The Deli Meat That Makes This Fan-Favorite Chinese Takeout Dish A Breeze

Homemade Chinese takeout sounds contradictory, but it's a real corner of the culinary world. Home chefs recreate meals popular at Chinese restaurants, dishes like General Tso's chicken, sweet and sour pork, or egg drop soup. Some take on the challenge for the love of the game, while others whip up healthier versions of their favorite dishes without the added sugar and extra calories. Whatever your reason, the next time you decide to whip up some Chinese takeout at home, plan to make beef and broccoli — and use sliced roast beef as the protein.

Beef and broccoli is an iconic Chinese takeout dish that's easy to make at home; simple, salty, and fresh with plenty of umami flavors and bursts of bright green crunch. It's a great way to use up leftover steak, but it's also one of the genius uses for leftover deli meat that don't involve making a sandwich. It cooks up quickly, has a texture that is very easy to chew, and tastes so good it might just become your go-to dinner recipe for those busy weeknights.

There are more perks to homemade beef and broccoli than just the pride of whipping up a restaurant-quality dish. At home, you can control the ingredients, tailor the taste, and cut down on the amount of time it takes for the whole dish to come together. A takeout-inspired beef and broccoli recipe can be so easy that it comes together in less than 15 minutes — and that's using thinly-sliced, raw beef, like flank steak. Deli roast beef is already cooked, drastically cutting down on the time you'll need to sauté the dish together.

Often, it takes several steps to put together beef and broccoli: marinate the beef, blanch the broccoli, sear the beef, and then stir-fry everything together in some sort of sauce, like this pantry staple Teriyaki sauce. Homemade recipes squeeze that process into 15 or 20 minutes, but it's even faster when you don't have to slice or marinate the meat. You can pull apart deli roast beef with your fingers, and it's packed with flavor. Toss it into a skillet with some blanched broccoli and sauce, and you'll have a pan of beef and broccoli ready to go in less than 5 minutes. It comes together so fast that you'll want to watch it like a hawk so your beef and broccoli won't overcook!