Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Oh My...It's Beef & Veggie Stir-fry!

This evening I was in the mood for "Chinese".  I stopped at the store on the way home to pick up some beef to make a stir-fry with.  I found a beautiful 1-pound package of top round steak that was already sliced for stir-fry.  I normally like to cut my own steak, but this package of meat was unusually beautiful so I bought it, and in doing so, saved myself a step.  I love lots of different veggies in my stir-fries.

I cut up about 2 cups of fresh broccoli florets and steamed those for 3 minutes in a few tablespoons of water (covered) in the microwave.  I added a handful of fresh snow peas on top of the steamed broccoli, covered them, and steamed an additional minute in the microwave. I sliced 3 mini peppers; red, yellow and orange and 2 green spring onions.  I added thinly sliced red cabbage to add some crunch and color.  I minced 2 large cloves of garlic to add flavor to the dish.

To cook, I heated a couple tablespoons of extra virgin coconut oil on medium high heat in my wok and added a couple pinches of red pepper flakes and the beef and stir-fried just until the meat was no longer pink. I used a large spoon and spooned the juices off into a bowl as the meat cooked it would sear nicely (not simmer in its own juices). I spooned about 1/2 cup of beef juices off into my bowl and set it aside to use to make the sauce later.

I transferred the cooked beef to a plate and then added the minced garlic to the hot wok with another pinch of red pepper flakes and stir-fried for a minute or so, then added half of the sliced green onions, all of the peppers, red cabbage and stir-fried them for a few minutes until crisp tender.  I then transferred the cooked veggies and placed on top of the beef so I could make a quick and simple sauce.  I poured the beef juices back into my wok and added about 3 tablespoons of organic Tamari sauce (which is basically a wheat free soy sauce), a few grinds of sea salt, another pinch of red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon sesame oil and then stirred in a heaping tablespoon of organic peanut butter to use as a thickener for the sauce. It doesn't take much and it gives you the same texture/consistency that you would normally get if you used traditional cornstarch to thicken the sauce. I tasted the sauce and adjusted it for seasoning.

This made just enough sauce to glaze and coat the stir-fry, so it is important to make the sauce flavorful.  If you like more sauce you can add more beef broth. I made do with what came out of the beef as it cooked, because I prefer it coated, not swimming in sauce.  I added in the beef along with the stir-fried veggies, the drained steamed broccoli and snow peas and tossed everything together to coat with the sauce. I served mine over a bed of steamed cauliflower rice (fresh cauliflower that I grated on a regular box-type grater and then steamed in the microwave for 3 minutes).  I don't add any water to the cauliflower rice when I steam it, and it comes out perfect. I snapped a few photos for you to see below.  Enjoy!






7 comments:

Anonymous said...

measuremens for say 4 people would be nice

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Anonymous -- I would say to go by the amount of meat I used -- 1 pound of beef. That made 3 generous portions for us. I would say use the meat as your guide to how many it would serve your family and then add the appropriate amount of veggies accordingly. It might feed 2 men...or a family of 4 with 2 adults and 2 kids. Since this is not one of those exact type recipes (like say, a cake or bread would be)...you could add additional meat and veggies depending on how many people you want to feed and how large of a portion you would want to feed them. It's pretty fool proof and versatile that way. :-)

CyberSis said...

Hi GGC,

What a lovely Anniversary meal! I agree about the sauce ... I like the stir-fry just glazed, rather than drowning, so I wouldn't be adding additional broth to this dish, either!

There are times, though, when I'd like to use beef stock for other kinds of dishes (soup, for instance.) So far we haven't found any canned variety that we like and wonder if one even exists. Do you have a favorite that maybe you "doctor up," or do you go to the trouble of making your own? I haven't made it myself, but I've tasted some awesome homemade beef stock and I'm just guessing that's probably the way to go! But just thought I'd check with you "in case" ... you never know! :-)

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi CyberSis! The brand of stock I use is Kitchen Basics Beef Stock -- I use their Chicken Stock, too. It comes in a 32-oz carton and occasionally I can find them in 8-oz cartons and I buy all the little ones up -- I find those a better size for me to open and use unless I am making soup where the 32-oz works well. I like to make stock when I have the time -- but that doesn't always work, as you know! Hope you are doing well. :-)

CyberSis said...

Hi GGC,

I made a version of this tonight, without the beef, as a veggie side dish to go with our wonderful Costco grilled lamb chops. The stir-fry was great.

Since I’ve been reading your blog, I’ve been learning to be more free about mixing-and-matching ingredients according to what I have on hand. First of all, my wok is packed up "somewhere" so I used a skillet. I had some coconut aminos so I used that instead of the Tamari. I also didn't have cashew butter so I used almond butter ... very yummy! I used sauteed mushrooms, onions, and garlic (in butter) and the microwaved broccoli with some carrot slices thrown in for color. I picked up the beef stock the other day, but didn't want to open it for just 1/2 cup, so I used the veggie cooking water + a little plain H2O to make 1/2 cup. With all the various seasonings (especially the sesame oil!) it was very tasty, indeed! Next time I want to make it with the cabbage, snow peas, and the cashew butter.

Our Costco has been *out* of almond butter. Guess I'll be forgoing the Almond Flax Bread for a little while. Better buy a *couple* of jars when (or if) they get it again!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi CyberSis! It is liberating to not necessarily have to conform to every single ingredient when you cook, isn't it -- and just use what you have and make it work? Your veggie dish sounds delicious! Funny you mentioned your Costco being "out" of almond butter -- this weekend ours didn't have it either! Some things they seem to cycle off and back on again. I know someone told me that they didn't have the flax any more...but ours has tons of it. Hopefully they will get it back in. Otherwise, it's ridiculous to spend regular retail value buying a jar just to make a little loaf of bread. Glad you enjoyed the stir-fry -- I love using nut butters to thicken in place of the cornstarch I previously used to use. I use Kitchen basics stock and at some stores here I can find them in the 8-oz cartons instead of 32-oz cartons -- I just bought 10 more this weekend when I found them. It is much more practical to buy the little ones if you aren't using them as soup, etc. I waste much less and one of the little cartons is what I cook my mashed cauliflower in -- a perfect size. Hope you are having a good day today! :-)

Carol and little Sophie said...

I am going to make this for dinner tonight! Looks great !!! Swerve BBQ Contest