January 14, 2016

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

I don't always plan my dinners so much as think of what ingredients I have and let the recipe reveal itself to me. And then I decide if it's worth the effort and adjust accordingly.

I had planned something more structured, but tonight was one of those true magick nights where I just went on intuition and impulse.

1/2 lb of flat iron steak 

Sriracha

Coconut aminos

Olive oil

2 garlic cloves

1/2 lg. Shallots

Red pepper

Coconut oil

2 heads broccoli

Salt 

Mexican salt spice mix

random veggie broth or beef broth you have in the fridge/cupboard.

2-ish tsp. Sesame seeds

2-ish tsp. Sesame oil 

Throw steak on a plate and slather each side with about 2Tbsp. Sriracha and a few shakes of coconut aminos. Let it sit while you cut up the veg. Get your garlic press ready. 

When you feel like the meat's marinated enough, or you're hungry and you're ready to cook, turn the burner on and let the pan heat up. Slice the meat up and put some olive oil in the pan.

I like to watch the oil start to shimmer in the pan and roll it around so there's a nice even coating on the pan.

Throw the beef in and watch it sizzle. 

Stand in awe of this glorious display of chemistry as you toss the beef around the pan and let it sear a bit. 

Towards the end of the searing, squish one garlic clove in and stir it up, yum.

Add some salt and watch it dissolve on the pan.

Set the meat aside and get ready for round two! Scrape as much of the garlic and meat bits out, but don't waste too much time scraping the pan clean. Put a teaspoon or so of coconut oil in the pan and again, watch it melt (yes, stand there and enjoy some more awesome displays of science/magick). Swirl to coat the pan and start adding veggies.

Add the juicy ones first - red pepper and shallot. Stir and toss for about 5 minutes (I rarely time myself but the color wil start to mellow and the veg will soften). 

Add some more salt. I have some delicious salt and hot pepper and herb mix in this grinder.

Add the broccoli on top. Hopefully you cut them into smallish florets so they cook relatively quickly. I peeled and matchstick sliced the broccoli stalks and threw them on last, just as the broccoli started to turn bright green. 

Stir and cook. Here's where I added some veggie broth because I wanted it a little juicier. I could have added the can of diced tomatoes I have had randomly sitting on my counter for the last several days, but the veggie broth was calling.

Finish with the sesame seeds and oil. Serve over rice or just eat it up.