Beef-Mushroom Stir-Fry
Submitted by eleets
Beef and mushroom stir-fry with bell pepper, snow peas, water chestnuts, and a soy-cornstarch glaze. A 30-minute Chinese-American weeknight dinner served over hot rice.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
10 minREADY
30 minThis is the kind of stir-fry you could memorize and keep in your back pocket for any weeknight when the fridge has odds and ends. Thinly sliced top round, marinated briefly in a soy-cornstarch slurry, hits a hot wok along with garlic and scallions, then layers of vegetables go in by cook time so each keeps its bite. Snow peas and water chestnuts add the finishing crunch.
The two-stage sauce is the technique that separates a good stir-fry from a soggy one. Coating the beef in a couple of tablespoons of the cornstarch sauce before cooking is called velveting; it holds moisture in the meat and stops it from drying out under high heat. The remaining sauce goes in at the end and thickens against the hot pan into a glossy, light glaze. Keep the heat high, stir constantly, and don’t crowd the pan. Cold-pan stir-fries leak moisture instead of searing.
Pro Tips
- Slice the beef across the grain into thin strips. Easier if the steak goes into the freezer for 20 minutes first to firm up.
- Have everything prepped before the wok hits heat. Stir-fries cook in minutes; there’s no time to chop mid-cook.
- Use low-sodium soy sauce as the recipe calls for. Salt builds up fast in stir-fries and regular soy overpowers the beef.
- Serve over hot rice immediately. Stir-fry cools off fast and the sauce loses its shine.
Variations
- Swap chicken breast for the beef and use chicken bouillon in place of the beef stock powder.
- Add a tablespoon of oyster sauce or hoisin to the sauce for deeper umami.
- Sub broccoli florets for the snow peas, blanched first to soften slightly.
Ingredients
Directions
In a small bowl, whisk together water, soy sauce, cornstarch, and beef bouillon until well mixed.
In a medium bowl, mix together beef strips with just enough of sauce to coat evenly, about 2 tablespoons.
Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot.
Add the garlic and scallions, stirring constantly, and cook for about 40 seconds until very fragrant.
Stir in the bell peppers and mushrooms, and cook for about 4 minutes.
Add the water chestnuts and snow pea pods, stirring constantly, and cook for another 3 minutes or so until all the veggies are tender but still crisp.
Pour the remaining sauce over, stirring to evenly coat, and cook for another 2 minutes until heated through.
Remove from the heat and serve warm with rice.
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