It has been a busy week… My two year-old has been skipping his nap, which has meant early bedtimes, but also no real breaks in the kitchen during the day. I was in need of a scrumptious share box-to-table meal that could be pulled off in minutes. Enter, the stir-fry…
This morning I began to thaw the beef sirloin tips in the fridge, which put them at a semi-frozen state by dinner time. This is perfect when cooking up stir-fry, as the meat is easier to cut thinly and against the grain when it is semi-frozen. I try to cut it at less than 1/8 of an inch, and cutting against the grain ensures tenderness over chewiness. After tossing the meat in a bit of corn starch to coat, it was ready for the pan.
Meanwhile, I started a batch of jasmine rice in the pressure cooker, with roughly a cup of the shelled English peas on the side. (My two-year old kept dipping into the peas before they made their way into the cooker, so this measurement is inaccurate). Once the rice was cooked and the pressure released (about 4 minutes), I stirred in the peas and put the lid back on. The heat was just enough to steam the peas.
Back to the beef! You can use a wok or a large skillet, tonight I used the latter. If you go with the skillet, just be sure to heat the pan before you put in your oil (I used about a tablespoon of canola oil). The beef sizzled for about a minute (still rare) before I removed it to a plate. Next, in went another teaspoon of oil, a couple of cloves of minced garlic, and a one-inch piece of ginger, thinly sliced. The pak choi went in, white parts first, followed by the green parts, and couple of tablespoons of rice wine and oyster sauce. 
Just as the pak choi greens began to wilt, in went the beef and some scallions, frozen from the last Springdell harvest.
After a few minutes, this is what we have! I served it immediately on top of the rice and peas.
The fam devoured this so fast, there was a large crater where the pan used to be.
- 1 pound package of Springdell Beef Sirloin Tips, partially thawed and sliced very thinly against the grain
- Cornstarch to coat (about 1 tbsp)
- 1-3 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 inch piece of ginger, shaved into thin slices
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- 1 head of pak choi, rinsed and coarsely chopped, white and green parts seperated
- 2 tablespoons of rice wine
- 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons chopped scallion
- Gently pat the beef slices dry and toss in the cornstarch to lightly coat (this is a great time to start cooking the rice as the beef absorbs the starch)
- Heat a wok or a large skillet before adding 1 tbsp of the oil
- When the oil is hot, add the beef and stir fry for about one minute. This can be done in batches to avoid crowding the pan, setting aside the browned beef onto a plate.
- Once the pan is again empty, (adding a little oil as needed and waiting for it to get hot over medium high heat), add the ginger, garlic and white parts of the pak choi, and cook for one minute, stirring frequently.
- Add the oyster sauce and rice wine and continue to stir. Add pak choi greens, followed by the beef and scallions. Continue to cook until the ingredients are coated in the sauce, the greens are just beginning to wilt, and the beef is cooked through. Serve immediately over your rice or noodles.
- I found this to be a very forgiving recipe, and took a lot of shortcuts and liberties. It is easily adaptable to whatever seasonal veggie comes your way, or other sauces you may have on hand. Many thank yous for the inspiration, Leemai Tan!