Stir Fried Steak and Peppers with Tomatoes & Spinach
If you don't have a wok, this can easily be made in a large skillet; ingredients can be adjusted to your liking.
This is not a hard-coded recipe; you can do any number of things to change the taste and texture of the dish. Omit spinach and use broccoli or asparagus instead; add some sriracha sauce for some extra zing; include zucchini; add shiitake or cremini mushrooms. The foundation of this stir fry is the beef, peppers and seasonings, and anything and everything else can depend on what you do or don't have on hand.
My Number One Fan occasionally finds prime steaks, like filet or sirloin, that have been reduced for quick sale at the grocery store, which she brings home and freezes just for dishes like this one. But you could just as easily substitute chicken breasts or pork loin.
Drunken Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 lbs. sirloin or tenderloin, cut into strips
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus 4 tbsp for cooking
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce (like, Kikkoman Less Sodium)
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp powdered mustard (like, Coleman's)
- 1 tbsp powdered ginger
- 2 tsp garlic, minced
- 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into strips
- 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into strips
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach
- 3 green onions, slicked on the bias
- 2 medium tomatoes, sliced into wedges
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
- 1/4 cup beef stock
- 3 tbsp chives, snipped
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Combine the vinegar, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, sesame oil, powdered mustard, powdered ginger and minced garlic in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
- Put the beef strips into a Ziploc bag and pour in the marinade. All the beef to marinate in the liquid at room temperature for 2 hours.
- Remove the beef strips from the liquid and have at the ready. Reserve the marinade.
- Heat the 4 tbsp vegetable oil in a wok until shimmering then toss in the green and red bell peppers. Stir fry the peppers until they start to soften and take on some color, 3-4 minutes.
- Toss in the beef and stir until all the pink is gone, about 3 minutes. Toss in the green onions for another minute or so.
- Add the beef stock and then toss in your spinach and cilantro. Stir fry until the spinach collapses and some of the liquid has evaporated.
- Toss in the tomatoes and the reserved beef marinade and stir fry for another minute or so until the tomatoes just start to collapse, but you want them still fairly firm.
- Throw in the chives and sesame seeds at the last minute before serving in bowls over rice with lots of the delicious sauce.
Notes
- The easiest was to prep fresh chives to to use a pair of scissors.
- Like any good wok chef, prepare all your ingredients ahead of time so they are at the ready and within arms reach before you begin, known in French cooking terminology as Mis en Place.
