Beef and broccoli was likely developed in the diaspora of Chinese immigrants in 19th century America.

[2] By the 1950s, it had become ubiquitous and it is one of the most popular American Chinese dishes in the 21st century.

[3] It is based on a Chinese dish that used gai lan but this was replaced with broccoli,[4][5] a vegetable which was originally popularized in the United States by Italian immigrants.

[6]The dish is prepared by stir-frying sliced steak and broccoli florets with oyster or soy sauce and aromatics such as garlic and ginger.

[7] Corn starch is commonly used to tenderize the beef and thicken the sauce.