WALLET-FRIENDLY EXOTIC ASIAN BEEF: easy meal in minutes after some prep ahead, alcohol

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Taste the plains of Mongolia and the 'Stans in this rich, exotic cross between a stir-fry and a casserole...

Great for dinner with friends: rich, aromatic and exotic,
slices of ultra-tender beef in a thick unctuous gravy

We're all worried about the cost of food and it's a delight to discover a supermarket bargain that doesn't involve chicken.

Approaching Easter holiday, at least 2 supermarkets were focusing on beef in addition to classic lamb and other traditional proteins.  And it was beef in steak form rather than cuts for casseroles.

In search of an advertised special on rump steaks in Sainsbury's, 67 stumbled on a very good looking slab of skirt steak.  Cleaned of fat & gristle, lean and plump, it was only £4 for 450gm/15.8oz.    

Skirt steak is one of the tougher cuts of steak;  it comes from the belly of a cow and is flat and long in shape.  It requires careful cooking but has fabulous flavour.

Normally, long slow cooking is the key to tenderising skirt steak.  But 67's recipe involves marinading the meat for a few hours; once cooking starts, it's ready for the table in just 20 minutes.   

Served with wholemeal noodles (as in the photo), rice or potatoes plus a few colourful quick cooking veg, it becomes a mouthwatering colourful feast.  

Note: the dish is strongly flavoured and is probably not for kids; maybe they could just be given the meat without the gravy?

Cost: £6.50

Feeds: 4-5

Ingred:
   1 x 500-750 gm/18-26 oz skirt or hanger steak

Marinade: 

   2 inch/4cm piece of ginger, finely grated or 1.5 tsp powdered ginger

   2 garlic cloves, peeled & grated
   4 tbsp 25-30% salt-reduced soy sauce
   1 tbsp 5-spice powder
   150 ml rice wine/dry sherry/white wine or grape juice OR
   100 ml good meat stock plus 50 ml rice wine/dry sherry/white wine/white grape juice ((67 used stock & sherry) 
   1 small red chilli, de-seeded, or 1/3 tsp chilli flakes or dash of **Chiu Chow Chilli oil
   1/2 tsp cinnamon
   1 star anise (opt)

   2 dried Chinese mushrooms reconstituted in water (opt)

1 tbsp corn or rice flour

1 tbsp cold water

1 noodle nest or equiv per person

easy cook vegetables: tenderstem broccoli, carrot matchsticks, thinly sliced red pepper, water chestnuts (opt)

Garnish: thinly sliced spring onions, green & white

             sesame seeds

             served on the side Chiu Chow Chilli Oil 

Method:

1. Start  4-6 hours before needed
2. Put the meat in the freezer for 15 mins.  Using a very sharp knife, slice meat very thinly - about 1/8inch/ 1/3 cm - across the grain (see You Tube)  You should have a nice little pile of thin slices; set aside. 
3. Mix marinade ingredients in a large bowl
4. Stir in the meat, stirring to coat each slice; refrigerate 4-6 hours
5. Meanwhile prepare vegetables; cutting off the ends and peeling the broccoli stems; halve water chestnuts, if using, horizontally into 2 rounds; set aside
6. In a large bowl, add 1 nest of noodles per person plus one for the pot: fill a kettle ready for boiling 
7. When ready to dine: place a large not-shallow frying pan/wok over high heat
8. Remove beef slices from marinade, drain well, adding marinade back to the bowl, separate slices as well as you can
9. When pan is smoking hot, spray it with a thin layer of vegetable oil; stir fry vegetables in this order (but in the same pan) - carrots, bell peppers,   broccoli, water chestnuts.  Cook, stirring continously, until all are 2/3 done; transfer to a bowl
10. Add a little more oil to the pan; arrange beef slices in one layer (you will probably have to do this batches), leave until bottoms are brown and crusty then stir fry until there is no pink left (only a minute or so); transfer to a med bowl; continue until all beef is used up
11. Turn on kettle
12. When meat is cooked, add the marinade to the pan; turn heat down to med; simmer gently 5 mins
13. Pour boiling water over noodles, separating with a fork or chopsticks as you go; set timer for 5 mins
14. Add meat and any juices back to the pan with the gravy; turn heat down to simmer
15. In a small pan, reheat veg with a tablespoon or so of water 
16. Check noodles; if they need a minute or so more; give it a good stir; otherwise drain, sprinkle with a little sesame oil and keep warm
17. Check meat and gravy; the mixture should be hot through, thick and glossy; if not, mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1 tbsp cold water; stir into the pan.  If the mixture is too thick, add 1-2 tablespoons stock or water.  When ready to serve, remove star anise from gravy
18. Serve meat casserole, vegetables and noodles in separate bowls OR arrange on individual plates 
19. Scatter sesame seeds over meat and green onions over the noodles

* Waitrose wholemeal noodles

**Lee Kim Yea

Comments: (more to come)

'I was astonished at how tender the meat was, achieved easily by marinading, with an ultra quick quick cooking time.  The gravy/marinade was so good, I wanted to inhale it.' Retired writer

Tips:

• This recipe freezes well but add more stock/water to thin the gravy
• If budget allows, rump steak or even sirloin could replace skirt but the marinading time reduces sharply; for rump maybe an hour or two; for sirloin 20m mins

 

Note: less than 5% of Mongolia's population are classified as Muslim but there are strong historical links from the 1200AD onwards when the Mongols established a far-reaching empire from the Sea of Japan to the Caspian Sea, including many Muslim states.  

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This recipe has been developed by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.