Sukiyaki cut beef is marinated then stir fried with vegetables. This beef and bok choy stir fry is cooked, flavored and garnished Chinese style. Prep time is 10 minutes. Cook time is 10 minutes.
We’re back to easy cooking and simple meals here at home after the holidays. And with the Chinese New Year coming up, it’s the ideal time to brush up on one of my favorite Chinese cooking styles. Stir frying. With a wok and the right cut of meat and vegetables, lunch was ready in 20 minutes.
The beef I used for this dish is sukiyaki-cut beef. Thinly sliced with a generous amount of fat. Any tender portion of beef (rounds and loins, as a guide) can be cut thinly and substituted for sukiyaki cut if you’re not a fan of animal fat. Just ask your butcher to slice your preferred cut. Thinner than a quarter inch is ideal.
If you prefer pork over beef, you’re welcome to use pork. If you don’t eat red meat, use chicken. Whichever meat you choose, it is essential that you use thin slices because this is stir frying. That means short cooking time over high temperature.
About the bok choy… I used only the stalks. Leaves don’t do so well in a stir fried dish as they turn soggy fast even if you’re super careful to subject them to heat for the shortest time possible. On the other hand, bok choy stalks retain their crunchiness.
Bok choy is a Chinese cabbage and you may opt for some other variety. Just remember to stick to stalks. The leaves can be reserved for another dish.
Chinese-style Beef and Bok Choy Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 300 grams sukiyaki cut beef
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 1 half-inch knob ginger peeled and grated
- 2 tablespoons tapioca starch or corn starch
- 4 bunches bok choy
- 1 small carrot
- 1 small onion
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup bone broth
- 1 to 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- drizzle sesame seed oil
Instructions
Cut the beef into half-inch wide strips.
Place the beef in a bowl. Add the salt, pepper, garlic, ginger and starch. Mix well. Cover and leave in the fridge while you prepare the vegetables.
Cut the bok choy to separate the leaves from the stalks. Reserve the leaves for another dish. Cut the stalks horizontally into half-inch slices. You should have about four cups of sliced stalks to feed four people with normal appetite.
Peel and julienne the onion and carrot.
Set a wok or thick-bottomed frying pan on the stove over high heat. Pour in the cooking oil and swirl.
Spread the beef on the hot oil. Cook without disturbing for a minute or so. Stir, breaking up lumps, and stir fry for another minute.
Add the julienned carrot and onion. Stir fry for half a minute.
Add the bok choy stalks. Stir well.
Pour in the soy sauce and half cup of bone broth. Sprinkle in the sugar. Cook, stirring often, until the sauce thickens and is no longer cloudy. If you want a thinner sauce, pour in the remaining quarter cup of bone broth.
Taste. Adjust the seasonings, if needed.
Off the heat, drizzle in the sesame seed oil and toss everything to blend.
Sprinkle the Chinese-style beef and bok choy stir fry with toasted sesame seeds before serving.
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