Norman's Beef Stir Fry

Norman’s Beef Stir Fry

I feel bad these days that I'm not running on a regular basis. I was doing pretty good running three miles two or three times a week. Then the Great Lisle Flood hit in April and my running started to fall by the wayside. I haven't seemed to be able to get back on a regular running schedule since. I'm fighting laziness.

Well, lazy or not, I still need to eat. Most times, I have all the ingredients needed for a quick stir fry. A little meat and a few vegetables and I’m set to go. This recipe is kind of a composite of all my stir fry’s. You can change it up quite a bit and it is still good.

The key to making this work is to have everything chopped and ready before you start. Then it will go smoothly. You can easily substitute chicken, pork, lamb or shrimp for the beef, but don’t call it beef stir fry if you do. People will look at you funny.

peanut oil
12 oz. round steak - sliced thin against the grain
fresh ginger - peeled, sliced thin then minced fine, about 2 tbs. 

2 tbs. soy sauce
4 cloves garlic - chopped
1/4 cup peanuts
5 small dried hot peppers - arbol or cayenne
1 large bell pepper - cut into strips.
3 stalks of celery - sliced thin on an angle
2 onions - cut into thin wedges
1 small zucchini - cubed
1 tbs. toasted sesame oil
3 green onions - sliced thin on an angle
1/4 bottle of your favorite stir-fry sauce

Preparation

Place the beef in a bowl. Add the minced ginger and the soy sauce. Allow to marinate while you make some rice. Stir-fry’s should be served with rice - make it.

Now, if you donʼt have a wok, go out and buy one right now ... oh, all right, I promised myself that I’d be more tolerant. If you donʼt have a wok, a large cast iron fry pan will work, just not as well. I am still going to assume for this discussion that you have a wok however. Heat the wok until very hot. Have everything all chopped and ready.

Add 2 tbs. of peanut oil to the wok. Swirl so the oil coats the wok. Add the garlic, stir once, and then add the bowl of beef. Stir until the beef is nicely browned. Remove the beef, using a slotted spoon, back to the bowl.

Add a little extra peanut oil to the wok. Add the peanuts and the dried hot peppers and stir about a minute. Add the celery and stir about a minute. Add the bell pepper and stir about a minute. Add the onion (but not the green onion) and stir about a minute. Add the zucchini and stir about a couple of minutes. Add the beef back to the wok and stir. Add the stir-fry sauce and stir. Continue to stir until everything is hot and bubbling. Add the green onion and sesame oil, stir well and serve.

Serving 

I like lots of soy sauce with this.

Serve this over steamed rice along with egg drop soup and a good chilled Riesling Kabinett from Germany. If you are feeling ambitious, make some homemade egg rolls too.