I love Chinese food, and I am slowly teaching Jim the ways of Asian cuisine! (And he likes it!) Takeout can be expensive, though, but thankfully Asian-inspired and fusion dishes are so easy to make at home. A lot of elements of Asian cooking have overlapping ingredients like sesame seed oil, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and peanuts. They’re also usually topped with scallions, the ultimate condiment, as my roommate says. Best of all, Asian dishes are packed with flavor. Sweet, spicy, salty, umami, bitter, and sour. It’s all there.
This dish can be upgraded as much as you like. I start by marinating thin slices of flank steak and cooking it on low heat (very important!) with some mushrooms and broccoli. I served it on a bed of white rice, and you can stop there. Or you can add honey garlic carrots, (and/or) a medium boiled egg, (and/or) pickled red onions, (and/or) top it with scallions (and/or) peanuts! It ends up being pretty colorful.
Garlic Beef Bowl Recipe
4 cloves minced garlic
1″ fresh, peeled ginger, minced
2 tbsp brown sugar, packed
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame seed oil plus 1 tsp for the pot
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 lb thinly sliced flank steak
4 oz shiitake mushrooms, sliced
6 oz fresh broccoli
Scallions and peanuts for topping
Optional additional accompaniments
Jasmine rice
Honeyed carrots
Pickled red onions
Medium boiled egg
Instructions
1. Combine garlic, ginger, brown sugar, red pepper, and peanut butter in a bowl.
2. Add soy sauce, 1 tbsp sesame seed oil, rice wine vinegar, and water to the bowl. Whisk until peanut butter is blended into the liquid.
3. Add 1 lb thinly sliced flank steak to the bowl and coat it in the marinade. Marinade for 30 minutes.
4. Heat a large skillet or Dutch oven on low heat with 1 tsp sesame seed oil. When oil is shimmering and hot, add steak with marinade and shiitake mushrooms.
5. Toss around the pan, getting both sides of the meat cooked, about 7 minutes. Then add broccoli and cook for an additional 5 minutes, until broccoli is soft.
6. Serve over a bed of rice and top with chopped scallions and peanuts. Can also serve with honeyed carrots, pickled red onions, and/or a medium boiled egg.