Beijing Beef

 

So here we begin...Year 15 of my blog. I started this body of work in 2010, the year I retired. Obama was in his first term. The New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl and Sandra Bullock and Jeff Bridges took home Oscars for best actress and actor. And my hero, Steve Jobs, introduced the very first iPad that year..

 I used to count my readers on one hand back then... today I average around 15,000 readers a month. I have never run ads in my blog because cooking is a passion. And I cannot stop because I love to cook!

The most used pan in my kitchen is my wok. My range has open burners and it is capable of the same outrageous temperatures used in restaurants. My wok is carbon steel and it puts a sear on meat like you have never seen. And that is why it is the most used pan...seared beef is present in a lot of our meals.....pork and chicken, too.

This is a fun meal to prepare as it is cooked entirely in the wok. As is the case with most wok cooking, you want to have all of your ingredients prepared and ready to go before you start. While it takes awhile to stage the ingredients, your cooking time will only run 10 to 15 minutes. This recipe was created by Sam the Cooking Guy as a knock-off of Panda Express' Beijing Beef. It serves 4.

INGREDIENTS

For the Stir Fry

1-1/4 pounds flank steak, thinly sliced against the grain

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1/2 cup peanut oil, plus 2 tablespoons

1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

3/4 cup corn starch

6 cloves of garlic, minced

1 small onion, diced medium

1 red bell pepper, diced medium

For the Sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

6 tablespoons soy sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup oyster sauce

2 tablespoons Sriracha

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine the first 3 ingredients in a bowl, mix well and set aside.
2. In another bowl, combine all Sauce ingredients, mix well and set aside.
3. After beef has marinated for about 10 minutes, drain beef and marinade into a colander. Wipe out and dry bowl, then return beef to bowl. Add cornstarch to bowl and mix thoroughly with the beef.
4. Add 1/2 cup peanut oil to your wok (the oil should be an inch deep) and heat over a medium flame (shoot for 350º oil temp).
5. Working in batches (to maintain oil temp), shake excess corn starch off of the beef. Deep fry beef in oil until each piece is a crispy, golden brown. Remove beef, set aside and repeat with rest of beef.
6. When done, get rid of the used oil and add 2 fresh tablespoons to the wok.
7. Turn heat to high and stir fry onion and bell pepper for 2 minutes. Add garlic and stir fry for 30 seconds more.
8. Pour in the sauce and simmer for 1 minute until bubbly and thickening. Add beef back in  and mix well to coat beef with the sauce and heat through. Serve.

Wine pairing: Zinfandel