Juicy beef, crunchy greens – the perfect stir-fry for midweek
A tasty beef stir-fry with noodles ticks all the boxes.
And if you want to turn it into a meat-free meal, just switch the beef for some tofu. Simples.
SERVES: 4
PREP TIME: 10 mins
COOKING TIME: 10 mins
DIFFICULTY: easy
IDEAL FOR: family, midweek meal
BUDGET: £
Tasty beef stir-fry with noodles
I love a stir-fry during the week.
They’re simple to make.
And everyone loves the flavours of soy and sesame flavours alongside the ginger, garlic and dry rub spice mix.
A stir-fry is also a great way to pile in all the 5 a day.
As well as cut back on your meat intake.
Because you don’t need to add a lot of meat to make this dish a winner.
But there are a few tips to ensuring your stir-fry tastes epic every time.
Stir-fry top tips
Don’t add too many things at once
This is something I used to do.
I’d pile everything in at once.
Which makes for an uneven cook.
A stir-fry needs to hot, fast heat.
And if you pile it too much, you’ll end up steaming your meat (you know that awful grey colour it can go).
And having rather hard veggies.
1. Mise en place
Or, prepping (to you and me) your ingredients so you’re ready to go.
This simply helps you get stir-fry’s momentum.
So you don’t lose heat or overcook ingredients while you cut things in between.
And you can also add your veggies at the right time i.e. beans earlier than say soft pak choi
2. Cook meat from room temperature
Like with all meat cooking, you should allow the meat to come to room temp.
And for a stir-fry, you could get on with the mise en place while the meat comes out of the fridge.
Or you could marinate the meat with some soy and garlic etc.
But make sure you pat it dry before you stir-fry.
This will again prevent it from steaming the meat.
3. Cook the meat in batches
This is for when you do a large stir-fry.
It definitely helps to cook meat in batches to give it that hot flashing heat.
And not the steaming slow mess you could create with over-crowding.
4. Successful stir-frying
That sound a bit serious but it can make a difference to textures and flavours.
1. Flavours
First, heat up the oil, then add your flavours like onion, garlic and ginger.
2. Meat
And then add the meat (and let it brown).
3. Veggies next
Add your veggies in order of how quickly they will cook.
Veggies like carrots and green beans obviously need longer cooking times than pak choi or mushrooms.
*Extra tip: you can take your meat out to avoid over-cooking it… but I don’t.
Or you could boil your carrots, beans etc first and finish off in the stir-fry.
4. Add some liquid
You can add some soy sauce, wine, or stock, and cook until all the veggies are cooked.
And then once you’re happy your stir-fry is done, add in a few dashes of sesame seed oil.
Noodles
I love stir-fries with egg noodles.
They aren’t too heavy, leaving you feeling satisfied rather than needing to lie down.
And they only take 4 mins to cook.
You can also add a couple of tablespoons of sesame seed oil to the noodles once you’ve drained them.
This just adds another lovely flavour to your completed dish.
Stir-fry basic flavours
- soy sauce- adds saltiness and depth to the sauce.
- sweetener- honey, maple syrup and brown sugar are commonly used.
- acid- lemon or lime juice add a touch of sourness.
- aromatics- ginger and garlic are commonly used.
- spicy ingredients- red pepper flakes for some heat, cumin, coriander, cayenne, can all be used.
- cornstarch– used to thicken some sauces, it helps the sauce stick to the meat and vegetables, enhancing the flavor.
Stir-fry sauces
1. Simple
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- Juice of half a lime
- 3 cm ginger grated
- 1 clove garlic grated
- ½ teaspoon chilli flakes (or to taste)
2. Honey & soy
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3cm piece fresh root ginger, very finely chopped or blended
- 2 cloves garlic, very finely chopped or blended with the ginger
3. Thai lime & basil
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- juice of 2 limes 3 tablespoons
- optional: 1 Thai chili chopped (remove seeds for a less spicy version)
- 1 bunch basil leaves (add fresh)
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients for the stir fry sauce in a clean jam jar. Screw on the lid and shake until all the ingredients are well mixed.
- Add to your favourite stir fry.
Tasty beef stir-fry with noodles recipe
Tasty beef stir-fry
Ingredients
- 2 tsp coriander seeds (crushed)
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp fennel seeds (crushed)
- 1 – 2 tsp cayenne (depends on how hot you like it)
- 2 x 250g lean flank steak
- 250 g medium free-range egg noodles
- 3 tsp sesame seed oil
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 2 cloves of garlic, sliced
- 6 cm piece of fresh ginger, sliced thinly
- Cut vegetables such as pak choi, mushrooms, green beans, broccoli
- olive oil
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 lime
- 1 fresh red chilli, sliced
Instructions
- Dry rub:In a bowl, mix the cumin, cayenne and crushed coriander and fennel plus a little salt and pepper. Mix.
- Take your flank and cut it into finger-sized strips (cut against the grain). Then add to the bowl with the spice mix and rub all over the strips.
- Noodles:In a pan of salted boiling water, cook the noodles (as per packet instructions – usually approx 5 mins – then drain and add 2 tsp of sesame oil, toss and put the lid back on and set aside.
Prep vegetables
- Peel and finely slice the onion and garlic, then peel and finely chop the ginger.Get your veggies prepped ready to go into the hot frying pan i.e. pak choi, broccoli, beans, mushrooms etc(NB: if you do broccoli and beans, you may want to blanch them in boiling water first – boil for 3-4 mins to speed up their cooking)
Stir-fry
- Now, you have prepped everything, start the stir fry:Heat a splash of olive oil in a wok or large frying pan over high heat, then add the onions, garlic and ginger and cook for a couple of minutes, or until the onions have softened slightly.Next, add the seasoned pieces of steak and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes, then add the veggies that take longer to cook i.e. broccoli, beans and fry for another 2 minutes, stirring constantly.Add the mushrooms and pak choi, cook for 2 – 3 mins then pour in the soy sauce and 1 tsp of sesame seed oil, toss in the pan until everything is well coated. You may want to add a splash of water to create a little more sauce.
- In bowls, add the noodles and serve the stir-fry on top.Cut the lime into wedges for squeezing over, and finely slice the chilli then sprinkle over the top.
Notes
References:
https://www.thespruceeats.com/tips-for-perfect-stir-fry-995435