3/4 pounds sirloin steak, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon white or rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 pound broccoli, sliced stems and flowerets
water
salt

2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon corn starch

1. Prepare a marinade of vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, water and cornstarch and immerse slices of steak in it for at least half an hour.
2. Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot over high heat and boil the broccoli until bright green and still crisp, about 5-6 minutes. Drain.
3. Remove the beef from the marinade. Heat vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat and fry the beef strips until fully cooked, about 2 minutes per side, depending on thickness.
4. Meanwhile, combine the water and corn starch to form a paste, and add it to the oyster sauce, light and dark soy sauce.
5. Add the broccoli to the beef and stir in the prepared sauce, cooking until reduced and thickened, about 3-4 minutes. Serve immediately over steamed white rice.

Makes 4 servings

I apologize for my absence of late, but I have been working on solving one of life's greatest mysteries. Tonight I answered the age old question, "What does one man make for dinner with broccoli and beef?" The answer is, of course, Beef and Broccoli. This is one typical Chinese dish that I actually can make, as it involves little more than adding beef to oil, broccoli to water and both to soy sauce and corn starch. It tastes pretty much true to any dime a dozen Chinese corner shop I've ever had beef broccoli from, the only difference being that I used jasmine rice instead of the sticky ball of uniformed Styrofoam container that would usually be distributed.

The real reason I haven't updated in the last couple days (and I apologize for my tardiness) is because I've been switching between jobs. I went from being able to work whenever I feel like it, to working an early morning shift, to working a night shift and although I've managed to work in time to cook dinner, I haven't been able to find time to write about it. To make matters worse, as I was finishing catching up on a 4 day delay, the power went out and I lost a portion of it, having to rewrite it again. At any rate, I'm in a better routine now and should be able to continue maintaining on a daily basis from here on in.