The dish most home cooks order instead of making. The gap is usually pan heat and batch size — both easy to fix. Use your largest skillet, get it smoking, and cook the beef in two batches so it sears rather than steams. The sauce thickens in two minutes at the end. Start the rice before you pick up the knife.

Skillet Beef and Broccoli

Scale

Method

Toss the beef with 1 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tsp cornstarch in a bowl. In a second bowl, stir together the remaining 3 tbsp soy sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, remaining 1 tsp cornstarch, and water until smooth.
2 min
Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat until just smoking. Add the broccoli and cook, tossing every 30 seconds, until bright green with a few charred edges, about 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
4 min
Add 1 tbsp oil to the pan. Lay half the beef in a single layer — don't crowd it. Sear without moving until the bottom is browned, about 90 seconds. Flip and cook 30 seconds more. Transfer to the broccoli plate. Repeat with the remaining 1 tbsp oil and beef.
4 min
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic and ginger; stir constantly until fragrant, about 1 minute.
1 min
Give the sauce a stir (the cornstarch settles) and pour it in. Stir to lift any browned bits from the pan. Return the beef and broccoli, toss until the sauce thickens and clings to everything, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the sesame oil.
2 min

Substitutions

Flank steak — Skirt steak or sirloin tip, sliced the same way. Sirloin tip is slightly chewier; a 90-second sear is still enough.
Oyster sauce — Hoisin sauce. It is sweeter and less savoury — use 1.5 tbsp and cut the brown sugar to a pinch.
Broccoli — Broccolini, sugar snap peas, or baby bok choy. All cook in roughly the same time over high heat.

Storing leftovers

Keeps three days in the fridge. The broccoli softens a little but the flavour holds. Reheat in a hot skillet with a splash of water to loosen the sauce; the microwave works but the beef toughens.

Questions

Can I use a regular frying pan instead of a wok?

Yes. A large stainless or cast iron skillet works fine. The priority is high heat — if the pan is too small the beef will steam and grey rather than sear. Cook it in two batches if needed.

Why is my beef tough?

Two common causes: slicing with the grain rather than across it, and overcrowding the pan so the temperature drops and the beef stews. Slice thin, across the grain, and cook in batches.

Can I use frozen broccoli?

Yes, but thaw it completely and pat it very dry first. Frozen broccoli releases a lot of water, which drops the pan temperature and makes it steam rather than char.