Low Carb Garlic Beef and Broccoli

I love Asian style cooking. I really love the local Chinese restaurant but their perfect sauces are chalked full of sugar and starches, so I make it at home.You can also replace the "beef" in this recipe with chicken, venison, or pork. My kids love this in spite of the heavy garlic flavor and it has become our Saturday night staple. Here's my rendition for my family of 5 and there is leftovers:

2lbs Beef - I often buy round steak or we use venison, because both are cheap and lean. Slice thinly against the grain (or direction of the muscle fibers) so it is more tender. It's easier to cut if you put it in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes to firm up the meat. I set the cut meat on paper towels to absorb the extra moisture. If you want really tender meat, sprinkle a bit of meat tenderizer on it. I occasionally use Adolfs.

2lbs Frozen Broccoli Florets- I have used both fresh and frozen florets, depending on whether or not I have any from the garden or not.

1 quart Broth - want a darker sauce use beef broth or want a lighter sauce use chicken broth. My family seems to prefer the lighter sauce so I use chicken soup base.

1/4 cup Garlic - I often used minced to save time, or freshly minced if I'm in the garden
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1-2 Tablespoon Sesame Oil-  A little sesame oil goes a long way as the flavor is powerful.
1 tablespoon Dry Powdered Ginger

A thickener ---in my non-low carb days I would reach for the cornstarch. Lately, I have been using xanthan gum. It doesn't take much and has to be used a certain way or it gets gross, see below.

Basically, steps A-B are happening at the same time.

A)Put cooking oil into a very large teflon frying pan or wok. Heat oil until hot and carefully add a piece of meat to the oil. If it immediately starts frying great if not let the oil get hotter. If you add the meat before the oil is hot, the juices won't seal into the meat and it will basically boil or steam cook instead. Don't add it all at one time. Slowly saute the beef until medium rare ( it will cook more in the sauce), then remove from pan and set aside.

B)In a small stock pot. Add the broth, garlic, soy sauce, ginger, and sesame oil. Bring mixture to just about boiling then turn down immediately and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Then gently sprinkle about 1/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum over the entire surface of the sauce, wait about 15 seconds, and then vigorously mix it in with an immersion blender or by hand if you have the speed and stamina. You can't just plop xanthan gum on the top and stir it in it will be super lumpy. Xanthan gum is also different then using cornstarch or flour as it doesn't thicken immediately, give it several minutes before you decide if it needs more thickening. Basically, repeat adding the xanthan gum 1/4 teaspoon at a time and blending until it is as thick as gravy.

C) Frozen broccoli has been blanched (or pre-cooked for a short time before it is frozen to stop enzyme action) which basically means a chunk of the cooking time is already done versus using fresh. I like to take the frozen broccoli and pour it into a microwave steamer. Microwave on high until it is unfrozen and good and hot, which in my microwave is about 7 minutes. I do recommend stirring it half way through since most microwaves have a bit of a "hot spot".

When everything is ready, mix the meat and broccoli into the thickened sauce.
This particular batch I had zucchini from the garden. Zucchini can be steamed along with the frozen broccoli or stir fried with the meat.