Source: Rachael Ray, 30-minute meals. Recipe also available at foodnetwork.com
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| Five Spice Beef and Pepper Stir-Fry |
Jasmine rice or short grain white rice, 1 to 1 1/2 cups prepared to package directions
2 cups beef broth or stock, paper container or canned
2 tablespoons wok or clear oil, 1 turn of the pan
1 1/2 pounds beef sirloin or beef tenderloin tips, trimmed, placed in freezer for 5 to 10 minutes then thinly sliced
2 medium green bell peppers, seeded and diced into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 cup dry sherry
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce, eyeball the amount
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder, found on Asian foods aisle of market
Cracked black pepper
3 scallions, thinly sliced on an angle, for garnish
1/2 cup smoked whole almonds, for garnish
Boil water for rice and prepare to package directions. Place beef broth in a small pot over low heat to warm the liquid.
Heat a wok-shaped skillet or pan over high heat. Add oil (it will smoke) and meat bits. Stir-fry meat 3 minutes and remove from pan or move off to the side of the wok. Return pan to heat and add peppers and onions. Stir-fry veggies 2 minutes. Add meat back to the pan.
Add sherry and stir-fry until liquid almost evaporates about 1 minute. Add soy sauce to the pan. Dissolve cornstarch with a ladle of warm broth. Add beef broth to the pan, then add cornstarch combined with broth, the five-spice powder and black pepper. Stir sauce until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Adjust seasonings. Add more soy sauce or salt if necessary. Remove stir-fry from heat. Fill dinner bowls with beef stir-fry and top with a scoop of rice. Scoop rice with ice cream scoop to get a rounded ball. By placing rice on top of stir-fry, rice will stay firm and not soak up too much sauce. Garnish with chopped scallions and smoked almonds.
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Difficulty: Easy - This recipe was classified as "intermediate," but I'm not sure why. Rice can be a touchy thing to prepare sometimes but minute rice can be used if you are concerned to prepare jasmine rice. I would classify this recipe as easy. There are no advanced techniques required in this preparation.
Accessibility: Common - The ingredients used for this recipe should be available at most grocery stores. Chinese five-spice powder was indeed found in the ethnic aisle of the grocery store.
Visual Appeal: This dish, like the Beer-poached pulled chicken mole, is not much to look at. It is very similar in appearance to beef stew. The sauce had a good thickness and smoothness. The peppers do provide some color to the dish but very little to brighten things up.
Overall Taste: The recipe did taste a bit bland as described. However, the recipe does direct the preparer to add additional soy sauce or salt as necessary. It was difficult to determine if the dish just needed more salt or if some other ingredient would have elevated the taste. There was really no heat to the dish, which might have provided an element of interst. And I didn't find the Chinese five-spice to add a remarkable amount of flavor. The aroma, however, of the anise and licorice root were evident. The addition of fresh garlic or ginger might be a welcomed addition. All-in-all, the flavor profile left something to be desired.
Overall Experience: It was good to be making stir-fry again - and not from a bag. I appreciated this recipe not so much for the taste but more for the simple fact that it was not in my normal repertoire of meals. Also, I appreciate recipes that introduce new tricks or techniques. I have not come across briefly freezing a cut of meat in order to make slicing very easy. It was very refreshing. Finally, I was excited about using Chinese five-spice. I've not before tasted this mixture of spices and, though nothing remakable, was pleased to have been exposed to this new ingredient.
Overall Taste: The recipe did taste a bit bland as described. However, the recipe does direct the preparer to add additional soy sauce or salt as necessary. It was difficult to determine if the dish just needed more salt or if some other ingredient would have elevated the taste. There was really no heat to the dish, which might have provided an element of interst. And I didn't find the Chinese five-spice to add a remarkable amount of flavor. The aroma, however, of the anise and licorice root were evident. The addition of fresh garlic or ginger might be a welcomed addition. All-in-all, the flavor profile left something to be desired.
Overall Experience: It was good to be making stir-fry again - and not from a bag. I appreciated this recipe not so much for the taste but more for the simple fact that it was not in my normal repertoire of meals. Also, I appreciate recipes that introduce new tricks or techniques. I have not come across briefly freezing a cut of meat in order to make slicing very easy. It was very refreshing. Finally, I was excited about using Chinese five-spice. I've not before tasted this mixture of spices and, though nothing remakable, was pleased to have been exposed to this new ingredient.
Additional Notes: Some ingredient variations were observed. Snow peas were added. I opted not to use green bell peppers. Rather I swapped the dull green for the brightness of a red bell pepper. Originally I was going to add broccoli but decided not to. Instead I steamed the crowns of the broccoli separate, peeling and cutting the broccoli stems into matchsticks and adding them to the stir-fry. The red bell pepper and broccoli stems provided some added color.
*The recipe and instructions for this recipe have been reported to maintain the original instruction and is not an original recipe and belongs to the source indicated. This post has been prepared as a review only and with no intention to take credit for this recipe. This recipe has been reviewed without instruction or influence by the parties or companies mentioned therein.
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