Recipes excerpted from Easy Chinese Stir-Fries by Helen Chen. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Copyright 2009. Reprinted with permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.

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Stir-Fried Broccoli Beef in Oyster Sauce

Chinese restaurants often serve this over a bed of freshly steamed rice as a one-dish meal for people who want a quick lunch or snack.

Serves 3 to 4.

1 pound flank steak, trimmed
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 teaspoon sugar
1 pound broccoli
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 cup canned chicken broth or water
 2 slices unpeeled fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, crushed with the side of a knife and peeled
1/2 cup canned sliced bamboo shoots, drained
4 tablespoons oyster sauce

(1) Slice the steak with the grain into long strips about 2 inches wide. Then slice the long pieces against the grain into 1/8-inch thick slices. In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, cornstarch, wine, and sugar. Add the beef and mix well.

(2) Trim and peel the broccoli stalks, Chop the flower heads from the stalks and cut into florets. Slice the peeled stalks into bite-size pieces.

(3) In a wok or stir-fry pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over high heat until the oil is hot but not smoking. Test by dipping a piece of broccoli into the oil; it should sizzle. Add the broccoli and stir constantly for about 30 seconds. Stir in the broth, reduce the heat to medium, and cover the pan. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for another minute or two until broccoli is tender-crisp. Remove from the pan and spread out on a plate. Do not pile into a bowl, as the heat generated by the broccoli will overcook the pieces on the bottom.

(4) With the heat still on high, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the same pan. Add the ginger and garlic and stir until the oil is hot and the ginger and garlic sizzle. Stir up the beef mixture and add to the pan. Cook, stirring, until the meat is almost done, about 2 minutes. Add the bamboo shoots and oyster sauce and continue stirring until the beef is cooked, about 1 minute more. Return the broccoli and mix thoroughly. Remove and discard the ginger and garlic, if desired.

Serve immediately.