Combat Thanksgiving leftover fatigue with beef and broccoli stir-fry

If you're anything like me, after the obligatory day-after turkey sandwiches and the early morning slices of pumpkin pie (aka the Breakfast of Champions), the last thing you want is another heavy meal covered in turkey gravy.

When the hunger pangs return, I try to make something that's a little lighter and with a flavor profile completely different from the familiar Thanksgiving Day dishes. This year, it's Beef, Broccoli and Shiitake Stir-Fry.

Stir-frying, at its best, feels a little like controlled chaos. The ingredients are tossed into the piping hot pan and cook in a flash while you stir constantly. Moments later, dinner is done. That's the chaos part.

Controlling that chaos is all about preparation. Before you fire up the wok (or skillet), everything should be cut up, measured out, mixed together and marinated, if necessary.

You don't want to have to hunt down an ingredient or prep your broccoli and mushrooms while you're watching over a smoking hot wok.

The payoff for all the preparation is a perfectly cooked one-pan meal in minutes. And the payoff doesn't get much better than the iconic Chinese-American dish of beef and broccoli stir-fry.

In this version, flank steak is thinly sliced and briefly marinated in a mixture of soy sauce and cornstarch before being quickly cooked until medium-rare. Broccoli and sliced shiitake mushrooms, which bump up the umami factor in the dish, are cooked for a few fleeting minutes before a saucy mixture of chicken broth, Shaoxing wine or dry sherry, oyster sauce and toasted sesame oil is added.

The result is a super-savory dish, with tender beef and crispy-tender veggies coated in a light sauce. All you need is a little steamed rice and you have a simple but ultra-flavorful meal that takes just minutes to make.

It's a nice change of pace from the Thanksgiving Day festivities, although there will still be room for a piece of pie — if there's any left.

Serves 4.

Emerald green broccoli and tender beef in an ultra-savory sauce is the perfect dish to turn to when you're ready for a change of pace from Thanksgiving leftovers. From Meredith Deeds.

• 1 lb. flank steak

• 4 tbsp. vegetable oil, divided

• 6 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce, divided

• 4 tsp. cornstarch, divided

• 1/2 c. chicken broth

• 1/4 c. Shaoxing wine or dry sherry

• 2 tbsp. oyster sauce

• 1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil

• 1 tsp. sugar

• 1 tbsp. minced ginger

• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

• 16 oz. broccoli, cut into small florets

• 5 oz. shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and discarded, and caps thinly sliced

• Sliced green onions, for garnish

• Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

• Steamed white rice, for serving

Directions

Cut the steak with the grain into 2-inch-wide pieces, then slice thinly across the grain. Combine 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons soy sauce and 2 teaspoons cornstarch in large bowl. Add steak and stir to coat. Refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes.

Combine broth, remaining 4 tablespoons soy sauce, remaining 2 teaspoons cornstarch, wine, oyster sauce, sesame oil and sugar in small bowl, stirring to dissolve cornstarch completely.

Place a wok or heavy large skillet over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil, ginger and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Add steak with marinade and stir-fry until slightly pink, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil to wok. Add broccoli and mushrooms and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add broth mixture. Cook, stirring, for another 2 minutes, until broccoli is crispy/tender. Return steak to the wok and cook, stirring, until sauce is slightly thickened and steak is hot, about 1 minute. Transfer mixture to platter and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. Serve immediately with steamed rice, if desired.

Meredith Deeds is a cookbook author and food writer from Edina. Reach her at meredithdeeds@gmail.com. Follow her on Instagram ­at @meredithdeeds.