Beef Stir fry

Meat is an integral part of meals in my family. One of my brothers, Ishaq , is especially partial to beef. This is how some of our conversations start off :

Him : What’s cooking?

Me: It’s not exactly meal time you know

Him : Any time’s a good time to eat

Me  : I’m thinking of making some veggies later, probably eggplant

Him : Why? Are you sick? What happened to the meat?

As you can tell, the guy’s fond of his meat. Not chicken, not fish, definitely not vegetables. My dad is pretty much the same. He goes a step further, and distributes cooked meat packs to all his kids, to have on hand in the freezer. You never know when guests might drop by he says, and everyone knows a good host serves up meat. Much to my disappointment, I live too far away to partake in his generosity. Unfortunately, my guests might have to settle for some veggies;-)

Yesterday I made a lovely beef stir fry. I like to grill a flat iron steak, and slice it into thin bite-sized pieces. Cooking it this way results in a tender, juicy and succulent piece of meat. I prefer to add only salt and pepper while first searing it, and put in additional seasonings afterwards.

I’m pretty certain this dish will be meat-lovers approved. Give it a go, your guests will thank you.

Here’s a step by step version :

1. Season 1lb of flat iron cut of steak generously with salt and pepper. Although I’ve shown only one piece here, mine were cut into three similar sized portions.
2. Heat and oil a grill pan. Place the steak on the pan, and cook on high heat, on the first side for 5 minutes. You will be tempted to poke at it. DO NOT TOUCH.
3. Flip over the meat, reduce heat to medium and cook for 4 minutes. Again, keep your hands to yourself, and let the grill do it’s work.
4. Take out the steak, place it on a chopping board and leave to rest for 5 minutes before cutting. This is very important, because the juices stay intact this way.
5. Slice the steak into very thin pieces, diagonally against the grain. Place in a bowl.(And away from your children;-) )
6. Make a sauce with 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp oyster sauce, 2 tbsp hoisin sauce, 1 tsp sriracha sauce and 2 tsp sesame oil. Divide this mix into two equal parts.
7. Mix one portion of the sauce with the sliced beef. Keep aside.
8. Heat the same grill pan, and to it add 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp vegetable oil, 2 cloves minced garlic and 1 tbsp minced ginger. Stir. Add in the remainder portion of the sauce mix.
9. Put in 1 cup sliced bell peppers and 1 cup broccoli florets. Stir to distribute the sauce. Add in the beef. Mix for a minute and turn off heat.
10. Garnish with Thai basil and green onions. Serve over fried rice or noodles.