret to making good beef and broccoli also comes from a Chinese culinary technique that is called velveting.
Velveting the meat uses baking soda, which is the primary tenderizing agent.
You want to marinate the thinly sliced beef in a mixture of baking soda and water or even an entire marinade with baking soda for around 10 minutes to 30 minutes to break down the meats muscle fibers and the beef must also be rinsed thoroughly before proceeding.
Cornstarch is also used in the marinade to create a protective coating, which locks in moisture during the cooking and contributes to a silky texture.
Also always slice the beef thinly against the grain and across the muscle fibers to shorten them, which prevents a chewy or rubbery texture.
Freezing the beef for 30 minutes also beforehand makes it easier to slice the beef thinly and evenly.
And searing the beef in a very hot wok or skillet in small batches also ensures that it browns quickly and does not steam, then remove it from the pan to avoid overcooking.
For crisp broccoli, the crip and tender texture and vibrant color of the broccoli in beef and broccoli is achieved by controlling the cooking time.
Briefly blanch or steam the broccoli florets in some boiling and salted water for 30 seconds to a minute before you stir fry the broccoli florets, which helps to set the bright green color and ensures that the broccoli is also cooked through without becoming mushy.
And ensure that the blanched broccoli is well drained before you add it to the hot pan as excess water can lower the temperature and make it turn out watery.
And using a glossy, balanced and savory sauce is also essential for good beef and broccoli.
Oyster sauce is a core ingredient in beef and broccoli, which provides a nice rich, umami depth of flavor that is hard to replicate using other ingredients and using freshly minced garlic and grated ginger is also crucial for the aromatic base of good beef and broccoli.
A mixture of cornstarch and water or even broth is also added at the end as a key to thickening the sauce in beef and broccoli to a luscious and glossy consistency that perfectly coats the beef and broccoli.
And also using a combination of low sodium soy sauce, a hint of sugar and Shaoxing wine or dry sherry helps create a complex, savory sweet profile.
The brown sauce used in beef and broccoli is a sauce of rich, umami packed mixture that is made of oyster sauce, soy sauce, light and dark soy sauce, beef/chicken broth, sugar and thickened with cornstarch and then flavored with aromatic ingredients like ginger and garlic, along with a hint of sesame oil and Shaoxing wine, which creates the nice signature Chinese takeout taste.
The key ingredients in the brown sauce on the beef and broccoli are oyster sauce, which provides deep savory flavor or umami and body, soy sauce light and dark, which adds color, depth and saltiness, beef/chicken broth, which is the liquid base for the sauce, sugar to balance the saltiness with a touch of sweetness, cornstarch to create the signature glossy, thick texture that is a slurry with water, aromatics like garlic and ginger, which are essential for fragrant flavor and sesame oil/Shaoxing wine to add nutty aroma and complexity.
To make the brown sauce for beef and broccoli, whisk together some soy sauce, oyster sauce, broth, sugar and wine if using wine.
Next stir in a cornstarch slurry of cornstarch mixed with cold water and saute aromatics by briefly cooking garlic and ginger and add liquid mixture and cook and simmer until thickened.
Once finished, toss the brown sauce with beef and broccoli.
The sauce that is on Panda Express beef and broccoli is savory, classic ginger soy sauce.
The savory and classic ginger and soy sauce that Panda Express uses on their Beef and Broccoli is a rich that contains soy source, fresh ginger, garlic as well as often oyster sauce, a thickener like cornstarch and brown sugar, which creates a signature rich, slightly sweet and umami flavor.
The actual recipe for Panda Express ginger soy sauce is not fully known s proprietary, although the core of the Panda Express Ginger soy sauce is a savory, slightly sweet brown sauce that is built on a foundation of soy, ginger and garlic, which creates the familiar Panda Express restaurant taste.
You can make a similar sauce to use on beef and broccoli by using the following ingredients which include.
A base of soy sauce, ginger and garlic.
Brown sugar or sugar for sweetness.
Oyster sauce for Umami and Depth.
Cornstarch or modified food starch for thickener.
Chicken broth or water for the liquid.
And aromatic ingredients like sesame oil and rice vinegar.
To make a similar copycat sauce to the sauce that Panda Express uses on beef and broccoli you start by marinating the beef with soy sauce, Shaoxing wine and sometimes cornstarch to tenderize the beef.
Then you whisk together ingredients like oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, broth, rice vinegar and corn starch.
And then the beef is stir fried quickly, then you add the broccoli.
The sauce mixture is then poured in and cooked until it thickens up into a glossy glaze, coating the beef and broccoli.