Tag: Beef

Thai Beef and Basil Stir Fry

Stir fry

Stir fry

Wow you guys. Life has been crazy and a half. After being laid off at the end of February, I just started a new job and I’m totally in love with it. I’m just an assistant really, but the woman I’m assisting is the CEO of this start-up company and she’s super smart, creative, fun, and kind. I’ve been working with her now for two weeks and I’m having such a blast and learning lots. Also, it’s at the same place where Jonah works, so we get to drive to work together (and then not really see each other all day because he’s in the studio and I’m at the CEO’s desk) and then go home! I’ll admit, I was a little worried about it, but it’s really fun, actually. So that’s a little update on my life and perhaps a bit of an excuse as to why it’s been almost a week since I’ve posted. I was so not used to working a full time job that at the end of each day, I was so tired that I didn’t want to cook. But I’m now getting used to the new schedule and getting back in the kitchen.

This stir fry is the most delicious stir fry that I’ve maybe ever had. I found it while surfing food52, one of my new favorite food blog things. It’s really different than a lot of stir fry or Asian-influenced dishes and super flavorful. And pretty dang easy. This recipe serves 2, so if you’re feeding more than that, multiply. I’ve adapted a little bit.

Thai Beef and Basil Stir Fry

Ingredients

Fish Chili Sauce

1/2-1 serrano pepper, chopped
1 Tbl fish sauce
1/4 cup water
1 clove garlic, chopped

Stir Fry

1 Tbl vegetable oil
2/3 lb. ground beef
1 red onion, sliced thinly
1 serrano pepper, chopped (more if you want it spicier)
3-5 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 Tbl soy sauce, plus some for finishing
1 Tbl fish sauce, plus some for finishing
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 cup thai basil leaves, packed (I just used regular basil… It was fine)
1 fried egg per person

Rice for serving

Instructions

First, make the chili sauce by combining the four ingredients in a bowl, stir, and set it aside.

Start cooking your rice! It’s always good to do a 2:1 water to rice ratio, bring it to a boil, and then turn down the heat to a simmer, and let it cook, covered. Check it occasionally and when it’s done, turn off the heat. Heat the wok or a fry pan with oil. When the oil starts to smoke, add the garlic, chili, sugar and onion. Cook until the onions have softened and become a golden brown.

Add the meat and cook for about 5 minutes, then add the soy sauce and fish sauce. Fry until the meat is thoroughly cooked, another 2-3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the basil leaves, mixing them in until they’re wilted. Put the stir fry in bowls over rice and fry an egg per person. Put the egg on the stir fry and you’re done! Accompany with fish sauce and say sauce to taste!

Korean Marinated Beef

Korean Marinated Beef

Korean Marinated Beef
Korean Marinated Beef

This Korean marinated beef was the second part of our asian dinner the other night. I found this recipe in our Gourmet Today cookbook, which is wonderful. This recipe was crazy good and super quick. The meat was nice and tender and perfectly cooked and the marinade caramelized nicely in the pan. You’re supposed to serve the beef in a lettuce cup with kimchi and rice, but we just served it over rice alongside the Japanese cucumber salad seen in the previous post. Here’s what you’ll need:

Korean Marinated Beef

Ingredients

1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tbl sugar
2 tsp Asian sesame oil
1 bunch of scallions, minced, with the white and green parts separated
1 Tbl minced garlic
1 Tbl minced peel fresh ginger
3 Tbl sesame seeds, toasted
1 lb flank steak (we did about 3/4 of a pound, just because the cut of meat is a little expensive and the recipe serves 4 people), cut across the grain into very thin slices (the recipe says no more than 1/8 inch thick, but I was like, hell no, so I just sliced it as thin as I could)
1 Tbl vegetable oil for cooking

Instructions

In a medium sized mixing bowl, stir together the soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, the whites of the scallions, the garlic, ginger, and 2 Tbl of the sesame seeds. Whisk this up until the sugar is dissolved. Now add the steak, toss it around to make sure it’s evenly coated, and let it marinate for 15 minutes.

After that 15 minute wait, heat the oil in a pan over high heat. You definitely want the oil to be shimmering, if not smoking. Now add the steak in one layer and cook (ours took 2 batches), turning halfway through. If your heat is high enough, it’ll only take about 4-5 minutes for your meat to be cooked through and even get a nice sear/caramelization from the marinade. When the meat is just cooked through – don’t cook it too long or it will lose some of it’s tenderness – transfer to a plate, sprinkle with the rest of the sesame seeds and the scallion greens. Serve with rice and Japanese cucumber salad (see previous post). Enjoy!