Wok

I love stir-fry - it is delicious!  We make stir-fry quite a lot in our house and many different ways.
Last night I tried steak and vegetable stir fry over brown rice.  A variety of vegetables is key to a delicious stir fry.
Also, a well seasoned Wok will help to make good stir-fry.  Our wok is from my grandfather - it's one of the old stove top kind.  I think electric wok's are available now - but the stove top kind are best in my opinion.


Growing up we use to have "Egg-roll Factory" at our house - that's what my dad called it.  My sister and I would roll homemade filling in egg roll wrappers and dad would fry them while make chicken lo-mien in the wok - it was one of my favorite dinners!


Anyway, here's the recipe from last night.


Steak-Vegetable Stir Fry
2 steaks (we used some smaller round steaks from our 1/2 beef in the freezer)
Soy Ginger Dressing or a similar Asian Salad Dressing
1-2 cups of each:
       chopped celery
       chopped carrots
       sliced onions
       sliced green peppers
       cleaned green beans
       (broccoli and cabbage is also great in stir fry, but we didn't have any)
2-3 chopped green onions
2 Tbsp minced garlic, divided
2 Tbsp oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp ground Ginger
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/2 cup cold water
2 Tbsp Cornstarch
2 cups prepared brown rice


I know the ingredients look like a lot but stir fry is all about picking what you like.  Simply choose a few of the ingredients and go from there - to each their own!  You may also use pork or chicken instead of steak.  Or no meat - we've done that too.


Begin with marinating the steak.  Cut into thin strips and put into a large resealable bag with enough of the soy/ginger dressing to cover.  Mix together in the bag and allow to sit while you chop the vegetables.  The Soy Ginger Dressing I used was a bottle I found at that AMAZING Trader Joe's store, however, Kraft also makes an Asian Dressing that's good too.
At this time also combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, Cayenne, cornstarch, water, and remaining Tbsp of garlic in a small bowl.  Set aside.

Once you've prepped the veggies, heat 2 Tbsp of oil in the wok - also add 1 Tbsp minced garlic.  Make sure the oil heats up, at least medium high, before you add the steak.  Cook until done - feel free to leave some pink if you like it that way.  Remove from the wok with a tongs and set aside. 
In the reserve liquid, add the veggies, one kind at a time, stir, and continue adding.  Stir fry a few minutes then add the soy mixture.  Stir well.  Let the liquid begin to boil and thicken, then lower the heat and add the steak.  Heat through and serve over brown rice - so good!