Beef Broccoli (and Sweet Bell Peppers)

I have finally felt confident enough to post my Beef Broccoli dish. I've made this dish probably 4 times before this but it was just a disaster time after time. So here it is, my Beef Broccoli dish with some sweet bell peppers in the mix.

Ingredients

• 1 lb of stir-fry beef
• 1 stock of broccoli
• 1 sweet bell pepper
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp of ginger, minced
  
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 1 tbsp Chinese black vinegar
• 1 tbsp Sriracha
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp corn startch
• 1 tbsp black pepper

(Disclaimer: the proportions are totally guesstimated and that's because I completely winged this dish)

Directions

Put all the ingredients (besides broccoli, bell peppers, and corn starch) into a large bowl. Let the beef marinade for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, take a large pan and put it over high heat. Pour in some water to barely cover the entire bottom floor of the pan. Bring it up to a boil and put in the vegetables and cover. Once all the water is almost boiled off, drizzle with olive oil and pour in the beef and the marinade. Cover the pan and allow it to cook on medium-high heat. For a couple of minutes until all the beef is browned on the outside. Do not leave it over the heat for too long or else the beef will get tough. Pour in the corn starch to thicken the sauce and stir to a good consistency. Serve over/with rice.

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Beef Broccoli was one of the first dishes I put together when I first started cooking seriously. Unfortunately, I failed at my first attempt. The dish was too gingery and sour because of too much vinegar. The second time, there was too much corn starch and the sauce was overly solid. It looked like jello. The third time, I forgot the ginger and the beef was cooked for too long. But finally, I have a dish that I was proud of! It was absolutely delicious. It was seasoned well, the beef was cooked right, and the sauce was a perfect thickness. The whole time I was trying to follow some damn recipe I found online, but I just decided to wing it and cook it the way I thought it should have been cooked. Sometimes, you just gotta listen to your instincts and I'm glad I did it this time around. I think the only thing I would change is that I didn't have enough broccoli and too many bell peppers. Otherwise, it was delicious.