Stir-Fry Beef with Black Pepper Sauce
Almost two years ago my husband and I made the decision to move from our mid-town apartment in Toronto to our hometown; a suburb of Windsor, Ontario. There were many compelling reasons for the move. We wanted to be closer to family to help out with our daughter, who was just one at the time. The monthly cost of a four-bedroom house in Windsor was less than the rent of our 1000 square foot Toronto apartment. And lets not discount how balmy Windsor is compared to the rest of the country. Still, there are many things that I miss about Toronto and city life in general. They can primarily be summed up as follows: shopping, Starbucks employees who know how to make coffee quickly, amenities within walking distance, and take-out. Unfortunately I can’t do much about the first three, but I have made it my mission to remedy the last.
The area we now live in is sadly lacking in ethnic diversity, which means that there is no decent take-out! I have tried every Chinese restaurant in a 15 km radius with extreme disappointment. I have therefore concluded that the only remedy (other than moving again) is to make my own.
Chinese take-out is surprisingly easy to replicate at home. You don’t need a wok and most of the ingredients can be found at a well-supplied grocery store.
This recipe uses flank steak; a relatively inexpensive cut of meat. In order to ensure that the meat is tender, it is essential to cut it against the grain as instructed (see photos). Chinese restaurants generally use a technique referred to as ‘velveting’ to achieve tenderness. This process requires blanching in oil prior to actually coking. Through various testing, Cook Illustrated came up with a marinating method which replicates the necessary tenderness of ‘velveting’ without the mess and extra time. The steak is first soaked in a mixture of water and baking soda and than placed in a separate marinade.
The other key in creating your own Chinese takeout is to ensure that everything is prepared in advance. Chop all of your ingredients and prepare your sauce and marinade before turning on the stove. I have made this dish several times and usually include whatever stir fry vegetables I happen to have in my fridge. I like my stir fries to include a few assorted veggies in addition to the meat. In these photographs I used a red pepper instead of green and added additional broccoli and white onions.
This stir fry is relatively simple to make, the meat is very tender and the sauce wonderfully flavourful!
Beef Stir Fry with Bell Peppers and Black Pepper Sauce
Cook’s Illustrated
Serves 4
1 tbsp plus ¼ cup water
¼ tsp baking soda
1 pound flank steak, trimmed, cut into 2- 2 ½ inch strips with the grain and each strip cut crosswise against the grain into ¼ inch thick slices
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp dry sherry or Chinese rice wine
3 tsp cornstarch
2 ½ tsp packed light brown sugar
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp rice vinegar
1 ½ tsp toasted sesame oil
2 tsp coarsely ground pepper
3 tbsp plus 1 tsp vegetable oil
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into ¼ inch wide strips
6 scallions, white parts sliced thin on bias, green parts cut into 2 inch pieces
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
Combine 1 tbsp water and baking soda in a medium bowl. Add beef and toss to coat. Let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes.
Whisk 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sherry, 1 ½ tsp cornstarch and ½ tsp sugar together in a small bowl. Add the soy sauce mixture to the beef, stir to coat, and let sit at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes.
Whisk the remaining ¼ cup water, remaining 2 tbsp soy sauce, remaining 2 tbsp sherry, remaining 1 ½ tsp cornstarch, remaining 2 tsp sugar, oyster sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and pepper together in second bowl.
Heat 2 tsp vegetable oil in 12 inch non-stick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add half of beef in single layer. Cook, without stirring, for 1 minute. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until spotty brown on both sides, about 1 minute longer. Transfer to bowl. Repeat with remaining 2 tsp vegetable oil and remaining beef.
Return skillet to high heat, add 2 tsp vegetable oil, and heat until beginning to smoke. Add bell peppers and scallion greens and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are spotty brown and crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Transfer vegetables to bowl with beef.
Return now-empty skillet to medium-high and add remaining 4 tsp vegetable oil, scallion whites, garlic, and ginger. Cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Return beef and vegetables to skillet and stir to combine.
Whisk sauce to recombine. Add to skillet and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce has thickened, about 30 seconds. Serve immediately.