Beef and Green Onion Stir Fry

I'm on a roll with recipes from that one Southern Living magazine that I found in my mom's kitchen over the weekend. This one was definitely a winner! It's my new favorite stir fry recipe. Tender beef, big chunks of veggies...flavorful... colorful...just perfect.

Stir fry makes for a quick dinner, but if you're really in a hurry (as I knew that I would be tonight) or if you know you'll be too tired to chop and slice after work, then complete the prep work ahead. I sliced my round steak ahead of time. Round steak is a somewhat tough cut of beef. The round steak I used here had already taken a pass through an electrical tenderizer at the butcher. I wanted to make sure this beef was really tender so I used the tenderizing trick from Rasa Malaysia that I used for this Cashew Chicken. I used baking soda to further tenderize the round steak and then rinsed thoroughly. I also chopped the green onions and sliced the red bell pepper before bagging them and refrigerating until it was time to prepare dinner. You could easily do this the night before.

Here are all of my ingredients ready for stir fry: sesame oil, beef, cornstarch, soy sauce, green onions, and red bell pepper.



Combine the tenderized beef, green onion, cornstarch, and soy sauce.



Stir fry in an oiled skillet or wok with the red pepper slices in two batches. I drizzled about 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil over each batch of the beef mixture.



While the beef, onions, and peppers sizzled, I combined the remaining cornstarch with a cup of beef broth, rice vinegar, and red pepper flakes. Add to the beef mixture and cook and stir until thickened.



Serve it over hot, cooked rice. Wow, this was good! I'll be making this one again.




Beef-and-Green Onion Stir-fry
From Southern Living


Prep: 15 min., Cook: 10 min. You can substitute presliced steak for the sirloin. Look for it in the meat department of your grocery store. Serve the stir-fry over hot cooked rice, if desired.

1 1/2 bunches green onions
1 pound top round steak*
3 tablespoons cornstarch, divided
3 tablespoons lite soy sauce
1 medium-size red bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil (optional)
1 cup beef broth
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1. Thoroughly wash green onions. Remove root ends and tips of onions; cut into 2-inch pieces. Place pieces in a large bowl.

2. Cut steak across the grain into thin slices, and add to green onions in bowl. Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp. cornstarch and soy sauce, tossing to coat.

3. Sauté beef mixture and red bell pepper, in 2 batches, in hot vegetable oil and, if desired, sesame oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 3 minutes or until beef is done and bell pepper is crisp-tender. Whisk together beef broth, vinegar, red pepper flakes, and remaining 1 Tbsp. cornstarch. Add to beef mixture in skillet, and bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until thickened. Top with peanuts, if desired.

*1 lb. skinned and boned chicken breasts may be substituted.



Yield: Makes 4 servings