My eldest son is my inspiration on this dish (and so many other times in life!)  He pushes me into Asian directions and tries to move me towards Latin spices and begs to experiment all the time.  For this dinner I told him, I will get the stir fry steak, and he can help me pick the ingredients to include in the stir fry….and off to the races we went!

Special Equipment:  

If you have a wok, great!  If not, a skillet will work

Ingredients

2 tbsp canola oil (or sesame oil to be more authentic)

Diced Red and yellow peppers (or orange, but please no green, there are enough green veggies – I only like the brightly colored ones)

Large chunks of peeled carrots cut on the biase (1 large carrot)

1 inch of ginger diced

2 cloves of garlic diced

If you like heat, chop up a small fresh chili pepper (I am not so brave)

Half a small can of bamboo drained and rinsed

Broccoli florets cut from a head of broccoli

1 small package of stir fry beef )about 1 pound

 

Prep all the vegetables per the above photo, rinse the meat and season it with salt and pepper and get your sauce handy.  Heat up the wok over medium high heat and pour in the oil.  Let it heat up for a couple of minutes, then add in the vegetables that take the longest to cook – the peppers and carrots.  Let them start to get tender, stirring around frequently, for 4 minutes or so.  Add in the garlic, ginger and bamboo (and chili if using – leave out the seeds to have some heat, add the seeds and the pepper for max heat).

Secret:  I never cooked with canned bamboo, or any bamboo for that matter.  I think of it as a renewable resource to make furniture from, who knew?  I really lucked out, and the lady that was in the aisle with my son when he decided to choose bamboo as an ingredient, happened to have used this before.  She advised us that you can add it to stir fry for some crunch, don’t overcook it thinking it should be tender, and it doesn’t bring much flavor to the party.  

Cook these new flavor combinations for a couple of minutes so they can come together.  Add the beef and the broccoli.  Both need only a few minutes!  Once you have put in the meat and the broccoli, add the sauce and keep stirring everything around frequently.

Tip:  If you cook the beef too long it can get chewy, cook the broccoli too long and it will get grey and lifeless.  This is why you should wait until the peppers and carrots are almost cooked to add in the meat and broccoli!

Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper if needed.  Serve right away once the meat is cooked through, and the broccoli is warmed.

Fantastic served over rice, but if you don’t happen to have rice you can serve it on its own or over noodles