Orange Beef & Broccoli in the Ninja Foodi is one of those amazing recipes where you can make your favorite take-out dish right at home... in less than 30 minutes! It's amazing, I tell ya!

Orange Beef & Broccoli is one of my favorite things to order at a Chinese restaurant. I love the spice from the red chili peppers, the brightness of the orange and those crispy edges on the beef!

When we moved to Tennessee, in the middle of nowhere, there weren't any Chinese restaurants for miles and miles. What to do? Make my own, of course!

Orange Beef & Broccoli in the Ninja Foodi is super easy to make and tastes BETTER than take-out!

If you want to watch me make this recipe for Orange Beef & Broccoli in the Ninja Foodi, you can right on YouTube or below the recipe in this post. Here is the link: Orange Beef & Broccoli in the Ninja Foodi.

Is Orange Beef & Broccoli Spicy?

This recipe calls for a total of 2 tablespoon of red chili pepper paste and I consider it to be perfectly spiced. It won't leave you with your mouth on fire or the feeling like you want to eat a loaf a bread and wash it down with a gallon of milk, but it is spicy enough to leave that lingering heat behind when you are done eating it.

You can always cut down on the red pepper paste to reduce the spiciness or omit it all together if you don't like spicy food.

Can I use a Different Sweetener?

I used honey in this recipe because it really adds a nice flavor to the sauce; however, if you are not a fan of honey, you can substitute it with white sugar.

To use white sugar instead of honey, add a quarter cup of sugar with the 1 cup of orange juice and saute that on high until the orange juice reduces and the sugar dissolves. Then add in the rest of the ingredients and continue reducing on high saute until your sauce thickens.

I have not tested this recipe with artificial sweeteners, but if you give it a try, I'd love to know how it turns out for you! Leave a comment below!

What if My Sauce Doesn't Thicken?

Your sauce should thicken as the orange juice reduces and, if it isn't thick enough, you can simply cook it longer.

If you still think your sauce needs to be thicker, you can add a cornstarch slurry. To do this, combine 2 teaspoon of corn starch with 2 teaspoon of water and stir until combined. Add to sauce and heat over medium sauté until the sauce thickens.

How do I make my own Red Pepper Paste?

Pressure cook 1.5 lbs of fresh red chili peppers with 2 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice on high pressure for 10 minutes. Allow to natural release for 10 minutes, then manually release the rest of the pressure.

Allow to cool for about 30 minutes and puree in a blender until smooth.

Add ½ teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of Xanath gum to thicken.

You can keep the red pepper paste in the fridge for 3-5 days or in the freezer for 3-6 months. I love having this on hand to make various recipes, like this one for Asian Sticky Wings!

Let's get to making Orange Beef & Broccoli in the Ninja Foodi!

First you want to have all  your ingredients prepped and ready to go. This will allow you to proceed through the recipe steps without any difficulty.

Slice the beef against the grain into thin strips and place into a sealable baggy. 

Pro Tip: Freeze your beef for an hour or two and it will be easier to slice into thin strips.

Cut the broccoli into medium-sized florets. You want your florets to be about the same size so that they cook evenly.

Rinse the jasmine rice until the water runs clear. This will prevent your rice from clumping together.

Zest and juice the three oranges and grate about 1 ½" of fresh ginger until you have 2 tsp.

The juice from all three oranges should equal about 1 cup. If you have a little less or a little more, do not worry about it. The sauce will be fine.

I zest two of the oranges with a microplane zester to get very fine pieces of zest. You will add the zest from one orange into the meat marinade and the other into the sauce. For the third orange, I like to have larger strips so I use a zester with channel knife. Depending on the thickness of the citrus skin, I will either use the top of this zester or the channel knife to make thicker strips about 2" long.

Pro Tip: Be sure to only zest the orange part of the skin and not the white (pith) of the orange. The pith is very bitter and will alter the taste of your dish.

Pre-heat the Ninja Foodi on Air Crisp at 400° F, with the fry basket that came with the Ninja Foodi. You want both the basket and the Foodi to be hot when you add the beef so it starts to cook immediately.

Make the marinade by combining 2 tablespoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 Tablespoon of red pepper paste, and the zest from one orange. Combine marinade with beef strips in plastic baggy. Marinate beef for about 15 minutes. If you are going to make this recipe right away, leave the beef on the counter top to come to room temp.

When you are ready to Air Crisp the beef, add 2 Tablespoons of corn starch and massage it into the meat until you can no longer see the white of the corn starch. Place the beef into the heated fry/steam basket that came with the Ninja Foodi and spread around to evenly distribute the meat over the bottom of the basket.

Toss the meat around every 5 minutes and air crisp for about 15 minutes. The edges should be a bit crispy. Remove the basket and set to the side.

I usually make up the sauce while the beef is Air Crisping. Combine the orange juice, zest from 2 oranges, grated ginger, honey, soy sauce, red pepper paste, fish sauce and orange zest into a medium size bowl. Reserve for later.

Lightly butter the bottom of a 6" cake pan or other pressure safe dish. The butter is optional, but recommended it to prevent the rice from sticking. I like to use a 6" Fat Daddio cake pan, but you can use any pressure-safe dish. Combine 1 cup of rinsed rice with ¾ cup water. Cover with foil and make sure to use a strap or the rack to get your pans in and out of the Foodi.  I use this two tiered steamer basket secured with a grifiti band which is perfect for this recipe and so many more! Look for my recipe on steamed buns that is coming soon... talk about good!

Pressure cook on the LOW setting for 3 minutes and, when done, immediately release the pressure. Carefully remove the rice from the Foodi. Add the broccoli florets to the bamboo steamer basket or a second pressure-safe pan. Make sure there is still about 1 ½-2 cups of water in the bottom of the inner pot.

Stack the two-tiered bamboo steamer (or two pans) with the broccoli on the bottom and the rice on top, uncovered. Select the steam function and make sure the valve is set to vent. Steam for 5 minutes. Remove and fluff the rice, cover to keep warm. Cover all but a corner of the broccoli. You want the steam to release so the broccoli doesn't become overcooked.

 

Dump the water and rinse the inner pot of the Ninja Foodi.

Set the Ninja Foodi to High Sauté and add in the sauce and sauté on high until the sauce is reduced and thickens. This usually takes about 5-8 minutes. You want the liquid from the orange juice to reduce by about half and, when you scrape along the pot with a plastic scraper, the sauce doesn't coat the bottom again for a few seconds.

Place the beef and broccoli into the sauce and stir to combine. I usually turn the Ninja Foodi off at this point and let the heat from the sauce warm the beef and broccoli.

Serve with rice. Enjoy! 

 

I hope you LOVE this recipe as much as I do!

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