Beef Chow Mein (Recipe 76 of 150)

Chinese food in my neighborhood is hard to come by. Well, that's not exactly correct, there is Chinese options but I haven't been a fan of them. And making most the Chinese food I like is simple enough. 

This was a good recipe. I'll make it again. 

I made two small changes to the recipe. 

The first is I don't like frozen veggies so I opted to not include them. Now having had it, I think sautéing up some fresh veggies would do a good lot better than frozen. 

The second was I added 1 tsp of Sriracha - I'm starting to like spice. 

It had flavor and was easy to pull together. 

Beef Chow Mein

Recipe from Chelseasmessyapron.com

Serves 4

1 package (10 to 11 ounces) frozen stirfry vegetables

1/2 pound (8 ounces) flank steak thinly sliced against the grain

2 c green cabbage cut in small shreds

1 1/2 tsp garlic cloves minced (~2 large cloves)

2 tsp fresh ginger minced (~1-inch piece)

1/4 c green onions ~3 onions

1 1/2 T vegetable oil

1 package (6 ounces) chow mein noodles

1/2 T cornstarch

1 1/2 T lite soy sauce

1 1/2 T oyster sauce

1/3 c beef stock 

1 T brown sugar lightly measured, do not pack!

1/2 tsp toasted (or plain) sesame oil

Freshly cracked pepper

Optional: toasted sesame seeds

SAUCE PREP: Whisk the cornstarch and soy sauce with a fork until completely smooth. Stir in the oyster sauce, beef stock, brown sugar, and sesame oil. Add pepper to taste. (I add about 1/2 teaspoon.) Whisk until smooth. Reserve for later.

BEEF PREP: Thinly slice the beef (1/4 inch thick) against the grain. Slice long strips into 2-3 smaller pieces.  Place in a bowl and add 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of the sauce Cover and marinate for 15 minutes to an hour. Pat dry with a paper towel and it's ready for this recipe!

VEGGIE PREP: prepare the ingredients in advance because the cooking goes fast! Finely shred the cabbage, coarsely mince the ginger and garlic (don't want too fine of a mince or they burn; don't use jarred/tube ginger or garlic). Thinly slice the green onions to separate the white root from the green. You should get about 1/4 cup thinly sliced white roots. Reserve the thinly sliced green part for later.

NOODLES: Follow package directions to prepare the chow mein noodles. Rinse in cold water and set aside.

COOK: Add the frozen veggies (unthawed and don't add liquid) to a large nonstick skillet. Put the heat on high and, stirring frequently, cook until mostly thawed, about 5 minutes (add vegetable oil if sticking/needed). 

Transfer to a plate. 

Add 1 and 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil to the same skillet and keep over high heat. Add the white roots of the onion for a minute or two and then add in the garlic and ginger. Be very careful to make sure neither burn -- only cook for about 10-20 seconds. 

Add the beef (patted dry from the marinade) and stir constantly for about 1 minute or until both sides are lightly browned (but not cooked through).

Add the cabbage right on top. Stir near constantly until cabbage is wilted, about 1-2 minutes. 

Add the vegetables that were set aside back in to the pan. 

Add in the cooked noodles and the sauce mixture. Toss with tongs for 1 minute. Add in the thinly sliced tops of the green onions.

Enjoy immediately with toasted sesame seeds if desired.