Hungry for Chinese food?
Your search shouldn’t take you to far from home especially since Chinese-American cuisine continues to expand with fusion dishes in cities around the United States. Popular since the California Gold Rush, Chinese restaurants have been dishing-up familiar take-out like almond chicken, sweet and sour pork and my favorite, beef and broccoli stir-fry: a fried meat doused with a light brown gravy and served in a sea of green broccoli.
Stir-frying is one of the quickest ways to cook, and the best cut of meat to substitute in place of the ‘beef’ in my version of this dish is a tender elk sirloin or a thick slice of the tenderloin. Cut the meat into thin strips against the grain and you have the start of a great stir-fry.
One variation of this dish is to marinate the elk meat with the juice of an orange. The acidic marinade tenderizes the meat even more and infuses it with subtle hints of citrus flavor. Try this combination of citrus marinated elk, broccoli, fresh ginger, garlic and other ingredients for a quick and healthy Chinese-American style meal. The Elk and Broccoli Stir-fry is ready to enjoy in just about the same time it takes you to steam the rice and there’s no delivery required.
Ingredients • 1 pound elk sirloin steak or tenderloin
• Juice of 1 orange
• 1 head of broccoli, cut into small florets about 2 cups
• 4 green onions, sliced diagonally
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 4 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 4 cups prepared rice
Preparation
Trim the elk steak and cut into thin strips against the grain and place in a bowl. Pour the juice of one orange over the meat and set aside to marinate for 30 minutes.
Drain the liquid from the meat and set aside, then mix the soy sauce, brown sugar and cornstarch together in a small bowl.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the sliced elk. Stir-fry for 3-4 minutes until lightly browned then add the garlic, ginger and broccoli cooking for 1 minute. Add the green onions and soy sauce liquid, stirring continuously until boiling and fully cooked, about 3-4 minutes.
Serve elk and broccoli stir-fry over rice.
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