I don’t often cook Chinese meals other than stir fry so thought I’d try out a version of one my husband’s favourite Chinese dishes- beef and broccoli. I’d suggest waiting until baby was at least a year old before offering this one as the sodium levels are quite high (even after I’d reduced them massively from the amounts you’d find in pre-made or restaurant food!)

It’s a great weekend treat meal and would be even better with homemade egg fried rice…. next time!!

Ingredients-

1 onion

4 spring onions

1 carrot

3-4 cloves of garlic

700g stewing beef steak

2 teaspoons ground ginger

250ml beef stock

50ml soy sauce (low sodium if you can get it)

2 tablespoons of sesame oil

1-2 teaspoons of Tabasco sauce

4 tablespoons of coconut sugar or brown sugar

4 or 5 handfuls of frozen broccoli (or one fresh broccoli cut up)

1 tin of black beans

2-3 tablespoons of corn flour

Black pepper

Dice the onion, slice the spring onions (do 2 for now and save 2 for later), peel and cut the carrot into small strips, peel the garlic.

Put the beef into the slow cooker

Add the carrots and onions

Crush the garlic in

Add the ground ginger and mix together.

In a jug measure out the stock and soy sauce together and add the sesame oil and tabasco sauce.

Add the sugar and mix together well.

Pour the mixture over everything in the slow cooker

Pop the lid on the cook on low for 4-5hours

Add the frozen broccoli and

The tin of beans (after draining it) as well as a good amount of black pepper.

Use a small jug or cup to grab a good amount of the juice

Add 2-3 tablespoons of corn flour tonit and mix into a paste

Pour the paste back into the slow cooker and stir through. Put the lid back on and cook for another 30mins (which gives you plenty of time to boil some rice to go with it!)

Serve with the other spring onion sliced on top- yummy!