What I Cooked Last Week - Beef "less" Broccoli

I don't know if this is true for everyone, but for me, "what's for dinner?" is an ongoing everyday question asked by my family and the one I ALWAYS have in my mind.

So, I like to share what I made last week, for Mrs. C and for us. Maybe it helps for you to decide what to eat tonight?

Beef "less" Broccoli (recipe to follow)
Vegan Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce (this recipe)
Tortilla Soup
Quinoa Salad (this one -I substituted rice wine vinegar with red wine vinegar, and skipped red pepper flakes)
Cuban Black Beans
Homemade Salsa
Vegetarian Pizza
Fried Pollack with grilled vegetable salad

BEEF "LESS" BROCCOLI

One thing about cooking for another family is that I would cook something I would not cook if it weren't for the request that I receive. That includes cooking with "fake" meat. A while ago, Mrs. C. requested me to make Broccoli Beef with fake meat. I was not too excited about this request, to be honest, because I have always felt that if you are to become vegetarian, why "fake" it? However, I do understand that sometimes we miss what we used to eat; chicken nuggets, hamburgers, or lemon chicken. However, every time I made something with "fake" meat, I was left with huge disappointment. It is just not the same. The first time I made Beef "less" Broccoli, I followed this recipe. Mrs. C. suggested that I use beefless tips from Gardein brand . The result was okay, but it was not something that I would cook for my family. Mrs. C. suggested that I cut the beefless tips into smaller pieces and marinade it before cooking. She suggested another recipe. I did use Gardein fake meat with this recipe. This time, I combined the two recipes and made my own. The result was so good that I told Mrs. C. that I would eat this Beef"less" Broccoli with steamed Jasmine Rice.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp cornstarch divided (1 tbsp and 2 tbsp)
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup soy sauce (low sodium)
2 cloves garlic minced
2 tsp  grated fresh ginger divided (1tbsp each)
2 tbsp green onion minced
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp peanut oil (vegetable oil works fine, too)


1 package beef "less" tips (I used Gardein brand) cut up to the size you like
4-5 cups of broccoli head cut up into small pieces
1/2 red onion sliced

Direction:

In a medium bowl, combine 1 tbsp cornstarch, 1 tbsp soy sauce, minced garlic, 1tsp grated ginger, and minced green onion. Add beef "less" tips and toss to coat them. Marinade them for 10-15 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine water, remaining cornstarch, soy sauce, grated ginger and brown sugar, and stir until smooth. Set it aside.

In a large skillet or wok, heat oil over medium-high heat), add beef"less" tips, and cook until desired doneness. Stir them gently, and not too much, as they can break up easily. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add a little more oil and stir fry onion and broccoli for 4-5 minutes. I covered the pan to steam cook broccoli a little bit. Add half of the soy sauce mix and coat broccolis and onion. Return Beef"less" tips, and add the remaining soy sauce mix. Stir for 2-3  minutes

Enjoy with steamed Jasmine rice.