Beef and Green Beans Stir-Fry

The inspiration for our Beef and Green Beans Stir-Fry came from a Chinese cooking class Jan’s mom took in the Netherlands when he was in grade school. It was a special dish his parents would prepare together for themselves on the weekends, as this was considered “not food for kids”; the kids had more everyday fare during those meals. Well, Jan did get to taste it a few times and I loved it; he still does so today. Jan recalls that the original recipe called for 1 tablespoon of sherry, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and a ½ clove of garlic as the marinade; the garlic was revolutionary for Dutch cooking in the 60s! 

Easy to prepare, Beef and Green Beans Stir-Fry is a great weeknight dinner; you can prepare the marinade and marinate the beef in the morning too. Start out with a quick and easy to prepare Sicilian Orange Salad for a juicy, sweet and savory beginning to your meal. Enjoy this great dish with white rice or rice noodles or, for a Keto experience, use shirataki noodles or just as is.

Beef and Green Beans Stir Fry

Prep Time: 30 minutes, Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes plus marinating time. Serves: 4.

Support Cook and Eat at Home. Purchase a PDF of the Beef and Green Beans Stir-Fry recipe for $1.00

Ingredients:

  • 1 Tb granulated Sugar
  • ½ Tb coarsely-ground Black Pepper
  • 2 Tbs crushed Ginger*
  • 2 Tbs minced Garlic
  • 1 Tb Sambal Oelek
  • 2 Tbs Mushroom Dark Soy Sauce*
  • 2 Tbs Sherry Vinegar, substitute Rice or Apple Cider Vinegar if necessary
  • 2 Tbs Shaoxing* or Dry Sherry
  • 1 tsp Sesame Oil
  • 1 ½ lbs. Chuck Steak or Roast or other well-marbleized cut of Beef
  • 1 ½ lbs. fresh Green Beans
  • 1 cup Onion, sliced very thinly lengthwise
  • ¼ cup Cooking Oil (Canola or Peanut/Canola Oil blend recommended)
  • 1 Tb. Cornstarch

Beef and Green Beans Stir Fry

Preparation:

  1. Combine the sugar, black pepper, crushed ginger, minced garlic, sambal oelek, mushroom dark soy sauce, sherry vinegar, Shaoxing and sesame oil in a deep bowl and whisk together to make the marinade.
  2. Trim any excess fat from the beef and slice into thin strips about 2 inches long.
  3. Combine the beef and marinade, stir to coat the beef, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferably 4 hours.
  4. Clean, trim and cut the green beans into 2-inch lengths.
  5. Peel and trim the onion, slice lengthwise into very thin strips.
  6. Remove the beef from the refrigerator. Using tongs, remove the beef from the marinade to a separate bowl, reserving the marinade for the sauce.
  7. Heat the cooking oil in wok or wide frying pan over a high heat.
  8. Add the drained beef to the wok and stir fry until the beef is cooked.
  9. Remove the cooked beef from the wok; set aside in a bowl and keep warm.
  10. Add the sliced onion to wok and stir fry until the onion softens.
  11. Add the green beans to the wok and stir fry until they just begin to soften.
  12. Add the cornstarch to the reserved marinade, stir to dissolve.
  13. Add the beef back into the wok with the vegetables, stir to mix.
  14. Pour the marinade into the wok, stir to mix and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
  15. Serve immediately.

*Notes:

  • Crushed ginger can be purchased at Indian and Middle Eastern supermarkets and on-line.
  • Shaoxing and mushroom dark soy sauce can be purchased at Asian supermarkets and on-line.

Beef and Green Beans Stir Fry