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.
Prep Time: 30 minutes, Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes plus marinating time. Serves: 4.
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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
Preparation:
- 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.
- Trim any excess fat from the beef and slice into thin strips about 2 inches long.
- Combine the beef and marinade, stir to coat the beef, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferably 4 hours.
- Clean, trim and cut the green beans into 2-inch lengths.
- Peel and trim the onion, slice lengthwise into very thin strips.
- Remove the beef from the refrigerator. Using tongs, remove the beef from the marinade to a separate bowl, reserving the marinade for the sauce.
- Heat the cooking oil in wok or wide frying pan over a high heat.
- Add the drained beef to the wok and stir fry until the beef is cooked.
- Remove the cooked beef from the wok; set aside in a bowl and keep warm.
- Add the sliced onion to wok and stir fry until the onion softens.
- Add the green beans to the wok and stir fry until they just begin to soften.
- Add the cornstarch to the reserved marinade, stir to dissolve.
- Add the beef back into the wok with the vegetables, stir to mix.
- Pour the marinade into the wok, stir to mix and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
- 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.