Beef and Vegetables in Oyster Sauce

ingredients

1 pound beef top round steak
1/4 cup oyster sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon cooking oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges
4 cups bok choy cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups fresh pea pods, strings removed, or one 6-ounce package frozen pea pods, thawed
2 small tomatoes, cut into thin wedges (1-1/2 cups)
2 cups hot cooked rice


directions

Trim fat from beef. Partially freeze beef. Thinly slice across grain into bite-size strips. Set aside.

For sauce, in a small bowl stir together oyster sauce, soy sauce, and pepper. Set aside.

Pour cooking oil into a wok or large skillet. (Add more oil as necessary during cooking.) Preheat over medium-high heat. Stir-fry garlic in hot oil for 15 seconds. Add onion; stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add bok choy and pea pods; stir-fry about 3 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Remove vegetables from the wok.

Add half of the beef to the hot wok. Stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until done. Remove beef from the wok.

Repeat with remaining beef. Return all of the beef to the wok. Push the beef from the center of the wok.

Stir the sauce. Add sauce to the center of the wok. Cook and stir until bubbly. Return cooked vegetables to the wok. Add tomatoes. Stir all ingredients together to coat with sauce. Cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes or until heated through. Serve immediately over hot cooked rice. Makes 4 servings.

Make-Ahead Tip: Prepare vegetables; cover and chill up to 4 hours.

Pineapple Beef

ingredients

3/4 pound beef top round steak, cut 1/2-inch thick
1 8-ounce can pineapple slices (juice pack)
2 tablespoons dry sherry or water
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon molasses or brown sugar
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Nonstick cooking spray
4 green onions, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 medium tomato, cut into wedges
1 6-ounce package frozen pea pods, thawed
2 cups hot cooked rice


directions

Trim separable fat from round steak. Partially freeze meat; then, cut on bias into thin bite-size strips. Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Cut pineapple slices into quarters; set aside.
In a bowl stir together reserved pineapple juice, dry sherry or water, soy sauce, molasses or brown sugar, and red pepper. Add meat; stir until coated. Cover and marinate meat at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Drain, reserving marinade.
Spray a cold large skillet or wok with nonstick cooking spray. Add half of the meat to skillet or wok. Stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until browned. Remove meat. Stir-fry remaining meat and onions for 2 to 3 minutes or until meat is browned. Return all meat to skillet. Push meat from center of skillet.

For sauce, stir cornstarch into reserved marinade. Add sauce to center of skillet. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add tomato, pea pods, and pineapple. Stir ingredients together until coated with sauce. Cook and stir about 2 minutes more or until heated through. Serve over hot cooked rice. Makes 4 servings.

Thai Beef Stir-Fry

ingredients

1-1/2 pounds boneless beef sirloin steak, cut about 3/4 inch thick
1 cup catsup
1/3 cup fish sauce or soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice
4 medium carrots
4 green onions
1 medium red sweet pepper
2 medium cucumbers
1 cup beef broth
4 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
4 cups hot cooked rice
Julienne carrot strips (optional)
Green onion tops (optional)


directions

Partially freeze beef. Thinly slice across the grain into bite-size strips. Combine catsup, fish sauce or soy sauce, brown sugar, and lime juice in a bowl. Add beef strips, tossing to coat. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice.

Meanwhile, thinly slice the carrots; cut the green onions into 1/2-inch pieces; cut the red sweet pepper into thin bite-size strips; and cut the cucumbers in half, remove the seeds, and thinly slice. Drain beef, reserving marinade. Stir broth, ginger, cornstarch, and crushed red pepper into reserved marinade; set aside.

Pour oil into wok or large skillet. (Add more oil, if necessary, during cooking.) Preheat over medium-high heat. Stir-fry garlic in hot oil for 15 seconds. Add carrots, stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add green onion, cucumber, and sweet pepper; stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes more or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Remove from wok.

Add half of the beef to the hot wok or skillet. Stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes or to desired doneness. Remove beef from wok; set aside. Stir-fry remaining beef. Return all beef to wok. Stir the broth mixture. Add to the wok; cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Stir in vegetables. Heat through. Stir chopped peanuts into hot rice. Serve beef and vegetables over rice mixture. If desired, garnish with carrot strips and green onion tops, cut into strips (soak the strips in cold water so they curl). Makes 8 servings.

Note: Before slicing the carrots, use a zester to make the long strips that garnish this sizzling main dish.

Zesting the carrots also creates the pretty ridge-shape slices