Although many people are all about the healthy habits these days, we’re incorporating healthy ingredients in a majority of our meals. The Instant Pot has enhanced healthy cooking for me and the best part, cooking has become much easier and faster so I can focus on more quality time with my family. We recently enjoyed this Beef & Broccoli recipe, adapted from my traditional stovetop version. The tender flank steak and fresh broccoli in a savory garlic sauce hit the spot over vegetable fried rice!
So if my stovetop version is great, why bother with making the dish in a pressure cooker? The answer: tender beef and less time for me at the stovetop! By having everything done in one pot with minimal babysitting, I was able to prepare other parts of the meal, set the table, sneak in a quick read with my little guy, check the laundry, etc. It’s almost like the slow cooker “set it and forget it” idea but without several hours of waiting.
This recipe starts my pressure cooking the beef first. The last part is adding fresh broccoli florets and pressure cooking it ever so briefly. I learned that you could set the IP for 0 minutes which is perfect for vegetables that don’t require long cook times. By setting it for 0 minutes, the IP takes a few minutes to come to pressure and immediately starts naturally releasing pressure. The amount of time it takes to do that is just enough for the broccoli to cook perfectly. Additionally, you can use frozen broccoli florets after pressure cooking the beef and simply stir in until warmed through.
original Joelen recipe
pot holders
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons cornstarch + 1 teaspoon, divided
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce, coconut aminos or gluten free tamari
1/4 cup water
2 cups fresh broccoli florets or frozen broccoli florets*
brown rice for serving
Prepare the beef:
In a medium bowl, place beef and season with garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper, tossing to season thoroughly. Add 2 tablespoons cornstarch to bowl and continue to coat beef.
In your Instant Pot:
Add olive oil. When oil has heated, add garlic and onion, cooking until softened.
Add 1/4 of the seasoned and cornstarch coated beef to pot, browning in batches, Remove browned beef and repeat with remaining beef.
Transfer all browned beef into IP. Add 1 cup water, oyster sauce and soy sauce (coconut aminos or gluten free tamari). Stir to combine.
Secure the lid of the IP and ensure the valve is set to SEALING.
Press MANUAL and adjust the time to 10 minutes on HIGH pressure.
Add fresh broccoli on top of beef and do not stir.
*You can also use frozen broccoli florets and if using frozen, simply add frozen broccoli and stir to warm through. No additional cooking is required and you can serve up once broccoli is warmed through.
Secure the lid of the IP after adding fresh broccoli and ensure the valve is set to SEALING once again.
Open up your IP when the pin has dropped (allow a few minutes for this to happen) and stir.
Serve up with your preferred side dish – we love ours over vegetable fried rice made with brown rice!
I like the ingredients listed, so will try this in the near future. But, because your broccoli in the picture does look overcooked, I'll cook the broccoli separately just until crispy-done and still bright green, then serve it directly on top of the rice on the plate, then add the beef mixture on top of the broccoli. Cooking it in the IP (even at zero minutes)will cause it to get too mushy for my liking. I've made other IP recipes that use broccoli and don't like what happens to the broccoli in the IP, so I always cook it separately.
how many servings should this make? Is there nutritional values available?
Serving amounts are dependent on how much is served per person and everyone is different… but this served our family of 6 people (5 adults & 1 child) perfectly. As for nutritional values, I'm not a registered dietitian but there are available online resources that can offer some information. Per Google, I found this one:
https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076