Homestyle Orange Beef with Broccoli

Before:

After:

You can do this with easily obtained ingredients.  Improvise if you don't have everything but you will need a fresh orange and Mirin, the slightly sweet cooking wine that replaces the sugar found in most home recipes and keeps this dish from being to sweet. 

Marinating the beef takes only 15 minutes and the baking soda will turn the cheapest cuts into tender strips.  Don't skip the lemon juice rinse.  It neutralizes the baking soda and brightens up the beefy flavors.  

This is a one-pan recipe (plus cooked rice).  Take a few minutes to prep your ingredients.  Line it all up in easy reach and have fun.  Recipe can be doubled but you will want to work in batches or use a larger skillet.

Orange Beef with Broccoli

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

1 pound beef, sliced very thin against the grain

1 teaspoon baking soda

juice of 1/2 lemon mixed with 1 tablespoon water

1 tablespoon cornstarch

3 cups broccoli florets, steamed

1 orange—peel removed and juiced  (pick a juicy one like Minneola or Valencia)

1 tablespoon Mirin (sweet rice wine, available at most grocery stores)

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon grape seed oil

1/3 cup peanuts

Optional: 6-7 small red chili peppers

Garnish: sliced scallions or sesame seeds

Method

1. Marinate thinly sliced steak in 1 teaspoon baking soda for 15 minutes.  Rinse in cool water.  
2. Next cover steak with lemon juice and water for 1-2 minutes.  Use just enough water to cover steak.  Rinse and dry meat.
3. Toss meat with cornstarch.  Shake off excess.
4. While meat marinates, cut orange peel away from orange.  Scrape away any pith. 
5. In a small bowl, mix together juice of the orange (about 2 oz), Mirin, rice wine vinegar and soy sauce.
6. Heat oil in a 12 inch skillet.  Fry orange peels until beginning to crisp. Remove to a plate to cool.  
7. Next add peanuts and fry and chili peppers.  These three ingredients flavor your oil.
8. Move peppers and peanuts to side and add the meat.  Add a little more oil if needed.  Fry the meat turning as needed.  Remove to plate with orange peels.
9. When meat is almost done, add ½ teaspoon cornstarch to orange sauce and pour into hot pan. Cook on low until thickened.  Add a little water if it thickens too quickly.
10. Add meat, orange peel and broccoli to pan.  Stir to coat.  

Serve over rice.  Garnish with sliced scallions or shame seeds.