Stir Fried Beef, With Pics

ArnieM · December 21, 2009, 04:50:25 PM

I have this average size porterhouse steak and other stuff. My grill and deck are snowed in, the OBS and TBE are hiding in the garage. What to do? Here's how it went.

I cut all of the meat off of the bone and trimmed off all of the fat that I could. I sliced it across the grain as thinly as possible. The beef went into a bag with Tamari soy, crushed ginger and cayenne powder. Into the fridge for an hour or so.

There's a lot of prep work for a stir fry. That's when my sous chef said she was going to take a nap. >:( "Wake me when it's ready."

OK.

The rice. Rough chopped some mushrooms, about 1 TBSP and chives. They go into a pot with a little less than 1 TBSP peanut oil and a few dashes of Sesame oil. Bring to heat and add 1/3 cup Basaltic rice (there's only 2 of us). Stir it around for a bit, add a bit less than 2/3 cup water on one Cilantro mini cube. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and set the timer for 20 minutes.

Now on to the beef. Heat up the wok. I used about 1 TBSP peanut oil and several splashes of Sesame oil. I use very little marinade so I can dump the whole bag in.

Stir. This is hot and fast, not low and slow. :D Maybe 2 minutes.

First dump. Onions, garlic and slivered ginger.

Remember - stir.

Second dump. I do my broccolli florets and julienned carrots in the nuker for about a minute. Softens them a bit.

Third dump. Julienned zucchini, cucumber and assorted mushrooms. Remember to stir. ;D

Getting ready to serve.

Finally, on the plate with a bit of added soy sauce. Yeah, I know it's not smoked but pretty darn good on a cold and windy night ;D

I like Asian style food. I just don't like it 'gloppy'.

ronbeaux · December 21, 2009, 04:57:52 PM

Good gosh man! I bet you had stuff flying all over the kitchen chopping up all that stuff!! Cool :)

Tell me about the wok. It looks cast iron????

classicrockgriller · December 21, 2009, 04:58:40 PM

That looks awesome on any nite! great looking chow.

OU812 · December 21, 2009, 05:02:49 PM

That's when my sous chef said she was going to take a nap. "Wake me when it's ready."

That sounds like the one I got too.

That looks good Arnie, real good.

We like Asian food at our hut also, but the stuff we buy is the kind you add your own meat to. Dont have a wok or the knowledge to start from scratch.

ArnieM · December 21, 2009, 05:29:21 PM

Quote from: ronbeaux on December 21, 2009, 04:57:52 PM
Good gosh man! I bet you had stuff flying all over the kitchen chopping up all that stuff!! Cool :)

Yeah, the chopping is the hard part. Even chopping onions or garlic, the cats think it's 'food' and they're all over me. I've found the stuff that hits the ceiling will drop off after a few minutes. ;D

Tell me about the wok. It looks cast iron????
Yeah, it's cast iron - Lodge. It may work better on a gas-top stove but works pretty well on a glass-top electric too.

I do most of my indoor cooking in cast iron. I have a small non-stick skillet (scrambled eggs) and a couple of SS pots for steaming. Most people can't believe how non-stick a well seasoned cast iron skillet/pot is.

ronbeaux · December 21, 2009, 05:39:57 PM

CI rules!!

A textured ceiling holds on to the food longer ::)

ArnieM · December 21, 2009, 05:51:00 PM

Quote from: OU812 on December 21, 2009, 05:02:49 PM
That's when my sous chef said she was going to take a nap. "Wake me when it's ready."

That sounds like the one I got too.

That looks good Arnie, real good.

We like Asian food at our hut also, but the stuff we buy is the kind you add your own meat to. Dont have a wok or the knowledge to start from scratch.

My sous chef had three servings.

This stuff is really simple OU. You can get dinner in 20 minutes or less, not a day and a half. I'm sure one could make a nice stir fry with pulled butt too.

A wok isn't really a requirement but it does help. The idea is that the bottom is really hot. That's where you cook. As the stuff cooks, you pull it up onto the cooler sides and add the next 'phase' to the bottom to cook hot. Wash, rinse and repeat. Eventually mix it all together.

Traditional spices include fresh ginger root, onions, garlic, snow peas (I love 'em), carrot, those cute little red curly peppers and any other veggie you have on hand. For meat, beef, chicken, shrimp fish (haven't tried lamb). There are a lot of traditional recipes. I just go with what I have and what I like. Damn, forget the water chestnuts.

ArnieM · December 21, 2009, 06:06:35 PM

Quote from: ronbeaux on December 21, 2009, 05:39:57 PM
CI rules!!

Agreed Ron. A couple or few months ago, I grilled some steak and made sauteed mushrooms (garlic, basil and a little white wine) in my 7" CI skillet. My "sous chef" wanted to help clean up. It turned into "STOP RIGHT THERE. PUT DOWN THE SKILLET AND STEP AWAY FROM THE DISHWASHER!

A textured ceiling holds on to the food longer ::)

seemore · December 24, 2009, 08:06:15 PM

Arnie, that looks awesome!
We went online at Lodge and looked at that wok; we might be buying one.
We do a lot of dutch oven cooking when we are out camping; this wok would work well for more than just Chinese cooking.
Is there a base that you set the wok on when cooking on an electric stove?
seemore

Tenpoint5 · December 25, 2009, 05:57:26 AM

Looks great Arnie.

KevinG · December 25, 2009, 08:03:03 AM

Excellent Arnie, I haven't brought my wok out in years, guess I'll have to dig it out and give this a try.

ArnieM · December 25, 2009, 08:28:12 AM

Quote from: seemore on December 24, 2009, 08:06:15 PM
Is there a base that you set the wok on when cooking on an electric stove?
seemore

No, there's no base. The wok has a flat bottom so it doesn't roll around. It works better than I expected for a glass-top electric stove.

The Lodge CI cookware is great IMHO. Use it on a gas or electric stove, on the grill, in the oven or over an open fire.

seemore · December 26, 2009, 01:54:19 PM

Thanks, Arnie!

Since we do not have a cast iron wok, we will have to keep looking for something to use in which to put charcoal.

seemore

Smokin Soon · December 26, 2009, 04:39:45 PM

That's good info Arnie, I hace never tried any of my Lodge stuff on a glass top stove. I thought it woud be useless. I'll give it a go!

ArnieM · December 26, 2009, 07:26:19 PM

Quote from: Smokin Soon on December 26, 2009, 04:39:45 PM
That's good info Arnie, I hace never tried any of my Lodge stuff on a glass top stove. I thought it woud be useless. I'll give it a go!

You probably don't have my problem; rain, sleet and snow in the winter. So for grilling steak (porterhouse or strips for example), I use my 12" skillet. I put it in the oven and preheat it to 550. Meanwhile, give the steak a rub. I use S&P or Kansas City steak rub. When the oven and pan are preheated, put your biggest burner on high and let it preheat a few minutes. Take the skillet out of the oven (carefully), add something like a little peanut oil (high smoke point), and put it on the burner. Add the steak, about 30 seconds per side, and put it back in the oven to finish to your degree of doneness. Oh yeah. Crank your range exhaust hood up to high. Lotsa smoke, wrong kind. :D