Okra Beef Stir-Fry

Copyright 2007 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients:
6-8 oz. good cut of beef (such as New York or sirloin), cut into bite-sized slices
2 cups okra, cut diagonally
1 yellow bellpepper, cut into cubes
1 shallot, finely diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 t fresh ginger, grated
1 t white pepper
1 T soy sauce
1 T xiao-shing wine (cooking rice wine) or sherry
1 T sesame oil
1 T oyster sauce
2 T canola oil
1/2 T cornstarch
salt

Marinate your beef in a small bowl with white pepper, soy sauce, xiao-shing wine, sesame oil, ginger and garlic. Set aside for at least 10 minutes.

In a wok or large skillet, warm oil over high heat. Add shallots and stir-fry for about 30 seconds and then add beef. Brown both sides, about 1 minute each, and then remove from wok. (Remove the beef after it’s brown but still red inside.)

Add more oil into the wok if needed and then add bellpepper and okra. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes. Season with salt (about a teaspoon). If your wok is getting too dry, add some of the marinade sauce leftover from your meat. Just as the okra looks like it’s tender, add back in the beef and blend all the ingredients with a drizzle of oyster sauce. Then create a slurry with the cornstarch and some water (about ¼ cup) and then add slowly to your stir-fry to create a sauce. Add only enough to make as much sauce as you like.

Makes 2 to 3 servings. Serve with steamed rice.

Pair with a glass of pinot noir.

TIP: If you have really good beef, you don’t really need to cook it all the way through. Some pink inside will be nice. That’s why I recommend taking the beef out of the wok while you’re cooking the vegetables and then adding it back in the end. Also, when adding the beef to the wok for the first time, don’t add all the marinade with it or else you’ll have soup. Add just enough to create a sizzle but don’t drown your meat. You can add more marinade as you’re cooking whenever your wok looks like it’s drying out.