How to Beef stir-fry

This article will show you how to make beef stir-fry like you get in a Chinese restaurant. Makes enough for 3 people.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• flank steak or thin sirloin (1-1.5 lbs)
• 3-4 cups (more if you prefer) of your favorite stir-fry veggies (onion, pea pod, mushrooms, bean sprout, broccoli, bok choy, water chestnut)
• 1 tsp. + 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1/2 cup beef stock
• 2 Tbsp. Worchestershire sauce
• dash of sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. corn starch
• vegetable oil for frying (don't use olive oil)
• soba noodles or white rice

1. Trim fat and tough connective tissues from beef and slice into 1/4" thin strips. Mix with a little vegetable oil and soy sauce. Marinate in refrigerator 20 minutes.

2. Chop vegetables and set aside.

3. Prepare sauce by whisking together thoroughly soy sauce, beef stock, Worcestershire suace, sesame oil and corn starch. Set aside until ready to use.

4. Add enough vegetable oil to wok to coat the bottom and sides. Heat oil as hot as you can get it without smoking. Caution: if you have washed your wok before using it, make absolutely sure there is not a trace of moisture anywhere in it before adding the oil or you will be diving for cover shortly thereafter.

5. Drain beef and add all at once (CAREFULLY!) to hot wok. Stir quickly and only cook only until just done - this will keep the meat from coming out tough. You might want to don an apron (I wear safety glasses also just to be safe) for this - lots of splatter.

6. Remove beef to a platter and drain any juices out of the wok. It doesn't need to be spotless - just try to remove most of the juice so that when you add the veggies they fry instead of boil.

7. Add more oil to wok and get very, very hot again.

8. Add beef and veggies to wok. Stir quickly and cook just until veggies are crisp and start to color. If you overcook they will be mushy.

9. Make a well in the middle by pushing the meat and veggies up on the sides of the wok. Give the sauce you made earlier a good whisk and pour into the well. Let the sauce heat up and then mix everything together and cook until the sauce thickens to your desired consistency. Remove from heat.

10. Serve stir-fry over soba noodles or white rice. Top with chow-mein noodles if desired.

Tips & Warnings

• this recipe has the potential for lots of hot oil splatter - PLEEEESE use caution. I always wear safety glasses when cooking with hot oil - looks goofy but better safe than sorry.
• water and hot oil do very scary things when mixed - make sure your wok is absolutely dry before heating any oil in it.