It's Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com,

and today I'm gonna show you how to we make

beef and broccoli stir-fry.

We've partnered with Beef. It's What's For Dinner

on behalf of the Beef Checkoff

to help you get your school year off to a great start.

And this easy beef stir-fry is perfect

for the busy back-to-school season.

Now this recipe moves fast,

so you want to have everything prepped and ready to go

before you get started.

Beef is the superstar ingredient here,

and you'll need one pound of flank steak.

Cover and put that in the freezer for 30 minutes

and it'll be a lot easier to slice.

To make this amazing stir-fry sauce,

you'll need to grate three garlic cloves

to get about two teaspoons of minced garlic.

(upbeat music)

Next, peel some fresh ginger.

And if you've never worked with ginger before, it's so easy.

All you need to peel it is the edge of a teaspoon.

Grate the ginger until you have one teaspoon

of loosely packed ginger.

And make sure you don't overdo on the ginger.

It has great but very strong flavor.

Add those to a small mixing bowl.

Then add one half cup of hot water

to help dissolve the sugar.

Next, add six tablespoons of low-sodium soy sauce,

three tablespoons of packed light-brown sugar,

one and a half tablespoons of cornstarch,

two tablespoons of sesame oil, which adds great flavor,

and a quarter teaspoon of black pepper.

Whisk that together until the sugar is dissolved

and set it aside.

And take a whiff of that marinade because it smells amazing.

You'll need about one pound of broccoli crowns.

Cut those into bite-size pieces to get six cups of broccoli.

And beef is so versatile

that you could change up the recipe

and use a variety of vegetables.

All right, our beef has been in the freezer

for about 30 minutes.

Now use a sharp knife to thinly slice it against the grain.

The thinner you slice, the more tender the beef will be.

We love flank steak because it's lean

but super tender and easy to chew.

But you can use other cuts of beef

to make a great beef stir-fry.

Some choices would be top sirloin steak,

top round steak, or tri-tip steak.

Once you have that all sliced up into bite-size pieces,

place a large skillet over medium heat

and add one tablespoon of oil.

Add all of your broccoli pieces

and saute partially covered for about four to five minutes.

And if you want your broccoli to be more tender,

you can add one to two tablespoons of water

to help the broccoli steam-cook.

Once the broccoli is bright green and crisp-tender

or your desired doneness, transfer that to a bowl.

Place that same pan over medium-high heat

and add a tablespoon of oil.

Then add all of the sliced beef in a single layer.

Saute about two minutes per side

or just until the beef is cooked through.

Quickly pull out a piece to test for doneness.

Now reduce the heat to low and give the sauce a quick stir

for pouring it over the beef.

Let the sauce and beef simmer on low heat

for about three to four minutes, stirring occasionally.

The sauce should thicken nicely.

Finally, return the broccoli back to the pan

and stir everything to combine.

And if you want to thin out the sauce a little bit,

you can add one to tablespoons of water at the end.

Ho ho ho, beefy, saucy, and so delicious.

All right, so all that's left to do is the taste test.

So we're gonna jump right into that.

And I've got some steamy hot white rice.

It's just plain rice.

A little bit of salt added while cooking.

This is my favorite, to serve it over rice.

Okay, looks perfect.

Okay.

And I do love to garnish this

with some toasted sesame seeds.

Gives it that takeout flair.

Okay.

And then a generous portion for me.

All right.

Yum.

I'm gonna dig right into this.

Oh.

And this is packed with protein.

Beef has so much protein to give you the strength you need

to get through the busy back-to-school season.

Oh.

And then it's packed with veggies and grains

for the best school lunch ever.

Oh.

Mmm.

Mmm.

Mmm.

Just let me have my moment.

This is so good.

It's just the perfect balance of sweet and salty

and just the right amount of sauce.

And the saucy beef reheats really well,

so it's perfect for to-go lunch, school lunch, work lunch,

any kind of lunch.

And you can also put this in a thermos for school lunch

where you don't have a microwave.

And I'll leave instructions on how to use these

to keep it a safe temperature.

Or you can use a heat-safe Tupperware

and just keep this refrigerated

and heat it up when you're ready to serve.

Easy.

This is perfect for busy weeknights

and make-ahead lunches for that hectic school season.

This is easy, easy, easy.

For more great lunch ideas using beef,

visit beefitswhatsfordinner.com,

and we'll see you in our next video.