Made last night: Spicy Beef and Peppers (and remember if I've posted this)

deb-in-mi

Well-known member
Oops - meant I 'can't' remember if I posted it. This is one of my hubby's favorite dishes:)

This dish comes together fast. I do double the marinade and the sauce. And add fresh asparagus tips to the dish.

Beef with Peppers

1 (1/2 lb.) piece flank steak, well trimmed

2 tsp. soy sauce

1.5 tsp. cornstarch

1.5 tsp rice wine vinegar

1 tsp. finely gratd peeled garlic

1 tsp. finely grated fresh ginger

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. sugar

5 tsp. vegetable oil

1 T. ketchup

1 T. hoisin sauce

2 to 3 tsp. chile garlic sauce

1 large red bell pepper, cut lengthwise into ¼ inch wide strips

2 scallions, halved lengthwise and cut into 1 inch pieces

Cut steak with grain into 1 ½ to 2 inch wide strips. Cut each strip across grain into ¼ inch thick slices. Put slices into a medium bowl with soy sauce, cornstarch, rice wine, garlic, ginger, ¼ tsp. salt, sugar, and 1 tsp. oil and stir with a fork.

Stir together ketchup, hoisin, and chile garlic sauce in a small bowl.

Heat wok over high heat until a bead of water vaporizes with 1 to 2 seconds of contact. Pour 2 tsp. oil down side of wok, then swirl oil, tilting wok to coat sides. Add beef, spreading pieces in 1 layer on bottom and sides and quickly as possible. Cook, undisturbed, letting beef begin to grown, 1 minute, then stir-fry until meat is just browned on all sides but still pink in the center, about 1 minute. Transfer meat and any juices to a plate.

Pour remaining 2 tsp. oil down side of unwashed wok over high heat, and then swirl oil, titling work to coat sides. Add bell pepper, scallions, and remaining ¼ tsp salt. Stir-fry 30 seconds, then add reserved beef with any juices and ketchup mixture. Stir-fry until combined well and sauce thickens slightly, about 30 seconds, then transfer to a platter.

Source: Gourmet, December 2004

 
This sounds really good. Is the flank steak tender? I have always marinated my flanks

in soy sauce, sherry wine, a Tablespoon of vinegar and a bit of oil, garlic powder all day. Then we grill, to med rare. slice very thin. Even then, some flanks lately have been chewy which is something I have never experienced in the past 50 years of making this recipe.

 
we cut is super thin and barely cook it

the first time - still some pink to the meat. Then it gets finished cooking at the end when I add the sauce - the couple minutes that it takes to stir the sauce all the way through and heat up the dish finishes the meat.

 
It is in the slicing against the grain that you lessen the chewiness. Marinating does

great for flavor--doesn't do anything for tenderness unless it has papain (papaya) in it. Then I have always thought that just turns it mushy on the surface.
This would be good for skirt steak or flap meat or flatiron also.

 
Deb, do you velvetize shrimp? Same cornstarch method, but in egg whites.

1 egg white
1 TBL Shaoxing rice wine
1 TBL corn starch
1 tsp salt.

Whisk together and add shrimp. Let sit for 30 minutes. Seasons and tenderizes the shrimp.

From China Moon cookbook.

 
I had overlooked the cornstarch in the recipe--and know about velveting.

Found this explanation
The cornstarch doesn't intrinsically tenderize the meat as such. It, along with the egg whites, forms a protective casing that allows the meat to quickly poach in its own juices.

So in the "can't hurt and might help" tenderness, could be. ;o)

 
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