Around the World: Chinese Broccoli Beef

About once a month or so we usually order Chinese take-out.  Although we like to try different things we have our favorites that we like to order.  Growing up my family always ordered Chicken with Broccoli.  We rarely order it now and I don't think we've ever ordered Beef with Broccoli.  Broccoli is one of the kids' favorite vegetables so I thought this would be a good dish to make.  I found some beef already prepped for stir-fry at the grocery store.  Although it may look like a lot of steps/ingredients, this was really quick and easy to put together.  Beef doesn't have to be cooked very long and the broccoli is steamed so it still has crunch to it.  The sauce was really tasty.  My daughter, who loves steak loved this dish.  My son, who dislikes most meat tried a bite and found it too chewy, only ate his broccoli.  We served this with rice for a complete meal.

Chinese Broccoli Beef
recipe from New Asian Cuisine

Ingredients:
1 lb top sirloin or flank steak, sliced into 1/8-in (3-mm)-thin strips

For the marinade:
1½ teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon cooking oil

For the Stir-fry Sauce:
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
2 teaspoons black vinegar (can substitute dark balsamic vinegar)

For the Broccoli:
1½ lb broccoli, cut into bite-sized florets
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic

Directions:
Marinate the beef in soy sauce, cornstarch and the ½ teaspoon of oil for 10 minutes at room temperature.

In a small bowl, mix together the stir-fry sauce ingredients.

In a wok or large frying pan, add 1 inch of water and salt and bring to a boil. Add the broccoli and cover to steam for 3 minutes. Broccoli should be bright green, crisp tender and you should be able to pierce the stem with a fork. Drain.

Discard the water in the pan and dry the pan well. Heat the pan over high heat and when hot, add the 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add the garlic and fry for 15 to 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the steak strips, keeping them in one layer and fry 30 seconds. Flip the strips and fry the other side.

Pour in the stir-fry sauce and stir to combine. Simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat a back of a spoon, about 30 seconds. Add the cooked broccoli back into the pan and toss to coat well.

Family Rating:  1 1/2 thumbs up.

Around the World: Tender Beef Kebabs

This dish was part of our final meal on our tour of Afghanistan.  The original dish called was Tender Lamb Kebabs.  However, when I went to the grocery store I couldn't find lamb cubes.  I didn't even think to buy a piece of lamb and cut it into chunks myself.....but I don't think was thinking very much at all.  I didn't read through the recipe before making so when I got to step 1 where it says refrigerate at least one hour, preferably overnight at 5 PM.....well, that wasn't happening!  And then I forgot to add the cinnamon at the end.....So, this recipe is really adapted and it's probably not even really Afghani anymore....but hey, I tried! I served this with Cauliflower Gulpea (see tomorrow's post), rice, and naan.  The kids, especially my daughter really enjoyed this and asked for "rice and meat" for lunch the next day.

Tender Beef Kebabs
recipe adapted from Afghan Culture Unveiled

Ingredients:
½ cup plain yogurt
2 tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. dried ground coriander
½ tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. Kosher salt
1 lb. beef stew meat, cut into 2-inch chunks
1 large onion, peeled, sliced thin

Preparation:In a large bowl mix together the yogurt, oil, garlic, coriander, pepper and salt and stir well. Add the beef and onions and coat evenly with the yogurt mixture. Cover and refrigerate at least an hour, preferably overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pull the beef out a half hour before you a ready to cook. Put the beef into large pot or Dutch oven and cover with a lid. Put it into the oven and cook until it is very tender (about 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours). Remove the lid, give it a stir, and continue to cook another 20 to 30 minutes until some of the liquid has reduced and you have a thick, oniony sauce.

Sprinkle the meat lightly with cinnamon and serve with warm naan bread and plain yogurt. You can season the yogurt with a little salt and stir in some rated cucumbers or chopped mint if you like.

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.

Slow Cooker Afghan Risotto

This was the first Afghan recipe that I made.  Shohla, also known as Afghan Risotto, can either be sweet or savory.  This one is savory, made with meat and split peas.  I thought I'd start out easy, with this one, since it uses the slow cooker.  I have a finnicky slow cooker that usually cooks dishes much faster than recommended cook times.  Unfortunately, I ended up cooking this a little later than I had planned.  To get dinner eaten in time I served it, though the rice still had a little "bite" to it.  I modified the original recipe by omitting the jalapeno, so it wouldn't be too spicy for the kids (though I think it would have added more flavor to the dish).  The recipe also called for dried mung beans, which I could not find.   I served this with store-bought whole wheat naan.  As our first recipe I thought this was okay. My daughter ate hers but my son only ate a bite but devoured his naan. 

Afghan Risotto
recipe adapted from Afghan Culture Unveiled

Ingredients:
2 large yellow onions, peeled and quartered
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 lb. beef stewing meat, cut into medium chunks
1 tbsp. tomato sauce
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cups beef broth
¼ cup yellow split peas
2 cups short-grain white rice, rinsed and drained in a colander
½ tsp. ground black pepper
2 ½ tsp. dried dill
6 cups water
Plain yogurt


Preparation:
Puree the onions and garlic in a food processor. Put the onion/garlic puree, meat, tomato sauce, olive oil and beef broth into the slow cooker. Mix well and cook on low for 4 hours until the meat is cooked through and most of the liquid is absorbed. The sauce be aromatic and it will have a rich brown color.

Add all the rest of the ingredients except the yogurt to the slow cooker. Stir thoroughly; continue to cook on low for 2 more hours. Cook until the meat is tender enough to easily cut with a fork and all the water is absorbed. If all the water is absorbed but the rice is still crunchy, add another cup of water, stir well, and cooks for another 15 minutes. Serve hot with a spoonful of plain yogurt.

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.

The Weekend Chef: Steak Stir-Fry with Tomato Hummus Sauce

Hummus was on sale a couple of weeks ago and I stocked up!  I love to eat it as a snack but had never really cooked with it.  When I found this recipe I knew I had to try it since I had so much hummus!  The Weekend Chef, a.k.a my husband, actually ended up making this for us. The broccoli rabe and eggplant helped add a bitter and earthy flavor and the hummus helped to create a slightly textured sauce. The kids like the orzo.  My son finds most meat too chewy, especially beef so he didn't eat much of this.  My daughter, a steak lover, ate all her meat, but not a lot of the eggplant.  Overall, I thought that it was a tasty and different dish.

Steak Stir-Fry with Tomato Hummus Sauce
Everyday With Rachael Ray, October 2007

Ingredients:
One 16-ounce box orzo pasta
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 eggplant (about 12 ounces), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 onion, thinly sliced
1/2 bunch broccoli rabe, stems cut into small pieces, leaves coarsely chopped
Salt
12 ounces sirloin steak, sliced into 1/4-inch strips
1/2 cup beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup hummus

Directions:
1.In a medium pot of boiling salted water, cook the orzo, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain; return to the pot. Stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil, cover and set aside.

2.In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over high heat. Add the eggplant and cook for 1 minute. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the onion and broccoli rabe stems and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the broccoli rabe leaves, cover and cook until wilted, about 4 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to a large bowl and season with salt.

3.Wipe out the skillet, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, add the steak strips and fry for 1 minute; repeat with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and steak strips. Return all the steak to the skillet and move to one side of the pan. On the other side of the pan, whisk together the beef broth and tomato paste and cook until the liquid is reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and quickly whisk in the hummus to form a sauce. Stir the steak into the sauce, then stir in the reserved vegetables.

4.Place a mound of orzo on each plate and top with the steak stir-fry.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Beef-Broccoli Stir-Fry

My husband took today off from work to help get ready the house ready for Christmas, since we're hosting.  He actually made dinner tonight while I finished up some last minute baking (posts and pics to come!).  Tonight's dinner was quick, easy, and tasty! Great for a week night dinner. The recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of bottled fresh ginger.  I'm not a big ginger fan, so my husband grated a tiny bit of the fresh piece of ginger that we keep in our freezer.  He also used the Sriracha, which made the broccoli too spicy for my daughter, but which my son loved.  So, he ate her broccoli and she ate his steak! 

Beef-Broccoli Stir-Fry
Cooking Light, March 2011

Total Time: 20 Minutes

Ingredients:
2 (3 1/2-ounce) bags boil-in-bag long-grain white rice
2 tablespoons dry sherry, divided
2 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce, divided
1 teaspoon sugar
1 pound boneless sirloin steak, cut diagonally across grain into thin slices
1/2 cup lower-sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon Sriracha (hot chile sauce) or 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 tablespoon bottled ground fresh ginger
2 teaspoons minced garlic
4 cups prechopped broccoli florets
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup sliced green onions

Preparation:
1. Cook rice according to directions.

2. While rice cooks, combine 1 tablespoon sherry, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, sugar, and beef. Stir together 1 tablespoon sherry, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, broth, cornstarch, hoisin, and Sriracha.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef mixture; sauté 3 minutes or until browned. Remove beef from pan. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan. Add ginger and garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add broccoli and 1/4 cup water; cook 1 minute. Add onions; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add broth mixture and beef mixture; cook 2 minutes or until beef is thoroughly heated and sauce is slightly thick. Serve beef mixture over rice.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.