Szechuan Beef Stir Fry

A spicy beef stir fry, with bold flavors of ginger and garlic with just a hint of sweetness, made with leftover steak.

If you've been following my blog I'm sure you've noticed I love leftover recipes.  Stir-fries are easy meals to make using leftovers.  I like making stir-fries because they are quick and delicious.  As long as you have everything prepared you can whip up a stir-fry in about 15 minutes.  The difficult part is prepping the ingredients.  Often I cut up all the veggies ahead of time and keep them in a bags or Tupperware until ready to stir-fry.  Lots of small prep bowls with lids or different sizes of Tupperware come in handy for this (technically I use Rubbermaid storage containers...but you know what I mean).

Stir-fries are easy meals to reuse leftovers.  [Tweet this]

Not all the ingredients in stir-fry are added at the same time.  So I mince the ginger, garlic, and peppers then put them in a small container (I actually read that cut garlic should sit for 10 minutes before cooking to get the most health benifits).

I love #garlic. Good #info: The best ways to prepare and store garlic http://t.co/cCEezornqP

— Joy (@Joybeewhatsfor) June 30, 2015

The (pre-cooked) meat and sauce go in another container and the vegetables go into a separate container(s).  I usually divide the vegetables based on how quickly they cook.  Onion is quick cooking, carrots take longer depending on their size, broccoli I like to make sure steams a bit and the same thing with green beans.  If you are using frozen vegetables they can probably all go in at the same time.

#Cookingtip: Separate ingredients by cook time for easy stir-frying.  [Tweet this]

Then, the order of adding everything is simple.  I start with a hot pan with some oil in it.  If using uncooked meat, I usually cook it first then remove to a plate on the side.  Then I cook the garlic and ginger for just a little while until fragrant.  I usually add the onion next.  Onion doesn't take long to cook so I just cook it briefly before adding everything else.  Then I add any long cooking vegetables.  If the vegetables need to be steamed I add just a bit of water and cover the pan for a few minutes until just barely tender, then uncover the pan and add the quicker cooking vegetables (the water should evaporate while they are cooking).  Lastly, I add the sauce and meat back in until the meat is heated and the sauce is thickened.  Since all of this happens in a very hot pan it's good to have everything ready to dump in when ready.  That's how I do it.  Feel free to use whatever method works for you.  Please let me know if you have any tips or tricks for stir-frying.

These are my #stirfrytips what are yours?  [Tweet this]

This time when I had leftover steak I thought I'd try something new.  I make Beef and Broccoli most of the time I have leftover steak, but my husband suggested something spicy.  Szechuan style stir-fry immediately came to mind.  I love my recipe for Szechuan Eggplant so I thought I'd use the same basic recipe with steak.  Then I just chose whatever vegetables looked fresh at the market (beans and carrots).  It made a simple and delicious meal that will wake up the taste buds (of course my husband added even more hot sauce to his...he likes an incredible amount of heat).

A simple & delicious meal that will #wakeupyourtastebuds.  [Tweet this]

Szechuan Beef Stir Fry

Cook time:  15 minutes
Served:  2

Ingredients:

4 ounces leftover steak sliced thinly
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2-1 cup water
2-3 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp oil (suitable for high heat)
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp minced ginger
2-3 minced chilies (more or fewer depending on how spicy)
1 small onion chopped
2 cups of vegetables (I used green beans and carrots)
Sliced green onions (optional)
Szechuan peppercorns, finely ground (optional)

Mix together the sauces, sugar, water, and cornstarch (start with 1/2 cup of water).  Mix in the steak and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.

In a large wok or saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat until it starts to simmer.  Add the garlic, ginger, and chilies stir-frying until fragrant.

Then, add the onion and stir-fry until just translucent.

Add the green beans and small slices of carrots.  Stir-fry for about 1 minute and then dribble in about 1 tablespoon of water.  Cover and let steam for a few minutes until you just start to smell the beans.  They should be tender yet still crisp.

Pour in the sauce and meat and stir to combine.  Let cook until meat is heated through and the sauce is thickened (add the rest of the water if it's too thick or you want more sauce).

Remove from heat (crack fresh Szechuan pepper over if you have it) and serve over rice garnished with green onions.

Makes 2 servings.

Enjoy.

Check out my other Szechuan and leftover steak stir fries:

Szechuan Eggplant

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

Beef Broccoli and Pepper Stir Fry

Linked to:  2 cup, Treasure Box, Lou Lou Girls, Wed Roundup, Full Plate, Freedom, Foodie Friends

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Szechuan Eggplant

A quick and easy meatless stir fry made with eggplant, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce.

*Update with new pictures and layout 5/5/14

I love Szechuan style food.  The combination of spicy and sweet with lots of ginger and garlic is so good.  I first had Szechuan eggplant as Chinese delivery and have been trying to duplicate it at home since.

All Szechuan style food is tasty but there is something about the eggplant that I love.  The eggplant is cut into 1 inch strips with the peel left on and, when it's cooked, has a wonderful texture.  It gets soft and mushy but the peel holds it together and adds more of a meaty texture.  Also eggplant is relatively inexpensive.  I can get all the eggplant for this recipe (for 2) for about $2. It makes a great meatless meal where you won't even miss the meat.

Here is my recipe, a combination of many online recipes and trial and error.  I think it's pretty good, and can be made vegetarian by omitting the, optional, oyster sauce.

Szechuan Eggplant

Ingredients:

1 Thumb sized piece of ginger, minced (about 1 Tbsp)
5-6 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 Tbsp)
6-8 small Thai bird chillies or other chilli, minced (about 1 tsp, or to taste)
5 medium Japanese eggplants (about 2 lbs), cut into 1 inch strips
1 onion, chopped
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp oyster sauce (optional)
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 - 1 cup water
2 tsp sirracha or other chilli sauce, optional

I like to prepare all of my ingredients before I begin cooking this will be stir fried at a high temperature and things go fast.

Heat a wok or large saute pan, with 1 Tbsp oil (veg, peanut, or canola), over medium high heat until the oil starts to glisten.  Fry 1/2 of the eggplant (I add a little salt while cooking, but the main saltyness will come from the soy sauce) until browned on the out side and soft in the middle (they should spit and sputter as soon as they hit the oil).  This should take about 5-8 minutes.  Remove first batch of eggplant and do the same with the second.  I do it in two batches because I want all of the eggplant pieces to come into contact with the pan so that they brown nicely.

Remove the eggplant from the pan and set aside.  Add the onion to the pan (with more oil) cook for about a minute then add garlic, ginger, and peppers.  Stir around until fragrant.  Add the eggplant back in, lower heat to low and add the sauces and sugar.

Stir to mix thoroughly, and let sauce reduce a little.  I like to have a good sauce with my eggplant, so add extra water as necessary.  I cracked some Szechuan peppercorns over top, but this is not a must, I like to add them because I have them but if you don't have them you won't miss them.

Add more chili sauce as desired.

Immediately serve over steamed rice, garnish with sliced green onions for some color.  Makes 2-3 servings.

This is a great meat free meal that is quite filling, if you would like a side to go with it, wilted/cooked greens would be great, especially Asian greens like bok choy.

Enjoy.

Linked to:  See Ya in the Gumbo, 2 Cup Tuesday, LouLou Girls, Tasty Tuesday, Brag About It, Wednesday Roundup, Full Plate, Plant Based Potluck, Eat Create Party, Freedom Friday, Best of the Weekend, Show Stopper, Saturday Night Fever, Share It Sunday




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