Saturday, July 12, 2014

Beef with Yuchoy and Peppers

Who needs a wok when you have a trusty cast iron skillet?

 I usually get the cheapest cuts of meat for stir frying. Though most serious recipes specify leaner cuts I like to use beef with some light to moderate marbling of fat just because it seems to me to have more flavor and, when it’s sliced very thinly, it’s not going to be tough to chew. For this recipe I used some chuck steak.

Chuck steak sliced across the grain as thin as you can get it without injury
1 med./lg. onion (I like Vidalias) cut in half lengthwise and sliced thinly
1 bell pepper sliced into whatever shapes you like
As much chopped garlic as you like (I like lots of garlic)
About 2 bunches of yu choy, stems and leaves, chopped
1 Korean long hot pepper or other hot pepper sliced on the diagonal (optional)
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Nampla (Asian fish sauce, optional)
Freshly ground pepper (I use a combo of black peppercorns, Sichuan peppercorns and red pepper flakes) to taste

Heat a skillet to the smoking point with about 1 or 2 tbls. of oil then add the beef, garlic and onion and cook, stirring a lot, until the beef is browned. Add a splash of soy sauce and nam pla. Add the bell peppers, hot peppers (if you like) and yuchoy and cook until yuchoy is slightly wilted but still bright green. Add a little sesame oil and ground pepper and mix it up a little. Done. Serve with hot rice

This recipe also works well with pork, chicken and reconstituted Xiang-gu (dried shiitake mushrooms).


What's Burnin'?

At the request of my friends and acquaintances over at Facebook I have started this blog to post the recipes for the food that post photos of in the "What's For Dinner" group. Actually, there are only one or two actual recipes for what I eat on a regular basis with lots of variations stemming from what ingredients I have on hand at the time. The title of this blog refers to the fact that, due to my work schedule and near chronic insomnia, I'm often cooking my dinner around midnight. The "Evil" part will, most likely, refer to my failed attempts at cooking something beyond my skill set or the times when bad luck rears it's ugly head by causing the top to come off my salt shaker or exploding sweet potatoes.