Beef and Broccoli Lo Mein Recipe (2024)

Was going to post this, too - the great secret of Chinese restaurants, it's called "velveting" the meat. Depending on how much meat you have, I do about 1/2 tsp baking soda to 1 tbs of soy, 1 tbs of mirin (or pinch of sugar) and 1 tbs cornstarch. Mix and massage into the meat. Best if you do it a couple hours before cooking the rest.

Hi Christina, The sodium in the soy will draw more moisture from the meat and probably make it worse. Try another cut of beef and be sure you are cutting it against the grain. It helps to freeze the meat for a about 25 minutes just before you cut it so you can get it thin. That way, you cook it super fast and it should stay tender. Cook the meat separately, then add it back with everything at the end.

Try slicing the meat and coating with 1/4 tsp baking soda and 1 TBLS water for 5 minutes this helps tenderize the meat and gives a nice texture not tough. This works well with flank steak.

I used flank steak and we really enjoyed the recipe. Next time I will cut down on the sugar and use more hot pepper.Drizzling toasted sesame oil over the finished dish added extra mellowness.

Hi Jonathan, I wrote this recipe so thought I'd weigh in here. I no longer live in a major metro area (used to live in NYC) so I did have to go to two supermarkets to find Lo Mein, in the "International" aisle. You could use any egg noodle, really, or spaghetti. Texture wise, spaghetti would work, but Pennsylvania Dutch style egg noodles will give you more of the flavor that is a signature of Lo Mein. It would be delicious and easy to eat. Let us know if it works for you!

Marinating in soy sauce might help--worth a try--and a friend in the Chinese restaurant business always suggested partially freezing the meat before slicing--the freezing makes it extremely easy to slice it very thin.

My store didn't have Chinese noodles so I used a good brand of Italian dry spaghetti. Worked out fine. It's a good way to cook broccoli.

Can I skip the sugar?

I doubled the soy sauce brown sugar mixture and under cooked the beef so I could let the noodles and beef absorb more flavor as it boiled down. This is one of the best recipes I have found. Unbelievable flavor!

Cooked this the other night, and it's delicious. Great recipe. However, I used chuck steak, and was careful not to overcook, but it came out a bit tough/chewy. Would marinating the meat in the soy sauce mixture for a couple hours beforehand make it more tender? Or would a different cut of beef work better for this recipe?

Used rib-eye steak and cut against the grain. Used suggested freezing of the beef before cutting-did for an hour- then used the 1/2 tsp baking soda. Didn't have Mirin so used 1 tbs rice vinegar, 1 tbs soy sauce, and a pinch of light brown sugar, and 1 tbs cornstarch to "velvet" the beef. Massaged into the meat and let rest until cooking- probably an hour and a half. Used ramen noodles- boiled. Did not double the sauce as others have recommended. Used jar minced ginger. Will defintely make again.

This was really tasty...and easy. Made exactly as the recipe specified and added additional soy sauce and crushed red pepper upon serving.

You could try pounding the chuck thin... mechanically breaking it down to tenderize. Then slice against the grain.

I made this with broccoli slaw and ground beef and it was still amazing. Actually, we like the broccoli slaw better. The lime is crucial, in my opinion.

I added a can of bamboo shoots and sliced water chestnuts. It is an amazing recipe. Thank you for such a treat. MJK

Made it with ribeye but still velveted the meat before cooking it. Sauted sweet red pepper with the meat. Used ginger from a tube and chili/ garlic oil paste. Very tasty. No leftovers.

"Mom, this is really good!" said picky 17yo son of few words...

Easy and simple and quick. Better than take out. Follow the suggestion of adding garlic and ginger to the marinade.

Made this for dinner tonight using the half frozen steak suggestion. Worked really well. Made it exactly as the recipe said, with one minor exception. I had no brown sugar so I used maple syrup. It was great. Thanks for this recipe, delicious, I will make it again.

Delish. (my 93-year old Dad can’t eat unless there is lots of sauce) -so for his portion stirred a quickly mixed up cube of S & B Golden Curry Hot Japanese Curry Mix -

I have made this recipe several times now and everyone loves it! So easy to make lo mein at home!

My extended family, even the 2 and 4 year old grands, went back for seconds. Glad I doubled the recipe. Looked beautiful on the plates.Used leftover beef tenderloin from Christmas dinner, so reduced cook time on the beef. Boiled ahead, 2 packages dried chow mein noodles. Cut broccoli trees rather large, so increased wok time for veggies.

Great fast recipe. I peeled the carrots into ribbons. Definitely making again.

Rib eye steak used. Trim fat. Added a marinade and cooking sauce.Marinade: 1 TBS each sherry, soy sauce, and water; 1/4 teas sugar and salt; 2 teas corn starchCooking sauce: 1TBS each soy sauce and corn starch; 1/2 cup water or chicken broth.

This dish was a big hit with the family. It's just delicious. Easy to make, and a treat to eat.I used stir fry beef and that made it even quicker to prepare. I added Korean red pepper at the end, and it gave a little more heat.

I followed the recommendations in the comment and velveted the meat. It was very tender but had a weird texture on the outside - maybe next time velvet it for a shorter period like 15-20 minutes. Overall flavor was good but I did add some sirachia.

Easy and fantastic! Used broccoli and other veg I had in the house. Made seasonings and sauce as directed, but I did marinate the beef a short time in small amount of baking soda and shaoxing cooking wine.

So. Good. Per suggestions, velveted the meat and doubled the sauce. Perfection.

Made this as written except that I did velvet the meat as mentioned by another poster. It was excellent. Can’t wait to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow! It is a little on the sweet side, so you might reduce the brown sugar if you prefer less sweetness in your savory dishes.

I thought I had noodles but didn't, so I substituted rice - and it was amazing! Cooked it and let it dry a bit before mixing in.I prepared exactly as written except I also added a few sprinkles of chili oil along with the sesame at the end. Amazing recipe.