Broccoli Beef with Coconut Aminos

I’ve been wanting to introduce coconut aminos to you for a long time, and this low oxalate broccoli beef seemed like just the recipe to start with. Coconut Secret Raw Coconut Aminos is a tasty alternative for soy sauce or fish sauce in your favorite Asian recipes. It is made simply from coconut tree sap and sea salt. Then it’s aged without the added bacterias, molds or yeasts, which are often used in fermented seasoning sauces. Coconut sap is very low on the glycemic index (GI of 35), is an abundant source of amino, acids, minerals, vitamin C, broad-spectrum B vitamins, and has a nearly neutral PH. Coconut Secret Raw Coconut Aminos is also soy and gluten-free, vegan, much lower sodium than most soy sauces, highly nutritious and very low oxalate (0.2mg. oxalate per teaspoon or 2.4 mg. per fourth cup)! Sounds fabulous, right?

I have to admit I was a little skeptical when I first heard about Coconut Aminos. I was hoping to go soy and gluten- free, though, and Coconut Aminos sounded like the best way to keep my favorite Asian recipes in circulation. I also have some issues with yeasts and molds, so I liked the idea that it wasn’t fermented with these, just aged with natural sea salt. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I made my favorite traditional broccoli beef with Coconut Aminos and it was fabulous! In fact, every Asian recipe I’ve tried with Coconut Aminos has been yummy.

Coconut aminos may be an especially good alternative for those who follow a low sodium, gluten-free, soy-free, yeast-free, vegan or Paleo diet. But even if you don’t follow one of these diets, I’d urge you to try it just for oxalate content alone. Regular soy sauce has 5.2 – 7 mg. oxalate per fourth cup, depending on the brand, while Coconut Secret Raw Aminos has only 2.4 mg. per half cup. That can make a big difference in a recipe that calls for a half cup of soy sauce!

Hope you enjoy this Broccoli Beef! It’s one of my go-to recipes when I’m in the mood for a nutritious and yummy stir-fry. My four-year old boys even like Broccoli Beef if I pick out the onions first!

Broccoli Beef

2 tablespoons olive oil, lard or coconut oil {UK readers click here, Canadians here)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon raw ginger, minced
1.5 lbs. flank steak, cut against the grain (or just buy stir-fry beef from the meat counter)
3/4 cup onion, course chopped (about 1 medium onion)
3 – 4 cups broccoli florets (1 large head or a 12 – 16 oz. bag, frozen)
1/4 cup Coconut Aminos
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 teaspoon white pepper (UK readers click here)
salt to taste

Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the meat and stir-fry until browned, about 2-3 minutes. Add the onions and broccoli and continue to stir-fry for 1-2 minutes, stirring often. Add the coconut aminos, sesame oil, cayenne and a pinch or two of white pepper. Continue to stir-fry another 1-3 minutes until the broccoli and onions reach your desired “doneness” and the flavors mix. Adjust the seasonings, salting if desired.

Serve over steamed, long-grain rice or cauliflower rice, or eat it plain, my favorite way.

Makes 6 hearty servings.

Alternative Marinating Method: Many broccoli beef recipes call for you to marinate your meat first in soy sauce, plus oil and other seasonings. I personally haven’t had much luck with substituting coconut aminos into the marinating sauce. I think the sweeter, thicker coconut sap makes it hard to cook the meat after marinating without burning it. My sauce also doesn’t turn out as well. Let me know in the comments section below if you do try to marinate with coconut aminos and have any luck with it. I’d love to know your secret! When I have time and want to marinate, I mix 3 T olive oil, the garlic, the ginger, 2 T red wine vinegar and 1 tsp white pepper, and marinate for at least 30 minutes. I really like the addition of the vinegar. It tastes great, and it can make your meat be more tender, which is sometimes a real plus for stir-fry meat.

Low Oxalate Info: All ingredients in Broccoli Beef are low oxalate. Broccoli Beef with Coconut Aminos has 6.1 -7.2 mg. oxalate per serving depending on whether you use 3 or 4 cups of broccoli. If you eat one or one and a half servings over a cup of steamed long grain white rice, you’ve got dinner for only 6-10 mg. oxalate. Not bad! Add some fresh mango (or some mango sticky rice) for dessert and you’re still less than 15 mg. for your meal.

Picky Eater Pleaser: I always heat a separate skillet to cook a few pieces of meat and broccoli separate from the sauce and seasonings. You can then put a little bit of the sauce (or just the coconut aminos) in a bowl and let your picky eater dip her plain meat and broccoli into the sauce. Alternately, add a little salt and pepper to the meat and let her eat it plain.

Other Diets: Broccoli beef may also be appropriate for Paleo, gluten-free, soy-free, and GFCF diets.