It's a Keeper: Orange Beef and Broccoli

I have to admit that I'm generally not a big "orange chicken" fan in Chinese restaurants, other than the super bad for your Orange Chicken at Panda Express. However, my husband loves the stuff, so I thought I would earn some points by making Orange Beef and Broccoli. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.

The orange flavor in this dish isn't sticky sweet like in many restaurant orange beef dishes you would order. The orange flavor is definitely there, but with all the other saucy things that go into the recipe, it's just not overpowering. I also love any recipe that incorporates veggies with the protein so that I don't have to think about creating another side dish....

This recipe was written for Rachael's magazineby Tracey Seaman, who is officially my favorite source of recipes after Rachael herself! I recently bought Tracey's book of kid recipes, Real Food for Healthy Kids: 200+ Easy, Wholesome Recipes, and look forward to trying some of them out.

Here's the recipe with my comments in brackets:

Orange Beef and Broccoli
Tracey Seaman

From Every Day with Rachael Ray
May 2008

4 SERVINGS
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 10 min

1 bunch broccoli [Before I was trying to cut grocery costs, I would by the pre-washed florets. I'd still buy them if the price was right!]
1 1/4 cups beef broth
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons plum sauce
1/4 cup cornstarch
Grated peel of 1 orange and juice of 1/2 orange, plus wedges for serving
One 1 3/4-pound boneless sirloin steak
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 jalapeño chile, thinly sliced

1. In a large skillet, bring 2 cups salted water to a boil. Cut the broccoli into 1-inch florets. Boil until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes; drain the broccoli and rinse under cold water. Reserve the skillet.

2. In a small bowl, stir together the broth, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, plum sauce and 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Stir in the orange peel.

3. Slice the steak 1/4 inch thick, then cut the slices crosswise into thirds; toss with the remaining 3 tablespoons cornstarch.

4. In the reserved skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the steak and jalapeño and cook, turning, until the meat is barely pink, about 2 minutes. Transfer the meat to a paper-towel-lined plate; discard the excess oil. Add the broth mixture to the skillet and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the meat, broccoli and orange juice and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Serve with the orange wedges.